2023 Geminid Meteor Shower Brings Holiday Lights to the Skies

The 2023 Geminid meteor shower is set to peak during Hanukkah and just a week and a half before Christmas.

I got the details courtesy of Gary Boyle, The Backyard Astronomer. Gary is an astronomy educator in Canada who gives public lectures and writes a monthly column for the Royal Astronomical Society. He’s been keeping an eye on the heavens for years and is an expert on all things stellar. Recently, he provided a "forecast" of sorts for this year's Geminid meteor shower.

Gary writes: "This shower will produce up to 120 meteors per hour with some bright fireballs. Annual meteor showers are produced when Earth crosses debris fields from comets as we orbit the sun, this is why various showers occur at the same time each year." The Geminids always occur in December, in concert with the holiday season and, of course, the coming Winter Solstice.

This year's celestial event will peak on Wednesday night, December 13 into the Thursday morning, December 14. As an aside, December 14th is my brother Nate's birthday. Nate works late. So Nate, if you're reading this, when you get home from work on Wednesday night, don't go right inside. Take a walk to that playground down the street from your place and see if you can see some shooting stars!

That goes for the rest of you, too. And remember: your eyes need time to adjust to the dark for optimum viewing. So find a spot like a park or an open field without any street lights or exterior lights and just hang out there for a bit. No looking at your phone. After 20 minutes or so your eyes will be ready to look up and take in the holiday highlights of the Geminid meteor shower. Happy Holidays!

If you're dreaming of a white Christmas in Massachusetts, here's a handful of towns where it might actually happen.

I'm hoping my town makes the list. Sure, it's cliche, but there's a certain magic to when it snows on Christmas Eve and you wake up to a soft blanket of white on Christmas morning. We've seen that scene come to life in countless holiday films, and of course the concept was immortalized way back in 1954. But even before that, many of us privileged enough to live in snowy climes have always secretly hoped for Christmas snow.

The team at BetMassachusetts recently polled adults across America, asking them if they're hoping for a white Christmas this year. Nationwide, 59% of Americans said they're hopeful that their Christmas will be white. Here in Massachusetts, 63% of residents polled want a white Christmas. To be honest, I'm surprised that number isn't higher. But that's just how the numbers broke down this time.

So how the hell did they come up with this list? They looked at climate data, of course! "Between 1991 and 2020, weather data from Climate.gov shows how often each state has received at least 1 inch of snow on December 25^th, highlighting the probability of a white Christmas." So you take that data, put together your prognostications, and voila: a white Christmas list.

Of course, I'm focusing on Massachusetts. So take a look and see if your town made the Top 10 and what the odds are that you'll get a white Christmas there. And while we're on the subject, don't forget our Wicked Holiday Guide, chock-full of festive things to do in and around the Boston area this holiday season, as well as fun holiday traditions, cocktails, and recipes. And cocktails. Did we mention the cocktails?

Odds of having a white Christmas: 42.8%

Secretly, I hope the snow spills over into neighboring Wakefield, the town I grew up in. Because the common always looks so pretty when it snows around Christmas.

Odds of having a white Christmas: 44.6%

Don't worry: the flea market is closed for Christmas, so it won't get snowed out or anything.

Odds of having a white Christmas: 47%

Where the heck is Ware? I know where it is! I deejayed a wedding there years ago. Lovely town.

Odds of having a white Christmas: 47%

Hell yeah, Bedford! Kick some of that Christmas snow over to Lexington and Woburn while you're at it!

Odds of having a white Christmas: 47.4%

Say it out loud: SUNDERLAND! Doesn't it just sound festive?

Odds of having a white Christmas: 50.5%

I feel like I once cut down my own Christmas tree in Groveland a million years ago. No, wait: it was Georgetown.

Odds of having a white Christmas: 53.9%

Now we're up over the 50% mark. Now things are starting to get serious. Time to crack a local beer.

Odds of having a white Christmas: 62.3%

You're seeing the trend here, right? The further west you are, the better your chances.

Odds of having a white Christmas: 68.5%

Can't we just round this one up to 69% to make it funnier?

Odds of having a white Christmas: 73%

Close to a 3 out of 4 chance they'll get Christmas snow? I like those odds!