Geminid Meteor Shower 2017

Space, man. It’s weird. I skipped most of all of my science classes back in high school, so I’ll copy and paste what NASA is saying about tonight’s Geminid Meteor Shower.

 

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If you go outside Wednesday night and watch, you’ll be seeing bits of debris from an asteroid named 3200 Phaethon burn up in the night sky. The asteroid is only 3 miles wide, but packs a good punch. 3200 Phaethon has a highly elliptical orbit like a comet, so it behaves more like a comet than a meteor. It’s orbiting VERY closely to the sun so the heat of the sun fractures the rock, and gives us trails of fire in the sky. Lucky us, the geminids burn slowly and brightly for a fantastic show..

Anyone on earth can see tonight’s meteor shower. Just look up! Although, the light pollution in Chicago isn’t doing us any favors. The best viewing hours will be after midnight and before dawn, though you’ll see some action this evening as well.

 

Ancient rocks on fire in the sky tonight. Science is terrifying.

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