The Geminid Meteor Shower will light up the northern skies this weekend.
“It’s one of the best meteor showers of the year,” said Prince George Astronomical Society President, Malhar Kendurkar.
“You can see anywhere between 120 to 160 meteors per hour under optimal conditions, if the sky is clear, and you’re away from the city lights.”
Kendurkar said while the shower will be visible from within Prince George, he’s advising to go out of town for the best show.
“Salmon Valley is pretty dark and the Northern Sky is really good from Salmon Valley, so that’s one of the locations that people could go to, or from close to the observatory, however, we’re not going to be open for the meteor shower unfortunately, but you can always drive down to our parking lot.”
The meteor shower, named after the Gemini constellation, is caused by 3200 Phaeton, an Apollo type asteroid.
“This particular asteroid, Phaeton leaves a lot of debris behind it’s orbit when it’s orbiting the sun,” Kendurkar explained.
“That’s why we can see the Geminid meteor shower.”
Kendurkar said we see the meteor shower when Earth is passing through the debris field.
The meteor shower is currently happening, but it is expected to peak at around 2:00 am on Saturday.
“It’s not going to be too cold, at least I can see from the weather report, but it’s not going to be too cold, so this might be a good opportunity for everyone to see this meteor shower if the sky is clear,” Kendurkar explained.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Environment Canada is calling for a clear night on Friday, with a low temperature of -9.
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