Christmas is not the only event New Yorkers should be preparing for in the month of December. According to experts, two rare meteor showers will hit the city in the following weeks.
The Geminids are considered the most active meteor showers of the year, and will reach their peak of activity on the nights of December 13 and 14. As the meteors will begin lighting the sky at around 11 pm, Time and Date, the world’s leading website for time and time zones, states that the best time to see them will be at around 2 am.
Meteor showers such as the Geminids can produce up to 150 meteors per hour, but usually only about one third of them are visible due to the interference of other lights in the sky. People who want to see them are advised to try and find a dark spot to enjoy the spectacle.
“As with all meteor showers, don’t bother with a telescope or binoculars. It’s a naked eye event. A nice reclining chair or chaise longue works best. Some hot coffee with a little schnapps is a nice idea!” said Bart Fried, executive vice president of the Amateur Astronomers Association of New York.
In addition to the meteor showers, it will be possible to see Mars in the sky as the planet is extremely close to the Earth’s orbit this month, making it clearly visible. The best time to witness the spectacle in New York is at 1 am on December 8.
