In Photos: UAE residents witness spectacular meteor shower

UAE residents camp out in anticipation of the grand Geminid meteor shower on December 13, 2020.

As star watchers got their equipment ready there was palpable excitement in the air - at its most prolific, 120 meteors were expected to fall per hour.

Dubai Astronomy Group members gather at Wadi Shawka to witness the Geminids Meteor shower.

According to the DAG, the name of the shower comes from the constellation Gemini as the meteors seem to emerge from this constellation in the sky.

“Meteors should be visible across the entire sky, though from Dubai, the radiant of the shower will appear 58° above your north-eastern horizon at midnight. This means you 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 for Antarctica, which gets 24 hours of sunlight per day during this part of the year,” DAG CEO Hasan Al Hariri said ahead of the event..

Every year, in December, our planet Earth crosses the orbital path of an object called 3200 Phaethon, a mysterious body that is sometimes referred to as a rock comet. The debris shed by 3200 Phaethon crashes into Earth’s upper atmosphere at some 80,000 miles (130,000 km) per hour, to vaporize as colorful Geminid meteors.

The Geminid meteor shower is nearly 200 years old, according to known records — the first recorded observation was in 1833 from a riverboat on the Mississippi River — and is still going strong.

Weather conditions were perfect for Geminids meteor shower, said Dubai Astronomy Group.

Residents set up for the meteor shower.

The clear sky made it easier for residents to spot the meteors.

A view of the night sky at Wadi Shawka.

A view of the night sky at Wadi Shawka.

A view of the night sky at Wadi Shawka.