Mother Nature’s Gift

It’s that time of the year again and no I’m not talking about Christmas. It’s time for the Geminid Meteor Showers. The Geminid’s are only 2 days away (Dec.13 & 14). This year the moon will be in it’s crescent phase, but visibility could still be a issue for those of us in NC. The National Weather Service in Raleigh is predicting a slight chance of rain Thursday night. So Friday night is looking like the best of the two nights recommended for viewing.

If you haven’t observed the Geminid’s before, you are in for a treat. You can expect to see at least 60 to 120  meteors per hour during it’s peak in certain locations.  In my opinion, the appearance of the fireballs during the Geminid shower seem more colorful and larger than in other annual meteor showers.

One additional fact that puts the Geminid’s in a class by themselves is that Geminid meteors originate from 3200 Phaethon, an Earth-crossing asteroid, other meteor showers are caused by the Earth passing through debris from comets. Check out the show, I’m sure you won’t be disappointed. For sky maps and more details, click on the links below. I hope you enjoy the view. 

StarDate Online Writes: 

 This should be a good year for the Geminids. Phaethon is passing just 11 million miles from Earth a few days before the shower, so it should bring a fresh supply of particles. And the Moon sets in the evening, leaving most of the night for meteor watching. The best view should come in the early morning hours of December 14, when you could see up to several dozen Geminids streaking across the sky every hour.  

More from Space.com

What could be the best meteor display of the year will reach its peak on the night of Dec.13-14.

Here is what astronomers David Levy and Stephen Edberg have written of the annual Geminid Meteor Shower: “If you have not seen a mighty Geminid fireball arcing gracefully across an expanse of sky, then you have not seen a meteor.”

The Geminids get their name from the constellation of Gemini, the Twins, because the meteors appear to emanate from a spot in the sky near the bright star Castor in Gemini.

Also in Gemini this month is the planet Mars, nearing a close approach to the Earth later this month, and shining brilliantly with yellow-orange hue. To be sure, Mars is certain to attract the attention of prospective Geminid watchers this upcoming week.

Halliburton, KBR and The United States Co-Defendents?

 Since watching, Iraq For Sale nothing surprises me anymore when it comes to the lawlessness reportedly prevalent in Iraq.  If you haven’t seen the documentary I strongly suggest you do to better understand what price we are paying as a nation.  I only hope if these allegations are true, this young woman gets further with her lawsuit than the other victims and their families have.

 

A Houston, Texas woman says she was gang-raped by Halliburton/KBR coworkers in Baghdad, and the company and the U.S. government are covering up the incident.

Jamie Leigh Jones, now 22, says that after she was raped by multiple men at a KBR camp in the Green Zone, the company put her under guard in a shipping container with a bed and warned her that if she left Iraq for medical treatment, she’d be out of a job.

“Don’t plan on working back in Iraq. There won’t be a position here, and there won’t be a position in Houston,” Jones says she was told.

In a lawsuit filed in federal court against Halliburton and its then-subsidiary KBR, Jones says she was held in the shipping container for at least 24 hours without food or water by KBR, which posted armed security guards outside her door, who would not let her leave.

See the documentary on Google video. 

Self Cleaning Screen