City residents witness dazzling celestial event

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: Residents of the city witnessed a dazzling sky as the annual Geminid meteor peaked before dawn. The showers peaked between 2 am and 3 am with over 100 meteors approaching the earth, and Bengaluru was lucky enough to witness it with the naked eye.

However, the clarity of the sky was a factor that affected who could see the spectacle. According to NASA, Geminids travel at an incredible speed of 78,000 mph or 35 km per second. To paint a clearer picture, the speed is 1,000 times faster in comparison to that of a cheetah’s. It is also 250 times faster than the fastest car in the world and about 40 times faster than that a speeding bullet.

The weather channels had predicted that the residents were unlikely to witness all the 100-150 meteors passing by due to light pollution in the city. However, areas such as Hesaraghatta, Devarayanadurga, Kolar and Bannerghatta offered a decent view of the meteros showers.

Residents who wished to see the showers had to prepare prior and reach a spot with no infrastructure such as buildings around, 30 minutes before the showers in order to adjust their eyes to the dark. The showers were visible to the naked eye and did not even require the assistance of a telescope as they would lead to limitation of the field of view.

The Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium had also made special arrangements for citizens to witness the meteor showers in their premises on December 13. The Geminid meteor shower draws its origin back to dusty debris left behind by the asteroid or possible ‘rock comet’ 3200 Phaethon that planet Earth passes through annually every December.

This 5.8 kilometre wide space rock is considered a unique hybrid between a comet and an asteroid and comes the most closer to the sun in comparison to any other named asteroid. The 3200 Phaethon is composed significantly as a rock, similar to that of an asteroid, than ice, like that of a comet, leading it to brighten as it approaches the sun once every 524 Earth days. However, this behaviour is similar to that of a comet than of an asteroid.