There’s going to be a supermoon and a meteor shower at the same time so start prepping your stargazing strategy now
Remember that supermoon we ogled in November? According to Nasa, it was pretty rare: the moon was the closest it had been to Earth since 1948, and the closest it would be until 2034.
If you were a photographer, you broke out your camera and hiked out to a good vantage point. If you were just an art lover, you checked out November 2016 supermoon picture round ups like this one.
All in all, it was pretty spectacular. But if you missed it, we’ve got some good news.
December’s got a supermoon of its own — and it’s paired with a meteor shower.
Cosmo first made us aware of this supermoon-meteor shower combo, then Nature World News filled us in on what to expect.
This Wednesday, December 14th, the supermoon will rise at sunset and comes one day after the moon reaches perigree, aka “the point in its orbit closest to Earth.” The Old Farmer’s Almanac says this month’s full moon is the “Full Cold Moon,” or “Long Night’s Moon” thanks to its proximity to the chilly weather and winter solstice (December 21st if you’re wondering).
The almanac also has this cool informational video about the lunar phenomenon.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFWSjDsSuXw?feature=oembed
EarthSky tell us that the Geminid meteor shower is happening that same night — December 14th — and we can expect some truly awesome sights.
Although the full moon is usually a bad night to see a meteor shower (moonlight makes a meteor’s light difficult to spot), the Geminid meteors are particularly bright and just might rival the visibility of this month’s supermoon.
Says EarthSky, the meteors may “be few and far between at early evening, but [will] intensify in number as evening deepens into late night” and should peak around 2 a.m. You also might be able to spot them on the surrounding days, the 13th and 15th.
So what kind of views can you expect? Check out these supermoon shots and Geminid meteor photographs and just imagine the most amazing mash up you can.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BN5LFa4AwaL
