Remember to keep looking up… the best meteor shower of the year peaks Wednesday night into Thursday morning:

Start watching on Wednesday evening, Dec. 13th, around 9 p.m. local time. The display will start small but grow in intensity as the night wears on. By Thursday morning, Dec. 14th, people in dark, rural areas could see one or two meteors every minute.

In other news related to, uh, things happening in the sky, the Virginia rocket launch that could cause spectacular contrails visible all across the eastern U.S. has been delayed until Friday at the earliest:

The TacSat-2/Minotaur 1 launch set for Monday, Dec. 11, has been delayed with Friday, Dec. 15 as the earliest possible launch date. Analysis and testing continue on the TacSat-2 flight software and the ground-based simulator at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M. The launch window now extends to Dec. 22. Launch time remains 7 to 10 a.m. each day. As information becomes available, updates will be provided on this web site and on the launch status line at 757-824-2050.

Hmm. Y’know, come dawn on the 21st and 22nd, I’ll be in Knoxville, Tennessee, from where the contrails may potentially be visible on the eastern horizon. I hope the launch gets delayed till then!