One of the biggest meteor showers of the year is almost here, and it will be very visible from Saudi Arabia.
Those in The Kingdom will be able to enjoy the Gemenids Meteor Shower without any special equipment, and while the golden rule of stargazing is “find somewhere nice and dark,” you will still be able to see many of the meteors in brightly-lit cities.
Considered to be one of the best meteor showers of the year, the Gemenids are fast, bright and colourful – which makes them great for the casual viewer.
At the peak of the shower – at around 3 AM Gulf Standard Time – you should be able to see up to 60 – 120 meteors per hour. However, they should start to become visible as early as 11 PM.
The Gemenids Meteor Shower are almost 200 years old. They reach their peak on the night of December 13. Last year, due to a full moon, the show wasn’t that impressive. However, this year we shall have no such problem.
This particular shower occurs each year, due to the orbit of Asteroid 32000 Phaethon – which passes by the sun every 1.4 years. As earth moves through the debris field left along the asteroid’s path, we see the meteors burn up in our atmosphere.
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