Meteor shower will visible in Kuwait

Kuwait Upto Date • October 30, 2014 • 10 Comments

The skies in Kuwait will witness a meteor shower on November 5 and 12, said a press release on Thursday by the space and astronomy department in Kuwait Science Club.
The shower will probably produce from seven to ten visible meteors, said the release, noting that this phenomenon occurs annually from the period of October 20 to November 30, with November 5 and 12 being the best time for its visibility in Kuwaiti skies. The best time of the day to see the meteors is past midnight in areas far from city lights which usually interfere with seeing them in full view. Moonlight can also interfere with spotting them accurately, (Via KUNA)

What is Meteor Shower ?
A meteor shower is a celestial event in which a number of meteors are observed to radiate, or originate, from one point in the night sky. These meteors are caused by streams of cosmic debris called meteoroids entering Earth’s atmosphere at extremely high speeds on parallel trajectories. Most meteors are smaller than a grain of sand, so almost all of them disintegrate and never hit the Earth’s surface. Intense or unusual meteor showers are known as meteor outbursts and meteor storms, which may produce greater than 1,000 meteors an hour. The Meteor Data Center lists about 600 suspected meteor showers of which about 100 are well established.

How to Observe a Meteor Shower ?

First you need to find out when the meteor shower is (See the table above). Next you want to find a place with a clear view of the entire sky. Dark areas well away from any city lights are best. Avoid places where vehicle headlights will momentarily dazzle you. The best approach is to recline in a lawn chair or on the ground with a pillow so you are comfortably looking up. Knowledge of the constellation where the radiant lies may be useful but not necessary: meteors can appear anywhere in the sky. Then relax and gaze into the heavens. Binoculars are not necessary to see the meteors but may be helpful in seeing the vapor trail after an especially bright meteor. Other useful equipment is insect repellant in summer. A flashlight can be useful but be sure it has a red filter to avoid losing your dark adaptation when using it.

In general, we can see more meteors after midnight. Here is why. The earth is rotating as it moves through the dust trail of a comet. In the evening we are on the side of the earth that is shielded from the dust trail, but in the morning we are on the side of the earth that has rotating towards the dust trail. It’s like driving through the rain: you always get more rain on the windshield than on the rear window.

Moonless nights are best because the moon brightens the sky. With a full moon, the eye cannot become completely dark-adapted. Full adaptation takes about 20 minutes.

Maybe you are reading this article because you are getting ready to watch a meteor shower. I hope that you have fun and enjoy the experience. If you would like to see a meteor shower get your calendar out and mark it for one of the showers listed in the table above. Now that you know how meteor showers work you will not want to miss it.

Meteor shower will visible in Kuwait was last modified: October 30th, 2014 by Kuwait Upto Date