Geminid Meteor Shower Peaks Wednesday Night In Virginia, DC

The annual Geminid meteor shower, which peaks Wednesday night and Thursday morning, Dec. 13-14, is typically one of the best meteor showers of the year, sometimes producing as many as 120 an hour, or nearly one to two per minute. But this year, skygazers could be in for a special treat because the parent object, the asteroid 3200 Phaethon, is nearby.

The best time to see meteors is around 2 a.m. local time on Dec. 14. The Geminids emanate from the constellation Gemini — just look in the northeastern sky near the constellation Orion, easily spotted by the three stars in the hunter's "belt." Gemini is just to the right, high in the sky. The meteors should be visible anywhere in the sky.

The question is whether skies over Washington, DC, and northern Virginia will clear long enough Wednesday night to let sky-watchers catch the show. So far, the forecast isn't cooperating. The National Weather Service predicts a 30 percent chance of snow and increasingly cloudy skies that night.

If you focus too closely on Gemini, you may miss the meteors with longer "tails" as they streak by in the sky. And as with any meteor shower, the best viewing locations are dark skies away from intrusive light. You may be able to see a few in the evening hours of Dec. 13, but the best viewing times are around 2 a.m. as Gemini climbs higher in the sky.

The moon is in its waning crescent phase, so it won't wash out the Geminids, as it did last year.

The Geminids are slow movers compared to other meteor showers — traveling at about 20 miles a second — so the streaks should last longer, for at least a second or two, National Geographic reports.

As Jupiter's gravity tugs at the stream of particles left behind by the asteroid 3200 Phaethon, the Geminid meteor shower has moved stronger and closer to the Earth over the centuries, Space.com reports.

Sometimes called a "rock comet," 3200 Phaethon will come its closest to Earth in its 523.5-day orbit on Dec. 16. While it's unknown if the Geminids will be extra special because of that, when parent comets are nearby, meteor showers tend to be more spectacular, Earthsky.org reports.

There is one more shooting star show this year, though it's a minor one. The Ursid meteor shower moves through around the time of the Winter Solstice on Dec. 21 and peaks in the overnight hours of Dec. 22-23. At most, you'll probably see only a handful of meteors, maybe five an hour, and you're more likely to see them in the far northerly latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere.

Ursid meteors are slow movers, and if you trace their path backward, "they appear to come from the section of sky marked by the Little Dipper star Kochab," Earthsky.org said.

As 2017 draws to a close, there's a lot to look forward to in January 2018, which will feature two supermoons — the phenomenon of the moon looking larger than it actually is. The moon isn't actually larger, but it appears particularly large in its closest approach to Earth in its monthly orbit — known as lunar perigee.

The supermoon that will be visible Jan. 1-2 will be the largest of the year. A second full moon on Jan. 31, known as a blue moon because it the second full moon in a calendar month, is also a supermoon, will stage a total eclipse of the moon, which will be visible in western North America, Asia, Australia and the Pacific, according to Earthsky.org. A total lunar eclipse occurs when the moon passes through the Earth's dark shadow — or umbra. The moon gradually gets darker, and then takes on a rusty or blood red color during the eclipse.

The first shooting star show of 2018 could be a bust because it will mostly be washed out by the light of the supermoon, but you may be able to see some if you're patient. The Quadrantids meteor shower peaks Jan. 3-4. It's an average show, seasky.org says, producing about 40 meteors an hour at its peak.

The shower is thought to be produced by debris left behind by the extinct comet 2003 EH1, and the meteors should be visible from any part of the sky, barring interference from the moon. It radiates from the constellation Bootes.

Story By Patch Editor Beth Dalbey

Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images News/Getty Images