Kolkata failed to witness one of the most-widely anticipated annual astrological event — the Geminid meteor shower — last weekend. The spoiler being the Moon.“This year, unfortunately the event could not be witnessed since it was a full moon night and the sky was bright,” said Debiprasad Duari, Director, Research and Academics, MP Birla Planetarium.Every year in mid-December, star gazers are treated to a meteor shower that often reaches to an intensity of 80 to 100 meteors per hour entering the earth’s atmosphere and creating luminous fireballs in the sky. The meteor shower is believed to have been caused by the debris of an asteroid called Phaethon 3200. Each year the Earth passes through this meteor field that causes the showers. “Besides, this year there was also an exceptionally high density of fog, owing to which celestial events could not be viewed,” said Duari.
