As the active period for meteor showers and other astronomical events continues, viewers can expect the year’s largest annual shower to arrive soon.
There’s been quite a lot to see through recent weeks. We just experienced the year’s closest supermoon November 5, with the next on its way December 4. There have also been a number of other annual meteor showers, as the Orionids will continue to streak through late November.
There is also the the Leonids meteor shower, which peaks in mid-November, and will continue to be seen through the early nights of December.
Biggest Meteor Shower of the Year Arrives Above New York State
Space.com reports that the Geminid meteor shower will run through December 24, and peaks overnight on December 13 and 14. The Geminid meteor shower is the debris left from the rock comet 3200 Phaethon. The shower averages around 150 meteors per hour.
The meteor shower gets its name because it can be seen as white or yellowish streaks in the night sky, coming from the direction of the constellation Gemini.
What also makes this event unique is that the Geminids are the product of an asteroid, instead of a comet, according to Space.com
15 New York State Observatories To View Space Like The James Webb
NASA and the James Webb Space Telescope have gotten the world excited about space once again. With breathtaking photos from space, it’s safe to assume that we’ve all got a little bit of “Space Fever.” Where can you look at stars across New York State? Where are the top observatories and places to view space?
If you’re looking to look at the stars, these are some of the top places to sit back and relax from Earth to see them. We did the research for you, and we know these are open to the public. Here’s a list of 15 observatories to check out:
Gallery Credit: Dave Wheeler
Did a Small Asteroid Strike Poughkeepsie?Â
You may remember reports of the bright fireball that was seen all over the eastern part of the country in November 2020. Some outlets, such as the Gothamist, claim the space rock actually crashed somewhere in the area.
Hundreds of reports poured in from witnesses all over the east coast at around 7:22 P.M. that evening. The American Meteor Society says the fireball’s visible light trail ended somewhere over Poughkeepsie, according to the reports they received. So, probably no.
Bright Lights and Fireballs
As of now, there is no actual evidence of asteroids striking here. That doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened, but there is no “smoking gun” to speak of. Chances are, the fireball simply disintegrated in mid-air.
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