RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — It’s that time of year again, and we’re not just talking about the holiday season. The Geminid Meteor shower peaks around this time every year, and it is typically one of the best with sometimes hundreds of meteors skirting across the sky.
With that being said, we will have some moonlight complications this year, but don’t let that stop you from getting outside and enjoying the celestial event.
The meteor shower is already going on, but the peak (when you will see the most meteors) will be Tuesday night into early Wednesday morning. During this time you can expect on average around 30-40 meteors an hour, but up to 50 in an hour is also possible.
There are some best practices to get the most out of your meteor shower viewing though, and the main one — get away from light pollution. This means you may have to stay in the shadow of your house or drive a little outside your community to get a wide, dark view of the sky.
The moon could cause some natural light pollution issues with it rising around 10 p.m. in the east-northeast, but just make sure to find an open view of the sky looking away from the moon.
Another important thing — have patience and bundle up.
It can take more than 20 minutes for your eyes to adjust to the dark, so at the very least, you should plan to stay outside for an hour, and with temperatures dropping to near freezing Tuesday night, being warm is of course a necessity.
As for when to watch: the meteor shower should get going around 10 p.m. Tuesday with peak occurring around 2 a.m. Wednesday. If you don’t want to stay up that late however, you should still be able to see bright meteors streak across the sky before 2 a.m.
The great thing about meteor showers is you don’t need any special equipment, just your eyes, the open sky, and probably some warm blankets.
