Jump like Monkey!

Saturday, December 12, 2009

If you can spare a few moments for stargazing this weekend — and the weather cooperates — Sunday night will probably be your lucky night. That's when the year's brightest meteor shower is expected to show off.

The Geminids, so called because they appear to emanate from the Gemini constellation, are the most visible and dependable of about four or five major meteor showers each year, said Rebecca Johnson, editor of StarDate magazine, an astronomy magazine published by the University of Texas' McDonald Observatory.

Meteor showers are created when the Earth passes through the debris of comets, Johnson said.

Astronomers predict that there could be more than 100 meteors per hour well past the peak of the Geminid shower, which in Central Texas will take place about 11 p.m. Sunday and last into early dawn on Monday. Johnson said that moonlight sometimes overpowers the streaking lights produced during meteor showers, but Sunday night, a tiny waxing crescent moon is expected to leave the skies dark enough to provide a good backdrop for the Geminids. Quote from Statesman.com

Went to shooting star hunt midnight at around 1:30am! It is the time of Geminids meteor rain!

Actually i was sitting in front of my pc, thinking how am i going to start my thesis till i saw my sister's status there. Meteor rain! So i took my chances, ask Cheese to tag along to go grab some wishes from the shooting stars!

We found a dark place and kept staring at the sky. Nothing was coming. Nothing. But the stars in the sky were so pretty. It's been awhile since i stared up the night sky for so long. Long enough to cramp my neck. It was so beautiful. :)

So we were talking crap and feeding the mosquito (mostly me cause i wearing shorts!). Then my sister called me, asked did i spotted anything? I said no. So i asked:" Which direction should we stare at?" She told me the east side.

Cheese said:" As i remember in google map, MMU was facing here, so the east must be there!" Which reminded me too from the google map...the right side of the mmu should be facing east. Then i saw the north star or something like tat..pointing somewhere which means THERE should be east!

While talking talking, then suddenly "SHOOOooOo" white streak light just passed through under cheese head! I was like:" I SAW IT I SAW IT!" But not sure if that was the shooting star anot. After awhile, I REALLY DID SPOTTED THE SHOOTING STAR!! Cheese missed out again! but i saw it!

Omg! I was jumping like mad monkey. So excited. When was the last time i saw one? 10 years ago? :D Not just one, i saw 2! Positive 2! And this time Cheese joined me! He made a wish about getting his turntable. HAHAAAA. Then we stared at the sky for another 20mins and decided to call it off. 2:30am over. Our neck were definitely not so keen of us.

Meteor sightseeing makes me fuel me hopes and dreams again. Mind you i got 2 wishes now on my way to star express!

Fear not people, i checked out google and Geminids meteor rain will on for 13 and 14 dec maybe. 1:30am to 2:30am maybe!