CLARK FREEPORT – Geminid meteor shower’, expected to be visible in the Philippines at the rate of 60 meteors per hour past midnight on Dec. 14, will be followed on Dec. 21 by a total lunar eclipse.
Scientiest Ruben Cunanan of the astronomical department of the Philippine Astronomical, Geophysical and Atmospheric Services Administration (Pag-AsA) told Punto yesterday that the total lunar eclipse will also be visible in the Philippines, as well as in North and Soutnwestern America.
Cunanan said the Geminid meteor shower past midnight of Dec. 14 and that if the skies are cloudless, they would be visually spectacular.
“We have to make known the possible spectacular characteristics of the Geminid showers so as not to cause panic,: he said, as he recalled such panic triggered also by Geminid meteors in clear skies in Zamboanga City a few years ago.
Some people associate manifestations of comets and other such astronomical objects with foreboding omens of war or other unfortunate events.
“The showers of meteors would be visible to the naked eye and would last from about midnight up to daybreak,” he said.
Cunanan said that while meteor showers occur every month, such as the Leonid meteor showers last Nov. 17. the Geminid showers that occur in December manifest the most number of meteors. The Nov. 17 Leonid showers manifested only 20 meteors per hour, he noted.
Cunanan also said that a quarter moon, which would reflect less light, would enhance the visibility of the meteor showers on Dec. 14.
The website of the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has described the Geminid meteor shower as “the most intense meteor shower of the year” and that it will last “for days, is rich in fireballs, and can be seen from almost any point on Earth.“
The website quoted NASA astronomer Bill Cooke as saying that the Geminid shower “defy explanation” because its source seems to be “a weird rocky object names 3200 Phaeton, unlike most meteor showers which come from comets.”
Scientiest Ruben Cunanan of the astronomical department of the Philippine Astronomical, Geophysical and Atmospheric Services Administration (Pag-AsA) told Punto yesterday that the total lunar eclipse will also be visible in the Philippines, as well as in North and Soutnwestern America.
Cunanan said the Geminid meteor shower past midnight of Dec. 14 and that if the skies are cloudless, they would be visually spectacular.
“We have to make known the possible spectacular characteristics of the Geminid showers so as not to cause panic,: he said, as he recalled such panic triggered also by Geminid meteors in clear skies in Zamboanga City a few years ago.
Some people associate manifestations of comets and other such astronomical objects with foreboding omens of war or other unfortunate events.
“The showers of meteors would be visible to the naked eye and would last from about midnight up to daybreak,” he said.
Cunanan said that while meteor showers occur every month, such as the Leonid meteor showers last Nov. 17. the Geminid showers that occur in December manifest the most number of meteors. The Nov. 17 Leonid showers manifested only 20 meteors per hour, he noted.
Cunanan also said that a quarter moon, which would reflect less light, would enhance the visibility of the meteor showers on Dec. 14.
The website of the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has described the Geminid meteor shower as “the most intense meteor shower of the year” and that it will last “for days, is rich in fireballs, and can be seen from almost any point on Earth.“
The website quoted NASA astronomer Bill Cooke as saying that the Geminid shower “defy explanation” because its source seems to be “a weird rocky object names 3200 Phaeton, unlike most meteor showers which come from comets.”
