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up to 50 meteors per hour or more on a dark night. The Geminids are also visible from the tropical and subtropical parts of the Southern Hemisphere, but at temperate latitudes in the Southern Hemisphere, the meteor numbers tend to be few and far in between.
• The timing couldn't be better this year, as the new moon falls on Thursday, December 13, the expected peak night for the Geminid meteor shower. But this Wednesday night, December 12, and Friday night, December 14, should also present a fine display of Geminid meteors. If it's clear and you have access to an open, dark sky, these next three nights should be favorable for meteor watching.
• By the way, this December 2012 new moon will be the closest new moon of the year - what some people call a supermoon. At this juncture, the gravitational tug of the sun and moon team up together to create wide-ranging spring tides. If you live along the ocean coastline, watch these spring tides usher in extremely-low low tides and exceptionally-high high tides in the same day.
• As a general rule, the dazzling Geminid meteor shower starts around mid-evening and tends to pick up steam as evening deepens into late night. No matter where you live worldwide, the greatest number of meteors usually fall in the wee hours after midnight, or for a few hours centered around 2 a.m. local time. If you're game, you can watch the Geminid shower all the way from mid-evening until dawn.
• The Geminids are a consistent and prolific shower - one of the best of the year. Although The shower typically produces 50 or more meteors per hour - or an average of about one every minute - keep in mind that meteor showers often come in (Continued on page 16)
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