There's no denying it: meteor showers, so far this year, have been relatively lackluster. But the last meteor shower of the year 2011 may have a few surprises up its sleeve. The annual Geminid meteor shower peaks tonight, December 13th through December 14th, and usually offers one of the best shows of the entire year. Although historically the Perseid meteor shower is the more active, the past several years have proven otherwise, as the Geminid meteor shower has offered brighter and more vibrant meteors. This will be especially important this year, as a bright full moon will bring light pollution to the night sky. This has hurt our chances of seeing a handful of usually moderately visible meteor showers -- the full moon, in those cases, stopped us from seeing the show. However, this time around, NASA says the bright glow of the Geminids assures us the capability of seeing a steady rate of meteors. "Observers with clear skies could see as many as 40 Geminids per hour," predicts Bill Cooke of the NASA Meteoroid Environment Office.  "Our all-sky network of meteor cameras has captured several early Geminid fireballs.  They were so bright, we could see them despite the moonlight." The best time to look is between 10 pm local time on Tuesday, Dec. 13, and sunrise on Wednesday, Dec. 14th. Geminids, which spray out of the constellation Gemini, can appear anywhere in the sky. "Dress warmly and look up," says Cooke.  "It's that simple." Featured right: A Geminid meteor as captured in 2009.

METEOR SHOWER ROUNDUP: If you want to catch the Geminids tonight, dress warmly, and look to the night sky after 10pm. The moon will be bright, especially at first as your eyes are adjusting, but try and not stare at it if possible. The Geminid meteors will be bright enough so that you will still see a healthy dose of them, despite the moonlight.


WILL THE WEATHER COOPERATE? The magical question! It wouldn't be any fun if there were cloudy skies tonight, would it? Luckily, as it appears now, we will be able to squeek out tonight's peak viewing before the clouds move in. There is a system to the southwest of us, which will begin to stream high clouds into the area well into the overnight. But for those watching the meteors, it looks like we will be able to have several hours of viewing before these clouds get into the area. These clouds can be quite unpredictable, though, so if you see skies starting to cloud up -- don't panic. They probably will be in and out rather quickly. The steady and solid deck of clouds isn't forecast to move into our area until the early morning hours of Wednesday, or maybe even a bit later than that. Temperatures will be chilly once again, into the 30's in most areas, but luckily not quite as frigid cold as the past several nights. You'll still want to bundle up, though, for sure! Pictured left: NAM Model showing clouds staying just to the west of the area, valid for 10pm tonight December 13th, 2011.


Article written by JH. Published December 13th, 2011 at 1:47pm. Some information courtesy of NASA. Looking for a forecast? Use our new Forecast Beta tool to see the latest forecast in your specific area for the upcoming week, or view our Technical Forecast Discussion for the more serious weather enthusiasts. Also, check out our new Forecast Overview tab. For up to the minute details on forecasts, watches, warnings, and alerts, follow us on Twitter and Facebook.