Powerful ‘star rain’ will be visible in Armenia's sky

YEREVAN, 13 December. /ARKA/. A powerful Gemenid meteor shower will be visible this night in the Armenian sky, the Byurakans Observatory reports.

‘The Earth, during its annual rotation around the Sun, passes through a number of meteor clusters which, penetrating the Earth's atmosphere, burn up and leave traces resembling ‘shooting stars’. This phenomenon is known as ‘starfall’ or ‘star rain’,’ the observatory said.

The Byurakan Observatory also reported that the meteor shower’s visibility depends on weather conditions.

‘This year, conditions are less than ideal due to a near full moon which will obscure some of the fainter meteors.  The stream can be seen from places remote from urban lighting, starting at 19:00,’ noted in the observatory.

The Gemenid stream observed these days is the last abundant ‘starfall’ this year. It is usually visible from 19 November to 24 December. This year the Geminid meteor shower will peak late on Friday 13 December and into the early hours of Saturday 14 December. .

The Geminid stream is the most abundant stream in the northern sky. Its centre, which in astronomy is called the radiant of the meteor shower, is located in the direction of the constellation Gemini.

The Geminid stream is also interesting because it consists not of comets, but meteorites left behind by the constellation Phaeton 3200. Because of this, they are more solid and therefore brighter in the night sky. -0-