Tonight: a Supermoon AND the Geminids meteor shower. Both in the same night! And the viewing is absolutely free!
This Supermoon won't be quite as big as the November Supermoon - it was closer in its orbit last month. You may not notice the difference - it is a clear night here tonight, was cloudy with just enough clearing to get to see the moon last month.
Taken just a couple minutes ago, right outside our front door.
And what about the Geminid meteor shower? Happening right now. The viewing would be best looking in the same direction as the rising moon, but that bright ol' moon will make those "shooting stars" tougher to see. There would be an average of 60 to 120 meteors visible normally, but the best viewing tonight will be to put the moon at your back while viewing from a dark area. You may be able to see 10 to 12 meteors per hour if you are away from light pollution.
Yep, 2 for 1. And, you get to make a wish when you see a shooting star... I don't have to remind you that Christmas will be here soon!
Happy Viewing!
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On edit: the timing was good for getting that full moon shot - 40 minutes later, the sky had clouded over. This month's full moon is called the Cold Moon... not so much here: it was 75º at 8:00 pm when I went out to check again for meteors. Still cloudy, but I'll check again before bed.
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Second edit: Looking south of the still rising moon, I saw 2 meteors in less than 15 minutes. Pretty bright sky with that full moon; there were undoubtedly more "shooting stars" that I couldn't see. The two I did see were pretty faint. I think I'm good for two wishes now.
Reminds me of one of the best nights when we had our Corsair F-27... Joan and I laying out on the net, watching a meteor shower. Pretty magical.
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