Amsmeteors.org Website Review

Ja*ascript is required: please enable ja*ascript on your browser. You saw something bright and fast? Like a huge shooting star? Report it: it may be a fireball. During this period the moon will reach its full phase on Saturday December 22nd. At this time the moon will lie above the horizon all night long for observers in the northern hemisphere. This will make viewing meteor activity difficult at the very least. The AMS has received over 120 reports so far about of a fireball seen above the San Francisco area on December 19th, 2018 around 5:35am PST (Nov. 20th 01:35 Universal Time). The event was seen primarily from Northern California but was also seen from Nevada and Oregon. During this period the moon will reach its first quarter phase on Saturday December 15th. At this time the half-illuminated moon will set between 11-12am local standard time for observers in mid-northern latitudes. This will compromise evening observations of meteors but the more active morning hours will be unaffected. As the week progresses the waxing gibbous moon will set later and later, limiting During this period the moon will wax from a slender crescent phase to nearly half illuminated. This will be a great time to view meteor activity as the moon will have set by the time the more active morning hours arrive. The moon will be present during the evening hours but successful meteor observing is still possible during this time by simply keeping the moon out of your field of view. Year in and year out the Geminids are currently the most dependable meteor shower. Unfortunately, they are active in December when temperatures are often cold and skies cloudy in the northern hemisphere. If this shower peaked in August it would be much more popular, but the radiant would then lie much closer to the sun and Geminid meteors would only be visible in the few hours preceding dawn. During this period the moon will reach its new phase on Friday December 7th. At this time the moon will be located near the sun and