In perhaps one of the last celestial wonders of 2014, the Leonid meteor shower streaked through the skies on Monday night, burning up in a haze of glory as the week-long cosmic display hits its peak.
Some astronomers predict a second peak of the Leonid meteor shower will also occur on Thursday.
UAE residents, meanwhile, can catch the display until November 21, according to the Dubai Astronomy Group (DAG). The Leonid meteor shower is an annual event, one of the 12 major celestial displays occurring every year and is named after the constellation Leo the Lion, because of its trajectory that radiates from the vicinity of stars representing a Lion’s mane.
Leonid has morphed into a meteor storm in the past in 2002 when roughly 3,000 meteors per hour shot through the sky.
The Dubai Astronomy Group (DAG) had a special event at Mushrif Park on Monday night, in conjunction with Dubai Municipality, for UAE residents to get a chance to witness up to 10-12 meteors burning bright by the hour.
The public event was held from 9pm until 3am, with the DAG citing that the pre dawn hours could very well mark the perfect conditions for a fireball or two streaking across the night sky.
DAG had stated those attending the public event need to approach the one-way road system with dimmed lights.
If sky watchers are feeling particularly uninspired to head outdoors, you can also catch the action indoors courtesy the Slooh Community Observatory and Nasa’s Meteorite Environment Office.
Slooh is also expected to broadcast audio of the ‘ionisation sounds’ created by these meteors; this happens when the meteors streak through the sky and ionise the atmosphere that emits brief radio waves.