A meteor shower from comet debris should be visiable tonight over NZ (hoping for a clear night!). The debris comes from Comet 46P/Wirtanen1 which is just over a kilometre in diameter and orbits the sun every 5.4 years. In 1974 and 1989 the comet passed close to Jupiter which pushed some of the debris into Earth's trajectory and will finally intersect with our planet this evening. The best time to view is to be between 9pm and midnight.
This is a rare event as most meteor showers are annual, whereas this will be a new meteor shower. To add to this the annual Geminid shower will be occuring at the same time.
The Geminid meteor shower is the king of meteor showers. Unlike most meteor showers we experience on Earth, the Geminid shower is the product of an asteroid - Phaethon asteroid, a strange blue rock that acts like a comet. It was first recorded in 1833.
Unfortunately the best viewing for this shower is from the northern hemisphere but it can be viewed from the southern so hopefully there will be a decent show to see as well - hence the event location to be able to see the northern skies. It is hoped to be able to see 10's of meteors per hour from different directions.
Sunset is 9:22pm and this area can get busy during astronomical events so parking may be at a premium.
You do not have to attend for the full event time, especially if it is overcast. You are more than welcome to stay longer if there is a decent show.
In the case of an overcast night, we can always talk about geocaching!!
Bring your own chair and snacks etc.