Tomorrow's Meteor Shower May Be Obscured by the Full Moon

Usually one of the most visible and amazing meteor showers of the year, the 2011 Geminids may be obscured and made less visible by the full Moon. The meteor shower peaks tomorrow, December 13.

Even officials at NASA joked about this issue, saying that it would be nice if we could somehow turn off the Moon for just this one night. In all fairness, Earth's natural satellite did provide us with an interesting view of the fourth and last lunar eclipse on December 10.

Meteors are usually dim to some extent. The fact that the Moon will illuminate the sky will not help observations. Light pollution is yet another aspect to be considered, since meteor showers can traditionally not be seen from major urban centers, Space reports.

“Next year will be a better year for meteor showers, as far as moonlight is concerned,” said the head of the NASA Meteoroid Environments Office, Bill Cooke.