Bandar Seri Begawan – Despite challenging weather conditions, a group of fourteen members of the Astronomical Society of Brunei Darussalam (PABD) successfully conducted naked-eye observations of the annual Geminids Meteor Shower in the early hours of Sunday, 14 December 2025 at Kampong Sungai Mau, Belait.

The event, known as the “Geminids AstroCamp”, was held from 12:30 AM to 2:30 AM, during which members gathered to witness the celestial display and capture it through photography. Based on observations documented by the team, approximately 50 Geminid meteors were sighted, including several striking fireballs, despite limited visibility.

One participant, Muhammad Hidayatullah bin Awang Ahmad shared: “It was a challenging night for viewing, with nearly 80% cloud cover and overcast skies for most of the session. Nevertheless, the meteors we managed to observe, particularly the brighter fireballs, made the effort worthwhile.”

Despite cloudy skies, PABD member Mohamad Nur Raziqqien bin Abu Bakar captured a vivid Geminid meteor streaking across the prominent Orion constellation, which lies right next to Gemini – the radiant of the meteor shower.

The Geminids are widely regarded as one of the most reliable and spectacular annual meteor showers, originating from asteroid 3200 Phaethon. This year’s observation coincided with the shower’s peak between the nights of 13 and 14 December 2025. Under ideal conditions, the Geminids can produce as many as 120 meteors per hour (ZHR), making them a highlight of the astronomical calendar.

Meteor showers take place when the Earth, in its yearly orbit around the Sun, crosses paths with streams of cosmic debris released by comets or asteroids. These tiny fragments, often no larger than grains of sand, enter the atmosphere at tremendous speeds and incandesce due to friction with air molecules, creating the luminous streaks commonly referred to as “shooting stars.”

PABD thanked the Bukit Sawat Village Consultative Council (Majlis Perundingan Kampung Bukit Sawat) for their invaluable support in facilitating the AstroCamp.

The Geminid shower got its name from the constellation of Gemini or the Twins. From Tutong, there were about 10 meteors in an hour visibled on that morning. The rate is expected to increase as the annual geminid meteor shower peaks tonight (13-14 December 2015). That is when more than 50 shooting stars might be visible every hour (depending on your location/sky). Geminids can be spotted starting between 10 pm and before sunrise, and expected to peak at around 2 am.

The moonless night tonight will make geminids one of the best meteor shower for this year. Star gazers will be looking for cloudless skies and location away from light pollution to catch the meteor shower. No equipment is required because a telescope or binoculars limits the view of the sky.

UPDATE (14 Dec 2015 @ 12 pm): Geminids meteor showers reports by some Bruneians on IG, FB and Twitter. Some had their chance to see the “shooting stars” while others were not due to poor weather. Even though the meteor reached its peak, there are still Geminid Meteors visible for a day or two after the peak although at a much reduced rate. Head up and clear sky!

UPDATE (15 Dec 2015 @ 7.15 am): Let GoPro camera ran all night from 10pm last night until 2am in timelapse and amazingly one of hundreds shots had captured a bright post-peak Geminids meteor from Tutong, Brunei Darussalam, at around 1.30 am. Settings used are shown on the photo.

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