Abu Dhabi: A meteor passed through the skies of Dubai on Monday evening, the Dubai Media Office said on its official Twitter handle.


 

A number of residents also witnessed the meteor passing through the UAE and commented on their social media accounts. 

“Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre confirmed that a meteorite has passed through the skies of Dubai,” the office posted it at 9.05pm on Monday. 

Many residents in Abu Dhabi also posted the pictures and videos of the meteor shower on social media. 

Check some Twitter reactions from Dubai residents below...

Sakher Al Saif, an Emirati amateur astronomer based in Abu Dhabi told Gulf News that meteor shower like the one occurred on Monday evening is expected during this time of the year.

When a comet revolves around the Sun, it leaves its tale and that debris remain on certain orbit. While earth revolves around the Sun and comes near that orbit, that debris burn because of the friction caused by the Earth’s presence.

That burned debris appears as meteor shower, he said.

Naser Sallem, another amateur astronomer based in Abu Dhabi put forward one more possible scenarios also-it could be debris of dead satellites as well.

When earth reaches near those debris’s orbit, they get burned because of friction and appear as a meteor shower.

These satellite debris can harm other live satellites, therefore NASA constantly monitor them.

However, they don’t affect aviation because they remain at higher altitude than that of flight paths, Sallem said.

As Gulf News reported on August 13, stargazers gathered in a Dubai astronomy centre on a Friday night to see and learn more about meteor showers sparking up the night sky around the world.

The event, organised by the Dubai Astronomy Group, saw a large nuimber of visitors showing up to learn more about the rare celestial phenomenon called the 'Perseid Meteor Shower' which would occur for three days.

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The bright light spotted in Dubai sky on Monday night Image Credit: Twitter
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