Geminids meteors shower Thai stargazers
Stargazers turned out in force at three viewing points around the country for the annual Geminids meteor shower on Wednesday night.
Around 1,000 people gathered at the Huay Lan Reservoir campsite in Chiang Mai, and the Chalermphrakiart observatories in Nakhon Ratchasima and Chachoengsao. Most were wearing warm clothing to keep away the cold season chill.
The Chiang Mai stargazing event was hosted by the Ontai community in San Kamphaeng district, where the first shooting star was spotted streaking across the sky at 8.08pm.
At the Chachoengsao observatory, people set up tents and telescopes to view the celestial fireworks show.
The Geminids meteor shower streams from the tail of an asteroid called 3200 Phaethon. It can be seen from December 4 to 20 as the space rock passes close to Earth. It is thought that the asteroid may have collided with another object in the distant past to produce the stream of particles that create the meteor shower.
This year, astronomers forecast the shower would peak on Wednesday with 150 meteors per hour and identified 8pm to 11pm as the best viewing period, before the bright moon obscures the phenomenon.
The National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand said the Geminids were best viewed in a dark clear sky. Stargazers can just lie back and enjoy the spectacle without a telescope, it added. It posted the photos of last night’s stargazing seen here.
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