When you wish upon a star...
Astronomy was one of my favourite subject in University. When I was a kid, my ambition is to be an astronomer! I love gazing up to the night sky. Looking at the night sky makes me wonder what else is out in the universe... The most well known and easy to find constellation is the Orion's belt or The Hunter. It can easily be seen by naked eyes. The belt consists of 3 bright stars - Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka spaced in a straight line.
Apart from that, I love to gazed at the night sky hopping to see a shooting star or meteor. My first encounter with a shooting star was back in year 2011 when I was at Lake Tekapo, New Zealand. It happened so fast just like a blink of an eye! I do not even have the time to make a wish! In fact I thought it's just an illusion. Luckily I wasn't the only person who saw the shooting star. My Aunt who happens to stand beside me saw it too. Anyway that was indeed a great experience and not forgetting the magnificent view of the milky way just right above my head. :) I wanted to capture the magnificent view but too bad I do not have a sophisticated camera.
My second encounter with a shooting star was just few days ago. It happens to be Geminid meteor shower, the most notable meteor showers of the year. It can be seen annually from 4th till 17th Dec and the meteor showers will reach its maximum peak around 14th Dec with possibility of sighting around 120 meteors per hour! This meteor shower gets its name from the constellation Gemini the twins.
I really do not expect to see any of it on Monday night which was 14th Dec. I decided to try my luck by going to Tanjung Aru beach, Kota Kinabalu. We're really lucky because the sky was clear after a heavy late evening downpours. We stood on the beach from 10.30pm, looking at the sky. I was trying to find the constellation Gemini by looking at the Orion's belt as the guide. In a split second, I saw a faint white light zoom right through the sky! I stood there dumbfounded wondering is that an actual meteor strike? Few minutes later I saw another one from a different direction. In total I have spotted 32 meteors in 2 hours. Some moved really fast and some moved at a slower pace and plunged into the sea. Nothing can replace the thrill and excitement of witnessing a meteor shower. I was too excited at that time that I totally forgot to make a wish! Anyhow, it was such an amazing and breathtaking experience that I will never forget!
Apart from that, I love to gazed at the night sky hopping to see a shooting star or meteor. My first encounter with a shooting star was back in year 2011 when I was at Lake Tekapo, New Zealand. It happened so fast just like a blink of an eye! I do not even have the time to make a wish! In fact I thought it's just an illusion. Luckily I wasn't the only person who saw the shooting star. My Aunt who happens to stand beside me saw it too. Anyway that was indeed a great experience and not forgetting the magnificent view of the milky way just right above my head. :) I wanted to capture the magnificent view but too bad I do not have a sophisticated camera.
My second encounter with a shooting star was just few days ago. It happens to be Geminid meteor shower, the most notable meteor showers of the year. It can be seen annually from 4th till 17th Dec and the meteor showers will reach its maximum peak around 14th Dec with possibility of sighting around 120 meteors per hour! This meteor shower gets its name from the constellation Gemini the twins.
I really do not expect to see any of it on Monday night which was 14th Dec. I decided to try my luck by going to Tanjung Aru beach, Kota Kinabalu. We're really lucky because the sky was clear after a heavy late evening downpours. We stood on the beach from 10.30pm, looking at the sky. I was trying to find the constellation Gemini by looking at the Orion's belt as the guide. In a split second, I saw a faint white light zoom right through the sky! I stood there dumbfounded wondering is that an actual meteor strike? Few minutes later I saw another one from a different direction. In total I have spotted 32 meteors in 2 hours. Some moved really fast and some moved at a slower pace and plunged into the sea. Nothing can replace the thrill and excitement of witnessing a meteor shower. I was too excited at that time that I totally forgot to make a wish! Anyhow, it was such an amazing and breathtaking experience that I will never forget!
Comments
Post a Comment