This was explained by Ibrahim Al Jarwan, member of the Arab Union for Space and Astronomy and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Emirates Astronomy Society
During mid-December, the “Geminid” meteor showers, as astronomers call them, are active because they originate from the Geminis constellation.
Small space objects near the Earth are attracted to the Earth by the Earth’s gravity and burn up in the atmosphere at an altitude of between 80 and 120 kilometers, causing a flash in the sky known as a “meteor,” which has a distinctive head and tail extending into the sky.
When the Earth passes, during its annual cycle around the Sun, an area dense with space particles, such as its passage through the area of the remains of a passing comet, which is carrying dust and small space objects fragmented in its path, the amount of these objects attracted to the Earth increases and the density of the meteors seen increases. They are called “meteors.” “Meteor showers” have specific dates during the year when the Earth passes every year in the same region of the solar system at the same time.
Geminid meteors… These bright meteors are active between December 6 and 17 of each year, and their peak is on the evening of December 14 to 15, when they fall at a rate that may exceed 100 meteors per hour. They are distinguished by their long, shiny tail, which is usually yellow in color when it burns. .
The “Twins” star group, near which meteors are seen shooting, is above the eastern horizon around nine in the evening and rises above the eastern horizon during the first third of the night, in mid-December, and is witnessed by all places in the northern part of the Earth and large parts of the southern half.
This phenomenon can be observed in the eastern side starting at ten o’clock at night, when there is no moonlight and the air is clear of clouds, dust, or high humidity, and far from city lights or pollution.
