Did You See The Meteor Shower Over Connecticut Last Night?

It's a different world driving in to work at 4:30 AM. It's so dark, but this morning I saw quite a few brilliant flashes of light in the sky. At first I thought it was a reflection of a headlight, or even a snowflake, but I was wrong, they were meteors.

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Since late November, Earth has been enjoying the Geminids meteor shower, and it's peak is right now (December 13-14, 2022). Early this morning, it was pretty clear over Connecticut, and at it's peak, Geminids was on average producing 100 meteor streaks an hour. I saw maybe 5 of them in the sky on my trip along 202 from Torrington to Brookfield.

The Geminids meteor shower is an annual event that occurs on December 13-14, and according to bbc.com, we're seeing these meteors because we're passing through the trail of debris left behind by an asteroid. The debris burns up as it passes through Earth's atmosphere, hence the streaks in the sky. As a Gemini, I'm also proud to say that these meteors are called Geminids due to they appear to be coming from the Gemini constellation.

Don't worry though, if you missed the show I saw this morning, the Geminids will still be visible, though not as intense, until this Saturday, December 17, 2022. According to space.com, you do have a few months to get ready for the next big meteor shower - Lyrids meteor shower is expected to peak on April 22-23, 2023, with a 9% moon illumination rate, one of the lowest expected next year, dark is good for meteor sighting.