Year’s biggest meteor shower lights up December sky

The Geminid Meteor Shower, which is the most visible among all phenomena, will be seen from the night of 13 December until sunrise on 15 December, according to the Myanmar Astronomy & Science Enthusiasts Society (MASES).
The peak of this year’s Geminid Meteor Shower will occur from midnight on 13 December to before dawn on 14 December, with an estimated 100-150 meteors visible per hour. The shower will also be visible on the night of 14 December.
The peak time varies slightly depending on the country’s time zone, and it will be at midnight on 13 December for Myanmar and neighbouring countries, including Thailand and India.
The meteor shower is caused by debris left behind by an asteroid named 3,200 Phaethon, which is known to orbit the sun once every 1.4 years. Since this year’s meteor shower falls close to the new moon day, there will be minimal interference from the moon’s light, allowing for a clearer view of a large number of meteors. Meteor showers occur when dust and rocky particles, left behind in the paths of comets and asteroids that orbit the sun, enter Earth’s orbital path around the sun. — MT/ZN

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