The Hudson Valley Will See One of the Best Meteor Showers This Month
December will bring a couple of the year's better astronomical events, as one of the best meteor showers to view will peak early next week. But first, we have another pretty cool sight to watch above us in the night sky. Astronomers say that the planets will align with the Moon a couple of nights before, offering skywatchers quite the photo op. AccuWeather says that the Moon will align almost perfectly with Venus, Saturn, and Jupiter after sunset on Friday, December 10.
Early next week, the Geminid meteor shower will peak across the skies, giving viewers one of the year's best meteor showers. AccuWeather says, "The Geminids peak on the night of Monday, Dec. 13 into the early hours of Tuesday, Dec. 14." Over 100 meteors per hour could be seen across the skies of the Hudson Valley. One thing that could cut back on viewing this year though is an almost full moon. In some years, 120 to 180 meteors have been reported per hour with the Geminids.
The Geminid meteor shower is the debris left from the rock comet 3200 Phaethon. The meteor shower gets its name because it can be seen as white or yellowish streaks in the night sky, coming from the direction of the constellation Gemini. You'll want to be away from as many city lights as possible for the best viewing opportunity. As far as the weather goes, forecasters at The Weather Channel are predicting partly cloudy skies for that Monday night. Of course, this is still a ways out, so that forecast could still change.