Friday night for meteor shower

Here is a Dec. 11, 2019, news release from AccuWeather News:

As the year nears its close, many people are already looking ahead to 2020, but stargazers remain focused on 2019 as one of the year’s top meteor showers is about to put on a dazzling display in the night sky.

“Arguably the best meteor shower of the entire year peaks on Friday night into the early hours of Saturday morning,” AccuWeather Astronomy Blogger Dave Samuhel said. “The Geminids shower is just as or slightly more active than the Perseids meteor shower of August.”

This meteor shower in particular is a good one for younger children that cannot stay up late into the night.

Geminids Storm

“The Geminids are unique in the fact it produces a large amount of meteors during the evening,” Samuhel said. Hourly rates will gradually increase as the night transpires, with the number of Geminid meteors streaking across the night sky expected to climax after midnight.

The 2019 showing of the Geminids may bring as many as 150 meteors per hour, according to the American Meteor Society (AMS), but onlookers should tamper their expectations as the shower peaks the night after December's full Cold Moon.

An abundance of natural light pollution from the moon will wash out the dimmer meteors, reducing the number of meteors visible per hour from over 100 to a few dozen. However, even the anticipated diminished rate of visible meteors is higher than many meteor showers throughout the year.

Not only are the Geminids known for their impressive numbers, but also their bright, multi-colored meteors. Onlookers should be able to see these shooting stars in areas of the sky away from the full moon, as long as Mother Nature cooperates.