Pittsburghers will have clear skies to watch the Geminids meteor shower's peak
PITTSBURGH (KDKA/AP) -- Pittsburghers will have a good chance to catch the year's best meteor shower, the Geminids, when it peaks this week.
The meteors will reach their frenzy Thursday, but Wednesday night should provide a cosmic spectacle as well.
First Alert Meteorologist Falicia Woody says there will be clear skies Wednesday into Thursday, with peak hours from midnight into 2 a.m. There could be up to 120 meteors an hour, and conditions will be great for viewing.
This week's new moon will make for prime viewing anywhere in the world where skies are clear and in spots without light pollution.
NASA urged observers to look everywhere in the sky since meteors don't come from any particular direction. Between 60 and 120 meteors are expected every hour at peak time, weather permitting. And it looks like it'll cooperate in Pittsburgh: National Weather Service Pittsburgh agrees there's a "good chance" to enjoy the meteor shower thanks to quiet weather.
NASA meteoroid expert Bill Cooke said he loves that the Geminids have a greenish hue as they speed across the sky and burn up. Most meteors appear to be colorless or white depending on their chemical makeup. Green usually comes from oxygen, magnesium and nickel.
Most meteor showers originate from comets. But the Geminids come from the sun-orbiting asteroid 3200 Phaethon. Either way, when Earth passes through these leftover bits of comets or asteroids, the fragments encounter Earth's atmosphere and put on quite the show.
