Currently looks like Earth is under attack for objects...
spaceweather.com
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Northern Lights - a Guide
METEOR SHOWER PEAKING NOW: The International Meteor Organization is reporting Geminid rates between 100 and 200 per hour (ZHR) on Dec. 14th. This means the shower is peaking. Check the realtime photo gallery for Geminid photos from around the world. And if it's dark where you are, be alert for meteors! [meteor counts] [sky map] [meteor radar]
GEMINID METEOR SHOWER: Last night, NASA's network of all-sky meteor cameras detected 47 Geminid fireballs over the United States. Even more are expected tonight as Earth passes through a stream of debris from rock comet 3200 Phaethon. "There is a nice show going on right now," says Bill Cooke, head of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office. Cooke and other forecasters expect the shower to peak on Dec. 13-14. The best time to look is during the "magic hour" before sunrise on Saturday, Dec. 14th. [sky map]
The multiple cameras of NASA's fireball network are able to measure the orbits of the meteoroids it sees. Here are the orbits of last night's fireballs:
Earth is the blue dot where all the orbits intersect. The orbits are color-coded by velocity: blue is faster, red is slower. Note the cluster of yellow orbits. Those are Geminids. The other orbits in the diagram correspond to various minor showers and random ("sporadic") meteors. Takeaway: Not every meteor you see tonight will be a Geminid.
Theoretically, the Geminid peak could produce as many as 120 meteors per hour. However, glare from the nearly-full Moon could reduce the number of visible meteors 2- to 3-fold. Cooke advises looking during the hours just before local sunrise. "At that time, the Moon will be low or even below the horizon, improving your chances of seeing the show."
You can listen to radar echoes from the Geminids, unaffected by moonlight, on Space Weather Radio. Also, tune into NASA's live web chat about the Geminids on Friday the 13th beginning at 11 pm EST.