Step outside late Monday night and you'll see streaks across the
sky, astronomers say. Good conditions — no moon, clear skies —
are expected when the Earth plows into debris left by the
asteroid 3200 Phaethon. Like comets, asteroids are small chunks
of orbiting space junk. Unlike comets, asteroids do not have a
glowing tail. The streaks are the glowing fragments — smaller
than the letters in this article — that sizzle as they zip
through our atmosphere at about 27 miles a second. That's from
West Palm Beach to Orlando in six seconds. "If you're lucky, one
will break up. It's like a fireball across the sky. It's a
fantastic sight," said Eric Vandernoot, astronomy and physics
lab coordinator for Florida Atlantic University. To see the
Geminids, Vandernoot recommends looking up after 10 p.m. and
facing the three stars in a row in the constellation Orion's
belt. Then, look to the north. Forget binoculars or a telescope.
They limit your field of view. Up to two streaks could be
visible per minute. Be patient and g