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The Geminid meteor shower will peak after dark on Tuesday night, December 13, all the way until the pre-dawn hours of the Wednesday, December 14.

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The best viewing for this year's Leonid meteor shower will be several hours before dawn on November 17 and 18, according to the editors of StarDate magazine. However, the rising of the half-full Moon coincides with the shower and will likely wash out all but the brightest meteors.

The latest issue of StarDate is chock full of ideas for your holiday gift giving. What's more, astronomer and historian Barbara Ryden returns with a biography celebrating the 100th anniversary of the birth of radio astronomy great Grote Reber. And as always, we bring you two month's worth of sky watching tips and the latest astronomy news.

The Draconids will peak on the night of October 8. The meteors all appear to "rain" into the sky from Draco, the dragon, which is in the north. Some experts expect an unusually good display, although the U.S. is not well placed for the show.

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The planet Mercury teams up with bright star Regulus low in the pre-dawn sky Thursday through Saturday. Read more in our media center.

The stars at night (and during the day) are big and bright around the black hole deep in the Milky Way's busy downtown. Read all about it in our feature "Urban Jungle." And in "Sausages from Space," learn how today's scientists are making new discoveries about the outer solar system as the Voyager spacecraft launched in the 1970s keep chugging onward.