The date (in the northern hemisphere) when night and day are nearly of the same length and Sun crosses the celestial equator (i.e., declination 0) moving southward (in the northern hemisphere).
http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/astronomy/AutumnalEquinox.html
see http://cantonbecker.com/retrograde for details…
Up to 120 meteors per hour. Begins December 7 ends December 17 with today as the peak.
http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=geminid+meteor+shower+2010
Why party? For one thing — if you’re of drinking age anyway — this is the last time you’ll have the opportunity to celebrate the union of a full moon and the Winter Solstice in your lifetime. (This won’t happen until Dec 21, 2094.)
Not only that, but if you’re in North or South America, you can look forward to a full eclipse of the moon. Totality begins around midnight Pacific time if you stay up late on Monday. See:
http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=moon+eclipse+dec+2010
HOWL! Dance! Celebrate the return of the sun and the antics of the moon…
Hope you had a *great* 2010. Drop me a note to tell me how your party went.
– Canton Becker
canton@gmail.com