New England offers some of the most challenging conditions for astronomers. As local say, if you don’t like the weather just wait five minutes! This year we were blessed with some relatively clear skies for the annual Geminid meteor shower. The shower is due to small particles of material that have fallen off of the rocky comet called 3200 Phaethon, an object which makes its orbital path very close to the Sun (hence the name Phaethon) and then out to some 2.4 AU away from the Sun at aphelion.

A Geminid meteor streaks across the sky over Exeter, New Hampshire. Nikon D7000, 30s, f/2.8 at 10.5mm