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Explanation: Some beautiful things begin as grains of sand. Locked in an oyster, a granule grows into an iridescent pearl, lustrous and lovely to behold. While hurtling through the atmosphere at 35 kilometers per second, a generous cosmic sand grain becomes an awe-inspiring meteor, its transient beauty displayed for any who care to watch. This years Geminid meteor shower peaked last week with sky enthusiasts counting as many as 150 meteors per hour, despite the din of bright moon. Pictured above the Taftan volcano in southeast Iran, a meteor streaks between the bright star Sirius on the far left and...

COLORADO SUPERBOLIDE: Last night, Dec. 6th at 1:06 a.m. MST, a meteor of stunning brightness lit up the skies of Colorado. Astronomer Chris Peterson photographed the event using a dedicated all-sky meteor camera in the town of Guffey, near Colorado Springs: Video:http://spaceweather.com/swpod2008/06dec08/Chris-Peterson1_strip.gif?PHPSESSID=s7mlc3ga8e6isub9bapbfqjkp2 "In seven years of operation, this is the brightest fireball I've ever recorded," says Peterson. "I estimate the terminal explosion at magnitude -18, more than 100 times brighter than a full Moon." Fireballs this bright belong to a rare category of meteors called superbolides. They are caused by small asteroids measuring a few to 10 meters in...

I was watching a movie several minutes ago (in West Palm Beach, FL) and saw out my window (facing east)a large shining object quickly plunge from the sky. It freaked me out a bit. Did anyone out there see it? I saw one similar back around 1990-1992 and years later saw it on Discovery as it was captured on video.

    + NASA Home + Search NASA Web + Pagina en Español + Contact NASA     Asteroid Shower 12.03.2007     + Play Audio | + Download Audio | + Email to a friend | + Join mailing list Dec. 03, 2007: Mark your calendar: The best meteor shower of 2007 peaks on Friday, December 14th. "It's the Geminid meteor shower," says NASA astronomer Bill Cooke of the Marshall Space Flight Center. "Start watching on Thursday evening, Dec. 13th, around 10 pm local time," he advises. "At first you might not see very many meteors—but be patient....

The Geminid meteor shower—considered by many to be the most active annual sky show—is going to be especially spectacular this year, astronomers predict. The show gets its name from the constellation Gemini, because the meteors appear to stream from near the constellation's bright star Castor. Unlike last year, the Geminids will be falling against a dark, moonless night. The last time the sky was this dark during the shower was in 1996, when observers saw up to 110 meteors an hour. Experts say the rate will be at least that high this year, with peak viewing on December 13 and...

The Geminid meteor shower, which peaks each year in December... are *not* caused by debris left behind from an active comet... Until recently, the favored view of Phaethon was that it's a dead comet -- the rocky core of a "dirty snowball" that lost its ices after too many close encounters with the sun. ... In June 2009 astronomers using the STEREO sun-watching probe suddenly saw the rocky body flare to life as it neared the sun, brightening by a factor of two... So, not so dead after all. But that brings us back to figuring out what exactly Phaethon...

For those in a clear and dark part of the world, the Geminids will continue this evening. Rates of 100 meteors per hour, with possible peaks of 140-150 per hour. Geminids are characterized by being slow moving and white, with the possibility of some fairly large fireballs! Happy gazing!

If you were disappointed with the meager showing put on by this year's Leonid meteor shower, don't fret. What could be the best meteor display of the year is scheduled to reach its peak on Monday night, Dec. 13. Skywatchers with dark skies away from city lights could see one or two meteors every minute during the Geminid meteor shower. The greatest activity is expected to be visible from North America, Europe and Africa. The Geminids get their name from the constellation of Gemini, the Twins. On the night of this shower's maximum, the meteors will appear to emanate from...