Shootings stars coming soon to a galaxy near you

Geminids Meteor Shower... tonight! in the wee hours... estimated peak time 5:10am! set your alarms for a once a year light show!

Best show of the year, averaging at a meteor a minute at the peak BUT 300 per hour have been reporting.. it looks like this show is getting better & better each year...

Mostly originating around the constellation of gemini (next to Orion), but keep your eyes peeled, because last night they were on the other side of the sky!

The geminids are from the leftover debris from the dead comet Phaethon 3200

It took me ages to grasp the notion of why they are only viewable at certain times of the year... I finally thought in terms of the monopoly board... As the folk sitting round the table, playing the game, we can see the whole board, but if I were really sitting in the car, or the boot or the steamliner travelling around the board, the different locations on the board would be seen in much more detail as I arrive at each one. So my path around the board is similar to the earth's orbit, at certain times of the year I can see into the windows of the houses on park avenue other times I can see through the bars of the jail, or the skyline has the jutting forms of the gasworks. Which is why at different times of year we can see the left over debris of comets - shooting through the night's sky - the earth is the player's piece, the universe is the board & the Geminid Shower is definitely the definitely the dark blue part of the board - best show

But it's cold! So if you don't have a warm room facing roughly towards Gemini, I've found that cars with sun (or star) rooves are brillinat. Music, heat glass & good viewing.... (oh & bring a flask of something heating)

ENJOY!

Finding Gemini....

Find Orion - 3 stars in a row, follow the track through the furthest star on the right of the 3some, up through Betelguese on to the 2 bright stars of Gemini (Castor & Pollux... aka as Bastard & Bollux - crude but memorable)

Tonight when you find the Gemini constellation, while you wait for the light show to begin, trace from Castor to Regulus in Leo - between them is the red planet Mars, if you carry on from regulus down to Spica in Virgo, between them is Saturn, One big line... happy starhopping.