star gazing

Caribbean skies light up with meteor showers

An E-Space reader captured this shot of the Geminids meteor shower

St John is spectacular during the day, that is well known. Many call the magnificent vistas of the Caribbean seas and the fabulous hillsides of St John 'candy for the eye' and it is! What is not as well known is that the viewing at night can be just as spectacular!  Far from city lights, the stars seem so much more plentiful, clearer, brighter, and just more fascinating.  This is true at any time of year but, right now, it is true on steroids!
This week marks the peak of the Germinids meteor shower and it is also coupled with the time the moon is newest which makes the stars ever more vibrant.  The Germinids meteor shower is also called Winter's Fireworks and it is the final meteor shower of the year and often the most spectacular. 
Here is a first hand opinion as posted on our son-in-law's Facebook page this morning (needless to say I was not up at 1:30 AM!):
Good news for those of us that are not up in the wee hours of the morning, e-space reports that the Germinids meteor shower 'unlike many other major meteor showers, the Geminids can be viewed early in the evening. This is due to the radiant (the constellation Gemini) being about 30 degrees above the eastern horizon by 9 PM'.  We are also told while the peak days are December 13th and December 14th there should be great viewing for the next week while stragglers fly by...keep your eyes to the sky - to the east - and enjoy!
Information from Spacedex.com