The image is a still shot taken from NASA's video "2017 Geminids Will Be Dazzling!"
Image Credit: YOUTUBE/NASA 360
December 13, 2017 - 4:30 PM
If the clouds part so you can see it, the annual Geminid meteor shower will light up the night sky tonight.
Earth passes through a massive trail of dusty debris shed by 3200 Phaethon, either a near-Earth asteroid or an extinct comet, according to a release from NASA issued Friday, Dec. 8 and tonight, Dec. 13, is the one of the best nights to see it.
NASA says the Geminid shower can be seen with the naked eye under clear, dark skies over most of the world but the Northern Hemisphere should provide the best view.
"With August's Perseids obscured by bright moonlight, the Geminids will be the best shower this year," said Bill Cooke with NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office. "The thin, waning crescent Moon won't spoil the show."
If you can get out of the city and away from light pollution, all you have to do is look up because the meteors will be all over the night sky.
"Geminid activity is broad," said Cooke. "Good rates will be seen between 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 13 and dawn local time the morning of Dec. 14, with the most meteors visible from midnight to 4 a.m. on Dec. 14, when the radiant is highest in the sky."
Because Environment Canada is calling for cloudy skies tonight, the meteor shower will be obscured in the Thompson Okanagan. If you still want to watch the show, NASA will broadcast the Geminid shower live on Ustream starting at sunset from the Automated Lunar and Meteor Observatory at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center.
If the skies do clear up tonight and you snap a few pictures of the meteors be sure to share your photos via email at news@infonews.ca and on our Facebook page.
Click here to check out our night sky photography tips here.
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News from © iNFOnews, 2017