KATHMANDU, DECEMBER 14
The Geminid Meteor Shower, which is expected to be the most spectacular of the year, will be visible tonight above Nepal and anywhere else in the world.
Sky enthusiasts from all corners of the country can anticipate witnessing meteors streaking across the clear, unpolluted night sky for up to one minute.
NASA advises observers to scan the entire sky, as meteors are not limited to any specific direction. Weather permitting, between 60 and 120 meteors are anticipated every hour at the peak, according to the Associated Press.
NASA meteoroid expert Bill Cooke said he loves that the Geminids have a greenish hue as they speed across the sky and burn up. "Most meteors appear to be colorless or white depending on their chemical makeup. Green usually comes from oxygen, magnesium and nickel."
Most meteor showers originate from comets. But the Geminids come from the sun-orbiting asteroid 3200 Phaethon. Either way, when Earth passes through these leftover bits of comets or asteroids, the fragments encounter Earth's atmosphere and put on quite the show, it added.
