Stargazers in Oman enjoy Perseids Shower

Muscat: More than 250 stargazers enjoyed dramatic cosmic displays of the “Perseids Shower” on Friday and Saturday at Jebel Shams.
Around 130 meteors were spotted on Friday night after the moon faded away, leaving a clear view of the sky for the campers, according to a member of the Astronomical Society of Oman.
More than 50 Arab astro-enthusiasts from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Jordan drove all the way to Jebel Shams in Al Dakhiliyah governorate to witness the event, according to Sangeetha Sridhar, an astro-enthusiast.
Isa Al Alshaikh, founder of @Arabic_NASA said that Saturday night was better than Friday’s, as the skies were less cloudy and stargazers were able to take better pictures of the shower.
He said this year, the shower was more intense than in the previous years and more meteors were seen.
“A friend of mine spotted around 100 meteors on Saturday night only,” Isa said.
“It was indeed the most spectacular experience for me to watch so many shooting stars in the sky. A trip to the highest peak in the country is always a breathtaking experience as it is both adventurous and relaxing at the same time,” Sharukh Zalam, an astro-photographer said. He thanked the Times of Oman for giving early updates on the date and time of the meteor shower which, he said, “made my planning easier.”
“I called up a few of my friends, packed food and grabbed my camera gear and left for the mountain. We reached there on Friday11:00pm and stayed there till 4:00am.
“I found a good location for my shoot and tried everything possible. This went on till 4 in the morning,” Zalam said, adding that he saw a lot of meteors at regular intervals.
“Luck plays an important role here and yes, I am lucky enough as my friends would say. I would never miss a chance to witness something like this ever and shooting at night is always fun,” Zalam added.
Perseids occurs each year in the month of August with a flare rate of about 80 per hour at 60 kilometres per second speed, which is 500 times faster than the fastest car in the world.
The shower, which began in mid-July, will continue until late August.

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