More than 100 shooting stars an hour will streak across the sky in the Northeast during the Geminid meteor shower on Saturday.
With the moon at 91 percent full, about 70 of the brighter meteorites should be visible each hour, weather permitting. The forecast does call for clouds and a chance of snow.
Beaches, ball fields, golf courses and public recreation facilities with panoramic views are among the most popular locations to enjoy the show. The further from city lights, the better the chance of seeing shooting stars
The frequency and intensity of shooting stars will be highest from midnight until 2 a.m. Sunday.
The Geminids are known for their predictability and beauty. Because they move slowly for a meteor, they have colorful tails that may remain visible for a few seconds after the shooting star flashes by. This year’s Geminids are likely to shine orange, yellow and blue
Meteor showers occur when the Earth passes through the debris field of comets and asteroids. Traveling at nearly 22 miles per second, shooting stars are small pieces of space-borne debris that enter earth’s atmosphere nearly 24 miles above the surface. As these pieces enter the outer edges of the atmosphere, friction resulting from air molecules causes them to emit light.
Shooting stars are normally about the size of a volleyball or smaller. They fracture into bits that burn up in midair before reaching the ground.
About once a month, a larger piece of space debris does not disintegrate and strikes the ground. Although they rarely hit populated areas, in February an 11,000-ton meteor exploded 14 miles above Chelyabinsk, Russia. It caused blinding flash, a deafening blast and a shock wave that damaged 7,200 buildings and injured 1,500 people.
A 1,000-pound piece of the meteor was recovered by a dive team in a lake. Medals for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, will include portions of the meteor.
The next display of shooting stars will be the Quadrantid meteor shower in January.
