A celestial treat is in store for star gazers in Oman and the other parts of the world. Hundreds of meteors will illuminate the night sky — a phenomenon called the Geminid meteor showers — creating an amalgam of lights.
“Geminid meteor showers will happen tonight (Tuesday) and tomorrow morning (Wednesday). One should keep a constant watch in order to not miss the celestial carnival,” said Sulaiman al Busaidi, Curator, PDO Planetorium. Meteors tend to peak at around 2 am local time.
Geminids are considered one of the best meteor showers because the individual meteors are bright. One can see meteors streaming across the sky at rates as high as 120 meteors an hour. Under light-polluted skies, fewer meteors will be visible.
The Geminids appear to emanate from the bright constellation Gemini (twins). One needs to look in the northeastern sky for the constellation Orion to find Gemini, says Sulaiman. It is easier to spot it from the three stars in the hunter’s “belt”. Then look up and to the right of Orion to see Gemini. Although the meteors appear to stream away from Gemini, they can appear all across the sky. For best results, look slightly away from Gemini so you can see meteors with longer ‘tails’.
To watch the meteor showers, one doesn’t need binoculars or telescopes. It can be viewed from the naked eye.
“Find a comfortable spot to lie on the ground, possibly away from the distracting lights. Allow your eyes to relax for about 20-30 minutes in order to adjust to the dark before you sit back and enjoy the celestial spectacle,” says Sulaiman.
Meteoroids are rocks in space that are about to collide with the Earth’s atmosphere and those that streak through the atmosphere are called meteors. If they reach the ground, the rocks are called meteorites.
This wouldn’t happen with the Geminids because the particles are too small to survive the long trip. Historically, the Geminid meteor showers is nearly 200 years old and it happens almost every year, says Sulaiman. Its first recorded observation was in 1833 from a riverboat on the Mississippi River.
KABEER YOUSUF
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