It has a circumpolar radiant, near Kochab (beta Ursae Minoris), which is at its highest toward dawn. The meteors are usually faint and medium- speed. Those occasional outbursts have produced rates as high as 50 meteors per hour, and three such outbursts occurred in 1988, 1994 and 2000.
In addition to all this, we have the beautiful winter sky. In the northern hemisphere, where the ground is often covered in sparkling snow, and your breath hangs in the air like small irregular galaxies, the constellations themselves seem glittery with frost. The Pleiades huddle together for warmth while the Hyades, with bright red Aldebaran, hovers nearby. Just below those familiar sights, Orion's Belt slices across the darkness, with Betelgeuse and Rigel on either side. And a little further south Sirius, the brightest star in the sky, twinkles like a baby with the hiccups.
Regardless of planets and meteor showers, this hodge podge of wintry starlight is enough to lure me outside.
"December's Hodge Podge" © 2003 Gregg M. Pasterick - All Rights Reserved.
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