Geminid meteor shower to light up Swiss skies as it reaches its peak

A shower of shooting stars reaches its peak during the night Keystone-SDA

One of the year’s most spectacular meteor showers is about to light up the night sky. The Geminids will reach their peak on Saturday night.

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The Swiss Astronomical Society (SAG) says that, in ideal conditions – clear skies, away from city lights and with an unobstructed view – stargazers could see between 120 and 150 meteors an hour.

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In reality, the number of visible shooting stars is usually much lower. Light pollution, cloud cover, moonlight and limited visibility all make spotting them harder, the SAG notes on its website. Near towns and cities, you can expect around 20 to 30 an hour.

The meteor shower takes its name from the Gemini constellation. It produces many bright shooting stars created by a trail of dust that sweeps past Earth every year as it orbits the Sun.

Because they enter the atmosphere relatively slowly, Geminids leave glowing trails that last longer than most.

Translated from French by AI/sp

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