Winter is almost upon us in the Northern hemisphere and folks are gearing up for the winter solstice happening on Thursday, December 21, when the Earth is tilted as far away from the sun as possible.
People living on BC's west coast and around the world can look forward to a couple meteor showers in December: Geminids and Ursids.
The Geminid meteor shower will peak tonight December 15 and has been observable this year since November 19 and will continue until December 24. The waxing crescent moon will not interfere with people seeing the Geminids.
For those in the qathet region on the Northern Sunshine Coast, going to places with little city light pollution is necessary. Mowat Bay, Lang Bay, or Lund, may be ideal places to see the particles hitting our atmosphere from an asteroid known as, 3200 Phaethon.
Under a dark sky with no moon or clouds, folks may see 120 Geminid meteors an hour.
According to earthsky.org: The bold, white, bright Geminids give us one of the Northern Hemisphere’s best showers, especially in years when there’s no moon. The Ursids low-key meteor shower will peak around December 22 and December 23.
For weekend weather information go to Weatherhood or get the app.
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