SKYWATCHERS in Brunei and around the world had the opportunity to witness the annual astronomical spectacle of Geminids meteor shower last night. Every year on December 14, the Earth comes across the particles of residue from Comet 3200 Phaethon.

Upon entering the Earth’s atmosphere, these comet dusts burn and vaporise, thus producing bright meteor trails. The natural phenomenon produces rapid streaks of light or better known as shooting stars which are visible to the naked eyes. These meteors appear to radiate from a point in the sky of constellation Gemini, thus its name ‘Geminids’.

There were also reports from the Astronomical Society of Brunei Darussalam’s Facebook page stating that some even witnessed up to six shooting stars in half an hour that night.

// Press release – Borneo Bulletin