Meteor shower of the decade to light up desert sky

Dubai (WAM): A public event is being hosted by Dubai Astronomy Group, between 9pm and 5am this coming Friday night, 23rd May, to witness a new meteor shower called the Camelopardalids (so-called as it originates in the Giraffe Constellation). The debris trail from Comet 209P/Linear, discovered in 2004, is the originator of this meteor shower and the Earth will cross the comet path on the morning of the 24th May. Based on professional forecasts, this new Meteor shower could be an astronomical experience of a life-time and produce a unique meteor storm which would see dense outbursts of bright multiple meteors and provide in excess of 1000 shooting stars an hour during a peak shower. The lowest expectation would be 60-100 meteors an hour throughout the night. The Dubai Astronomy Group event is being hosted at Bab Al Shams Desert Resort and Spa, and will also provide visitors with an opportunity to look through the club telescopes at other celestial objects including; Saturn, Mars, double stars, globular clusters, nebula and other deep sky objects. In addition, the Moon rises in the morning, just before sunrise, in a close conjunction with the planet Venus. The event will feature live presentations and videos about the night sky, plus live broadcasts with others in international outreach community. The event organisers are also working in collaboration with Astronomers without Borders, and will feature live links between Dubai and California. Spectators unable to make it to the Dubai venue should still be able to view some of the celestial activity, providing they can escape the ambient light of populated areas. – Emirates News Agency, WAM