Pagasa: Good weather to allow clear view of meteor shower

Stargazers are likely to get a clear view of the annual Geminids meteor shower starting Monday night, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said. Pagasa forecaster Elvie Enriquez said Monday the clear skies are in contrast to last month's cloudy weather that hampered the view of the Leonids meteor shower. "Nagkataon na cloudy noon, pero this time makikita natin kasi tulad kagabi medyo malinaw ang ating skies (The weather was cloudy at that time but the skies will be clear like Sunday night)," Enriquez said in an interview on dzXL radio. But Pagasa's 5 a.m. bulletin showed the diffused tail-end of a cold front is affecting Southern Luzon and Eastern Visayas. "Southern Luzon and eastern section of Visayas will experience mostly cloudy skies with scattered rainshowers and isolated thunderstorms. The rest of the country will be partly cloudy to cloudy with isolated rainshowers or thunderstorms," it said. In its astronomical diary for December, Pagasa said that the Gemenids meteor shower will peak December 14 and 15. “Under a dark and cloudless sky just after midnight of its peak activity, meteors or ‘falling stars’ can be seen at an average rate of 40 meteors per hour. The shower will appear to radiate from the constellation of Gemini, the Twins, which will be located in the eastern horizon," Pagasa head Prisco Nilo said. [See: Pagasa's astronomical diary] The Geminids were first observed some 150 years ago, much more recently than other showers such as the Perseids and Leonids. Meanwhile, Pagasa said the Sun will reach the Winter Solstice on December 22 at 1:47 a.m., marking the time when the Sun lies at its farthest point south of the equator. “It signals the onset of winter in the Northern Hemisphere and summer in the Southern Hemisphere. Philippine nights will be longer than daytime. Earth has now completed another annual circuit around the Sun," Nilo said. Also, the famous equilateral triangle in the sky, known as the Winter Triangle rises after sunset. The Triangle is composed of Betelgeuse, the super giant red star and the prominent star of the famous constellation Orion (the Mighty Hunter); Sirius, the brightest star in the sky of the constellation Canis Major (or the Big Dog); and Procyon, the brightest star of the constellation Canis Minor (the Little Dog). Mars rises two hours before midnight and remains visible throughout the month. Mercury appears in the evening sky during the month lying low in the western horizon after sunset. Venus will be difficult to observe due to its proximity to the Sun. Jupiter dominates the evening sky. “Through a modest size telescope, the Great Red Spot will be seen as a pale oval followed by a darker ‘barge’ in the south Equatorial Belt," Nilo said. Uranus and Neptune remain visible in the evening sky throughout the month. Saturn will be visible in the morning sky throughout the month. - LGB/RSJ, GMANews.TV