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Stay Up Late for This Meteor Shower

Do you enjoy looking up at the sky and seeing what you can find?

Do you always want to stay up late past your normal bedtime?

meteor shower
Photo via Shutterstock

Kids, this is the perfect chance to bug your parents and do both. Parents, this is the perfect chance to finally give in.


This week is the beginning of the Geminid meteor shower, when a trickle of meteors will start streaking across the night sky.


NASA says the best night for viewing will be December 13 into the morning of December 14. It’s then that up to 100 meteors per hour will be visible.


The best viewing will be in the middle of the night around 2 a.m. But the good news is the show will start around 9 or 10 p.m.


About the Geminid meteor shower

  • The first record of it came in 1833, when people saw it from a riverboat on the Mississippi River.

  • It is caused by particles from the 3200 Phaethon asteroid.

  • The meteor shower is getting stronger as it gets older. Jupiter’s gravity has been pulling the asteroid’s particles closer to Earth.

How to view it

  • Go outside and lie on your back.

  • Find Gemini in the sky. For the best viewing, do not look directly at it. Look away from it to see longer meteor trails.

  • Stay outside for at least 30 minutes. Your eyes need time to adjust to the darkness. The longer you wait, the more you’ll see.

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