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Get Ready for a Light Show

Geminids will benefit from a moonless night

By Sam Gale Rosen,  Newser Staff

Posted Dec 11, 2007 12:39 PM CST

(Newser) – This week's incarnation of the annual Geminid meteor shower should be particularly awe-inspiring, reports National Geographic, because it coincides with dark, moonless sky for the first time since 1996. Skywatchers can expect at least 110 meteors per minute, with the best viewing on Thursday and Friday. The peak will be on Friday at 11:45pm EST.

"Since the August Perseid shower has been declining the last couple of decades, the Geminids are now the best annual meteor shower," says a researcher. Most meteor showers occur when Earth passes through a cloud of debris left by comets, which is attracted by the planet's gravity and burns up in the atmosphere. The Geminids are thought to come from an extinct comet.

Peak viewing will be on December 13th and 14th.
Peak viewing will be on December 13th and 14th.   (Getty Images)
The moonless night will make the meteor shower particularly impressive.
The moonless night will make the meteor shower particularly impressive.   ((c) ToastyKen)
Experts say that sky watchers can expect at least 110 meteors per hour. (AP Photo/SkyandTelescope.com, Rick Scott and Joe Orman)
Experts say that sky watchers can expect at least 110 meteors per hour. (AP Photo/SkyandTelescope.com, Rick Scott and Joe Orman)   (Associated Press)
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