Dubai: Stargazers were left disappointed on Friday night as the meteor shower failed to live up to their expectations.
As many as 5,000 people gathered in the desert in and around Bab Al Shams Desert Resort as early as 9pm, eager to see the brand new meteor shower — where at least one hundred meteors per hour were expected to fall across the night sky.
“There were a total of five meteors between midnight and 4am. We were not able to see the [celestial fireworks] displays because the area of space was not what we anticipated, and would not have reached its peak until 11am local time [on Saturday]. But people were entertained with the planets as they looked through telescopes and saw the moon, Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars, which were in close conjunction with the planet Saturn,” said Hassan Al Hariri, Chief Executive of the Dubai Astronomy Group.
The sky show, named Camelopardalids, occurred when Earth passed through the debris of Comet 209/P Linear. The Comet 209/P Linear was discovered in February 2004 by Nasa, and was described as a relatively dim comet that dips inside the Earth’s orbit once every five years. On Friday, it was the first time Camelopardalids was happening.
“The next meteor shower is Perseids, on August 12, and we expect it to be very promising. I cannot say now whether we will have a clear view of it, as we cannot forecast anything yet,” said Al Hariri.
The Perseids meteor shower is an annual event that occurs every August, and is named after the constellation, Perseus. At its peak, it is possible to view 60 to 100 meteors every hour from any unlit place.
