Eyes on the Sky Tonight: 2011 Geminid Meteor Shower

It’s that time again, Geeks. Bundle up and head outdoors tonight between 10PM local time and sunrise Wednesday morning to catch the incoming Geminid meteors. The map above should give you a good idea of where to look; if you’re feeling especially Citizen Sciencey, check out the just-released, free Meteor Counter app for iPad and iPhone. It lets you report your meteor count and observations to NASA. The Meteoroid Environment Office, led by Bill Cooke, created the app just for tonight.

“Observers with clear skies could see as many as 40 Geminids per hour,” predicts Bill Cooke of the NASA Meteoroid Environment Office.  “Our all-sky network of meteor cameras has captured several early Geminid fireballs.  They were so bright, we could see them despite the moonlight.”

Sounds like a good show. If any of you are out tonight, report back with your stories and pics!

[NASA]


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