DOHA: The Qatari sky will brighten up a little after midnight today with a spectacular celestial event as the dazzling Perseid meteor showers will flare providing a treat to the eyes.
A prominent Qatari astronomer says the spectacular celestial event can be watched in Qatar with the naked eye from a little after midnight today until early dawn.
The showers will repeat later tomorrow night as well, and continue until the wee hours of Tuesday.
“So enthusiasts of celestial events in the country must not miss watching them. The showers will be prominently visible in the northeast of the sky,” said Sheikh Salman bin Jabor Al Thani. “It’s going to be a real spectacle.”
The showers will comprise bright and numerous fireballs consisting of gas and dust. The fireballs will be travelling at a speed of 211,000kmph.
“As they (the fireballs) enter the earth’s atmosphere they would be bright and dazzling,” said Al Thani. He said there is no cause for worry as there is no danger. As the fireballs would burn out, the dust and gas released would be retained in the earth’s atmosphere.
“Rarely does the dust of a burnt-out fireball ever reach the earth, and even if does in the case of some fireballs, which is very rare, it wouldn’t be felt by people,” he added.
The fireballs are nothing but comet fragments. “This year’s Perseid meteors will visible by the hundreds at a time,” said Al Thani, who heads the space and astronomical studies division at the Qatar Scientific Club (QSC).
According to him, since the crescent moon will have disappeared after midnight, the meteor showers will be visible in quite a prominent way. The same would happen tomorrow.
He said that Qatar’s Center for Space and Astronomy has the latest technology to monitor the meteor showers and photographs of the spectacular event will be taken. It is, however, not known if the photographs would be released to the media.
International media reports on the meteor showers suggest that it is advisable to watch the celestial event from dark locations away from city lights.
The Peninsula
