By Gus Saltonstall
A major meteor shower will be visible from the Upper West Side and New York City as a whole on Wednesday night and early Thursday morning.
During these times, the Geminid Meteor Shower will peak and light up the sky above the five boroughs.
The annual meteor shower will be especially visible this year because there is a new moon, meaning the skies will be extra dark. While Wednesday night will offer a spectacular sky show, the meteor shower is expected to be even clearer in the Thursday morning hours.
Specifically, the meteors will begin to be visible between 9 and 10 p.m. on Wednesday night, but the best window for viewership will be from midnight to around 2 a.m., according to NBC.
“While most meteor showers occur when Earth passes through the remnants of a comet, the Geminid meteors come from the debris trail of an asteroid,” the American Museum of Natural History wrote in a media alert. “These ‘shooting stars’ will be bright enough to see from New York City and across the United States.
Sky gazers can expect to see up to 120 meteors per hour.
Experts recommend either lying down on a rooftop or in a dark park to best enjoy the meteor shower.
Send in any photos you snap of shower to info@westsiderag.com
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LOL at the recommendation to lay down at night in a dark park.
Is there any particular portion of the sky to look towards to best see these meteors?
My rooftop closes at 10pm. ☹️
I saw 3 in about 1/2 hr from my roof around 2am. For those wondering where to look or just interested in what you can see in the sky from NYC, get a copy of SkyGuide on your iOS device. It’s worth the $4. For novices it’s cool to realize you can see Jupiter and Saturn almost every evening with the naked eye. Mars and Venus very often. You can have the app prompt you when bright objects like ISS are flying overhead and it’s mind-blowing how easy it is to see. You will look at the sky above even light polluted NYC differently.