Many of the reports fail to say that this conjunction (Dec 8-11) is real difficult to observe in the East. The planetary conjunction of Mercury, Mars and Jupiter (see spaceweather.com) is difficult to see and it is before sunrise. I would not bother unless you look right before sunrise and have binoculars ( reports fail to say thistoo but you have to be careful with the Sun coming up). Still you might want to try. I went out to early eventhough I knew where to look and had good horizon but could not see any of them. I might try ....?
The November Leonids were a bust to most. Many did not see what was supposed to be many meteors that were to fall. However it was the weekend but cold. I was out two nights and while I did not see many, there was one -3 yellow nice fireball that made the wait worthwhile. Most others were faint but some has trains ( dusty trails that sometimes twist in the upper atmosphere winds) that persisted for usually 0.5 second.
The Geminids are usually a real good meteor shower with bright meteors that last at least 0.5 seconds and sometime have trains. I have had better luck with this shower compared to the famous Perseids in August.
But this time it is in week time. However Gemini rise in the evening instead of the morning so you can possibly spot some earthgrazers earlier in the evening (see more below). You can watch the Geminids all night but mid morning is the best to sunrise.
And remember to dress warmly out there if you go
Week-Long Meteor Shower to Dazzle
By Joe Rao
SPACE.com Skywatching Columnist
posted: 08 December 2006
Such meteors are so distinctive because they follow long paths nearly parallel to our atmosphere. By around 9 p.m., Gemini will have climbed more than one-third of the way up from the horizon. Meteor sightings should begin to increase noticeably thereafter. By around 2 a.m., Gemini will stand high overhead.
Geminids stand apart from the other meteor showers in that they seem to have been spawned not by a comet
but by 3200 Phaeton, an Earth-crossing asteroid. Then again, the Geminids may be comet debris after all, for some astronomers consider Phaeton to really be the dead nucleus of a burned-out comet that somehow got trapped into an unusually tight orbit.
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Dr. Eric Flescher (kcstarguy@aol.com), Olathe, KS: Member #2572 IMCA (International Meteorite Collectors Association) : E.O.A.S. (Earth, Oceans, Atmosphere and Space) Blog -
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