Plan your wish! Shooting stars on Dec 12, 13

Do you believe that wishes made over a shooting star are fulfilled? Well then, make a list of all your wishes. You will get a chance to seek their fulfillment after midnight of December 12. About 100-odd Geminid meteors are likely to be seen with naked eyes between 1 am and sunrise of December 13 in Ahmedabad.

“The meteor shower will be seen across the world and in India, between 1 am and 3 am. More than a 100 meteors or shooting stars will be seen in the sky during peak hours. For the rest of the night, the number of meteors may be lesser. It will look like a fireball in the sky,” said member of Kutch Amateur Astronomers’ Club, Narendra Gor.

Such showers are seen from the earth every year. “Couple of months back, Ahmedabad saw Leonid meteor showers but sky was not dark so people could not view it properly. This time, the night is likely to be clear and dark because of which the Geminid meteor shower will be clear. People will have to look for the meteors in the eastern side of the sky,” said president of Astronomy Club, Ahmedabad, Manoj Pai.

The shooting stars will be seen for two hours before sun rise on December 13, said Pai. “Usually, meteor showers continue for a fortnight but on peak days, the number of meteors rises. In case of Geminid meteor shower this time, the peak days are December 12 and 13,” he said.

According to Gor, the speed of Geminid meteors is slightly less. “In other meter showers, the shooting stars usually travel at a speed of 50-60 km per second, while in the case of Geminid meteor shower, the speed is 35 km per second,” he said.