Geminid Meteor Shower 122
An anonymous reader writes "physorg.com is carrying a story on the upcoming Geminid meteor shower, which will peak on December 13th. This is usually a high-rate meteor shower, and this year will be no different. The early morning hours are the best time to see them. Space.com is also reporting on the shower. This shower was also covered by Slashdot in 2003, 2002, and 2001."
Meteor scatter (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Light pollution (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Light pollution (Score:3, Interesting)
Quite a few years ago I went up to Rhinelander, WI to visit some friends. They lived on a ten acre spread (heavily forested) out in the middle of nowhere. It was incredibly dark and quiet at night: I hadn't realized just how much light and sound is generated populated areas that you don't even notice until it isn't there. I have to admit, I got a better night's sleep than I'd had in years.
Re:Naked eyes and/or binoculars... (Score:1, Interesting)
Ham radio gear not required (Score:4, Interesting)
Regular FM radio and TV broadcasts are also reflected by the ionized trails.
Try tuning to an empty channel, as low on the dial as possible. Of course, for TV you'll need a set with a regular antenna, not cable or satellite. For FM, your car radio is probably the best radio you own for this purpose.
Sit there and listen/watch. You should see/hear brief bursts of signal. If you're really lucky, you'll hear something that will allow you to identify the station you saw/heard.
Might be something interesting to listen to while you're waiting for visible meteors -- or for the clouds to go away...
For those in Southern California who want dark... (Score:3, Interesting)
When you arrive, the view is just breathtaking. Every constellation clearly visible. The end of the road is a large, cleared parking area ringed by trees up to about 20 degrees elevation. And it's definetly Geminid season... I saw about 10 or 12 meteors in the occasional times I looked up over about 3 hours.
Come heavily dressed (hits freezing before midnight): I find that two shirts and a jacket plus sweat pants and windbreaker pants will keep you warm for about 3-4 hours.
To get an idea of the weather, use the Mt. Pinos Dark Sky Clock [philharrington.net].
Come on over. :) (Score:3, Interesting)
(I'd watch from the summit [hawaii.edu] but it's gonna be colder up there.)
The most convenient airports are ITO and KOA in that order. :)