Geminid meteor shower on December 14 to be spectacular

Little moonlight and clear skies will give UAE residents a good view, astronomers say

December 14 will be the perfect night out for stargazers as the Geminid meteor shower will put on a fantastic show for residents in the UAE.

Conditions will also be favourable as there will be very little moonlight interference this year, giving residents good visibility in clear skies, astronomers said.

Hasan Al Hariri, Dubai Astronomy Group CEO, said residents do not need any special equipment or skills to view a meteor shower.

All you really need is a clear sky, he said, and to stay away from city lights.

The Geminids occur every year from about December 4 to 16, peaking on the night of December 14 into the morning of December 15.

This is the shower’s “maximum,” or time when the most meteors fall per hour. The peak of the Geminids, which is considered to be one of the most prolific meteor showers of the year, is on December 14.

The shower is named after the constellation Gemini from where the meteors seem to emerge.

Meteors should be visible across the entire sky from Dubai; the radiant of the shower will appear 58° above your north-eastern horizon at midnight, Al Hariri said.

This means stargazers may be able to see around 120 meteors per hour, since the radiant will be high in the sky, maximising the chance of seeing meteors.

The shower will be visible across the entire globe except in Antarctica, which gets 24 hours of sunlight per day during this part of the year.