By The Independent (Science) | Created at 2024-12-14 14:48:34 | Updated at 2024-12-15 07:24:53
16 hours ago
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Photographers have managed to capture stunning displays of the Geminid meteor shower, which lit up the night sky across parts of England.
The celestial spectacle, which returns every December and is one of the last of the year’s major meteor showers, was visible in the early hours of Saturday morning.
The meteor shower was spotted in parts of Northumberland and as far south as Somerset by keen night sky photographers.
The striking pictures show streaks of white light passing through the night sky.
Lee Reid, an avid photographer who lives near Newcastle, drove an hour to Lindisfarne in Northumberland where he managed to find a clear patch of sky to catch a glimpse of the shower.
“I could actually see the meteors on drive up, and I was getting, obviously, quite excited,” Mr Reid, 43, told the PA news agency.
“Lindisfarne seems to be my lucky spot… behind me was cloud but a big portion of the skies, at sort of 5.30am in the north east region was clear.
“It’s amazing because when you’re planning things for a few days and hoping and praying for some clear skies… so it’s good when a plan comes together.”
Mr Reid, who works as an IT service delivery manager, said seeing natural phenomenon in the night sky inspired him to take up photography as a hobby.
He said after joining photographer Will Cheung, who is a fellow of the Royal Photographic Society, on a trip to Iceland to capture the Northern Lights, he bought his first camera.
“I bought a camera a week before my trip, primarily for the Northern Lights, and my photography journey spawned from then, which was March 2023,” he explained.
“Now any chance I get, I’m now out in the dark skies, usually Northumberland.”
The Geminids are one of the most spectacular meteor showers of the year. They are fascinating as they’re one of the few major meteor showers associated with an asteroid 3200 Phaethon rather than a comet
Dr Minjae Kim, University of Warwick
Called a “meteor storm” because of its intensity, the shower is known as one of the most spectacular and consistent meteor showers.
Dr Minjae Kim, research fellow in the physics department at the University of Warwick, told PA: “The Geminids are one of the most spectacular meteor showers of the year.
“They are fascinating as they’re one of the few major meteor showers associated with an asteroid 3200 Phaethon rather than a comet.”
The shower has been known to produce more than 150 meteors per hour at its peak, although light pollution and other factors mean that in reality the actual number visible is generally far less.
The Geminids originate from a rocky asteroid called 3200 Phaethon with a comet-like orbit and were first observed in 1862.
The meteors, small pieces of interplanetary debris, appear to radiate from near the bright star Castor in the constellation Gemini.
According to the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, meteors of the Geminid meteor shower are very bright, moderately fast, and are unusual in being multi-coloured – mainly white, some yellow and a few green, red and blue.
These colours are partly caused by the presence of traces of metals such as sodium and calcium, the same effect that is used to make fireworks colourful.
The Geminid meteor shower will be active until December 20 and was expected to peak between Saturday and Sunday (December 14 and 15).
