Amman - Jordan and Arab countries will experience a spectacular display of Geminid meteors on Saturday and Sunday, said astronomer Imad Mujahid.
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The meteor shower is expected to peak at dawn, featuring over 120 meteors in a breathtaking show resembling fireworks, he said.
No special equipment is needed to observe the meteors, which can be viewed with the naked eye, Mujahid, a Fellow of the British Royal Astronomical Society. told Petra in an interview.
Photography enthusiasts can capture the meteors on camera, and meteor sounds may be audible as well, he said, adding that the "radio monitoring of meteors" technology also allows observers to track the event online.
Unlike other meteor showers originating from comets, the Geminid meteors are small dust particles left by the asteroid "Phythion" in its orbit around the sun. As Earth moves through the asteroid's debris, these particles collide with the atmosphere, generating heat and bright flashes that last a second or more before vanishing.
Mujahid further clarified that the meteors begin to burn at an altitude of 120 kilometers above Earth's surface, turning to ash around 60 kilometers up. They do not reach the Earth's surface due to the protection provided by the planet's gaseous envelope.
He also highlighted the role of radio monitoring in tracking meteors, which involves the reflection of radio waves from the ionosphere layer when meteors pass through it.
As meteors travel at speeds of up to 80 kilometers per second, they ionize the air, reflecting radio waves to ground stations located over 2,000 kilometers away, he added.
One of the advantages of radio monitoring is the ability to function around the clock, unaffected by weather conditions, with the best times being in the early morning hours, from dawn to about two hours after sunrise, noted Mujahid.
//Petra// AO
10/12/2024 14:33:10
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