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GEORGE TOWN: Stargazers can expect to be dazzled by the Geminid meteor shower from tomorrow night until early Monday morning.
This year will be very special since there will be no moon, so it will be easier to detect meteors.
The President of the Penang Astronomical Society, Dr. Chong Hon Yew (Photo) said that the Geminid meteors come from the asteroid 3200 Phaeton.
“It is unique because meteors generally come from comets. They are small debris from outer space that burn when they enter Earth’s atmosphere.
“The Geminid shower is visible in the night sky, which means we should be able to see it from 9 pm to 6 am.
“The peak this year will be from Sunday night to Monday morning.
“It peaks on Monday morning at 9am Malaysia time, which will make it difficult to see,” he said yesterday.
He added that the glow in the constellation Gemini would rise around 9 p.m. tomorrow, making overnight thereafter the best time to observe the meteor shower.
“The 2020 Geminid meteor shower coincides with an old moon (new moon starts Tuesday).
“The absence of dazzling moonlight in the sky makes this year’s Geminid meteor shower promising, where the Maximum Zenith Hourly Rate (ZHR) (number of meteors an observer would see per hour in good condition) could be 140 to 150 meteors.
“The shower will last all day, but it will be visible to us only at night,” he said.
Chong also said that the Geminid meteor shower was one of the most consistent and reliable meteor showers to observe.
“Meteors create a cradle of plasma particles when they enter Earth.
“An easy way to test it is to tune the car radio to a station with a weak signal.
“If the station signal suddenly becomes clearer, it is the meteors reflecting the frequency of the radio station,” he said.
To see the shower, Chong suggested finding a dark place away from city lights and looking through the clouds.
“Meteors will come from all directions, you just have to look around,” he said.
The Geminid meteor shower occurs annually between December 9 and 19.
For more information, visit the Facebook page of the Penang Astronomical Society.
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