On the nights of December 13-14, planet Earth was able to witness the beautiful sight of “stars” falling from the sky as the Geminid Meteor Shower reached its annual peak.
Considered one of the best and most reliable annual meteor showers, the Geminids put on a show for nearly two weeks from December 4 to December 16, peaking every year around mid-December.
This meteor shower is believed to have come from the Gemini constellation, source from the rocky 3200 Phaethon – an asteroid or a possible rock comet that crashed into another cosmic body and has since left space debris.
As Earth passes through this trail of debris during its orbit around the sun, the debris hits the planet’s atmosphere and actually produces a majestic display in the night sky.
This year, however, the Geminids were not visible from various parts of India, including Mumbai and Delhi, as clouds muffled the show by flooding multiple regions in the country.
But those lucky enough to be blessed with clear skies and low light pollution enjoyed the display, with many people even taking beautiful photos of the meteor streaks and sharing their beauty with the world.
Here are some of the best photos of the Geminids uploaded by the users of the social network portal Twitter:
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