The annual Geminid meteor shower peaks Thursday night and there are several ways to watch it live, even online. While the ideal way to experience a meteor shower may be laying on a blanket looking at the stars, sometimes that is not an option.
If you are unable to go outside to enjoy the meteor shower, you can watch it live online through free streaming, reports The Christian Post .
The Geminids are expected to peak around 2 am on Thursday night/early Friday morning. The show follows the popular Perseids meteor shower, which took place in August, though this year’s Geminids could be even better.
The first recorded viewing of the December meteor shower was in the 1830s, making it a relatively new space event. Only about 20 meteors were seen in the early years, though that has significantly increased. The Geminids are expected to produce between 80 and 120 meteors per hour during the peak time.
NASA is allowing internet users to view the Geminid meteor shower live online through a camera mounted at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Gizmodo notes that the meteor shower will be especially good on Thursday night, because the moon is at its new phase.
Traces of the shower can be seen shortly after sunset. It will start to pick up around 10 pm and will peak in the early hours of Friday morning. The ideal spot will be on the east coast and in an area with little lighting, like an open field. While it is certainly enjoyable to watch the meteor shower outside, it is advised to bundle up, because of colder temperatures.
If you are not willing to brave the cold, however, you can watch the Geminid meteor shower live online in NASA’s feed below.
