A dazzling celestial event: How to view the Geminid meteor shower from Bengaluru
Bengaluru residents can witness the spectacular Geminid meteor shower tonight with no equipment. Here's how.
Astronomy enthusiasts are excited as Bengaluru is all set to witness a meteor shower peaking between Tuesday night and well into the early hours of Wednesday. The Geminid meteor shower is observed every year when several meteoroids, left behind by 'rock comet' 3200 Phaethon, enter the earth's atmosphere. This year, Bengalureans can witness the spectacular cosmic phenomenon without any equipment.

The Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium in the city is organising an introduction to the night sky where you will be assisted in naked eye observations between 10pm tonight till 4:30am Wednesday. The planetarium will charge ₹500 per head, and people above the age of 13 are permitted to register for the event. However, if you are unable to join the guided winter night programme, here is what you can do instead:
Venture to the outskirts of the city where there are fewer buildings so that lights do not disturb your vision of the sky. You might be hindered by pollution and a cloudy sky, with a bright moon to add to that. However, if you are in luck, you will be able to observe around 30 to 40 meteors lighting up the night sky each hour. The meteor shower can be observed best between 2am and 3am Wednesday, several reports said. Telescopes are not necessary for this event as they limit the view of the sky.
READ | Meteor shower or Chinese rocket re-entry? Rare event light up skies of Maharashtra, MP
Hessarghatta, Bannerghatta, Devarayanadurga and Kolar are some of the places in Bengaluru that might give you a good chance of viewing the shower. The Geminid meteors can be seen in multiple colours such as white, yellow, blue and green. They can also be photographed using a DSLR or even a smartphone.

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