(MENAFN- Khaleej Times)

Several residents spotted the Leonid meteor shower in UAE skies last week. While some thought it was a satellite, many others caught it accidentally on their cameras. On November 17, astronomy enthusiast Abhishek Ashokan was on his way home from work when he caught a glimpse of a bright streak across the sky.

“I was stuck in traffic near the Business Bay toll gate when I saw the streak across the sky,” he told Khaleej Times.“Spotting celestial objects is a hobby of mine and I have made many trips to Al Quaa to watch meteor showers. So, I immediately had a hunch that I had spotted a meteor. Once I got home, I checked my dashboard camera, and I was certain it was a meteor.”

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The amateur photographer immediately headed out to Lahbab, hoping to see more of the meteors.“I stayed there till midnight,” he said.“However, the sky was very cloudy so I could only manage to see one meteor in the time I was there.”

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Verification

Abhishek then sent the dashcam footage to Muhammed Sajjad, more popularly known as the UAE Weatherman.“I sent it to the Dubai Astronomy Group, who verified that the video was indeed of the meteor,” he said.“The Leonid meteor shower occurs annually in November and peaked on November 18. However, this is the first time during my time in the UAE that a Leonid meteor is appearing so brightly visible even from the middle of the city. At the time, there were roughly about 9 meteors per hour.”

He added that many residents thought the bright streak which occurred for a few seconds across the night sky was a satellite.“Once I posted the video on my social media account, many people commented and said that they had seen it as well, but they assumed it was a satellite,” he said.

The Leonid meteor shower occurs when Earth passes through the debris trail of a comet, producing 10–15 meteors per hour in most years. Occasionally, the shower can become a spectacular meteor storm when Earth passes through a particularly dense debris stream, a phenomenon that happens about every 33 years.

Another resident Vaisakh Babu was in Zabeel Park, was queuing up to collect his bib for the Dubai Run on November 15 when he decided to take a video of the Dubai Frame. He accidentally captured a Leonid meteor.“At the time, my friends and I didn't pay much attention to it,” he said.“But when I saw Sajjad's social media post, I realized that what I had seen was a meteor.”

Many netziens commented on the post by saying they too saw the meteor shower in the night's sky, with some confusing it at first with laser light or fireworks. "I saw this too... Because I was close to global village, I thought it was Skydive Dubai's yet another stunt," one user said.

Geminids meteor shower

According to Sajjad, there will be a spectacular meteor shower in December.“The Geminids meteor shower will peak around December 15,” he said.“There will be roughly 80-120 meteors per hour. This year, the moon will only be around 23 to 25 per cent visible. So, this will make the meteors very visible. Last year, the moon was 80 per cent visible so we could see only the brightest of meteors.”

He added that astronomy enthusiasts should be prepared to travel outside the city for better visibility during the meteor shower.

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