The Geminids meteor shower illuminated the skies over the UAE on Friday night and into the early hours of Saturday. Known to be bright and colourful, the showers produce 120 visible meteors each hour when the event is at its most intense. They come from the 3200 Phaethon asteroid, Khadijah Ahmed, operations manager at the <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/future/space/2024/11/14/supermoon-2024-beaver-moon/" target="_blank">Dubai Astronomy Group</a>, told <i>The National</i>. “This makes them unique and one of the most reliable meteor showers of the year,” she said. This year’s full moon reduced visibility, particularly for fainter meteors, but the Geminids’ bright and slow-moving meteors were still visible to the naked eye. The showers attracted a crowd to a viewing event hosted by the Dubai Astronomy Group at the Al Qudra Desert. There were six telescopes available for guests to get an enhanced view of the meteors, the Moon and planets. The Geminids are active annually between November 19 and December 24, with their peak coming in mid-December. When the meteors pass the debris trail of the 3200 Phaethon asteroid, particles enter the atmosphere at high speeds, burning up and creating the striking streaks visible in the night sky. Nasa describes the Geminids as one of the “best and most reliable meteor showers” because of their consistent activity and bright meteors, which are often yellow in colour. “The Geminids first began appearing in the mid-1800s. However, the first showers were not noteworthy with only 10 to 20 meteors seen per hour,” Nasa says on its website. “Since that time, the Geminids have grown to become one of the major meteor showers of the year.” The next meteor shower expected to be visible in the UAE are the Quadrantids, which are expected to peak on January 3-4, 2025. The meteors come from leftover comet particles and broken asteroids. The Earth passes through these debris trails each year, allowing the meteors to collide with the atmosphere, where they disintegrate and create colourful streaks in the sky, according to Nasa. In ideal weather, up to 60 meteors per hour can be seen. A planetary parade is likely to be visible from January 11 onwards, in which six planets, including Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, Venus and Saturn, will appear in the night sky. A Mars Opposition will also take place on January 16, which is when Mars, Earth and the Sun align in a straight line. When this happens, the Earth is positioned directly between Mars and the Sun, making the Red Planet appear brighter, larger and more vibrant in the night sky.