THE ASTRONOMY community will be clustering together very soon, as what is being described as ‘an experience of a lifetime’ will be visible from the capital’s deserts.
If the weather permits, the sky will be ablaze with shooting stars thanks to a debris trail left by a comet, the 209P/Linear, which was discovered in 2004.
Based on professional forecasts, this meteor shower on the night of Friday 23rd May will hopefully produce a unique meteor storm which would see dense outbursts of bright, multiple meteors where star-gazers will be able to see in excess of 1,000 shooting stars an hour. The lowest expectation would be 60-100 meteors an hour throughout the night.
The debris trail is known as Camelopardalids, which has been named from where it originates, the Giraffe constellation. The Earth will cross the path of the trail on the 23rd and 24th May with admirers of astronomy making their way to the desert on Friday night.
The Abu Dhabi Astronomy group will be making a beeline towards the Endurance Village in the Al Wathba area before venturing out further into the desert for less light pollution. Andy Palado from the club explained what star-gazers could expect on the night.
“It’s a moment where you can see the natural pyrotechnics of our world,” said Palado. “Witnessing a meteor shower always excites me.”
Palado also commented on sharing this experience with as many people as possible.
“We welcome friends and families to come and join us for the event. We recommend first-timers to bring warm clothing, a comfortable camp chair and sleeping bag and any other creature comforts to make your time as comfortable as possible. You will need food and a tent as it is an overnight event. I also recommend travelling in a 4×4 and bringing your music player with headphones to accentuate your experience,” said Palado.
The Abu Dhabi Astronomy group will be meeting at 5pm at the Endurance Village in the Al Wathba area. For more details email: [email protected] or call 055 358 2376.
