Little Dipper meteors visible over Kuwait was final shower of the year

The Kuwaiti Astronomical Society announced that the “Little Dipper” meteor shower had entered Earth’s atmosphere and was visible in Kuwait’s skies, marking the final meteor shower of the year.

Adel Al-Saadoun, head of the society and a fellow of the British Astronomical Society, told Al-Rai that the Little Dipper meteor shower is active annually from December 17 to 26, with its peak occurring on December 23.

During the peak, observers saw between five and ten meteors per hour, a number that rose to as many as 25 per hour in some years.

Al-Saadoun explained that the shower derived its name from its apparent origin in the Little Bear (Ursa Minor) constellation, which lay in the northern sky and included Polaris, the North Star.

He noted that the meteors originated from dust and small rocky debris left behind by Comet Tuttle, which orbits the Sun once every 13.6 years, shedding particles of dust, rocks and gases along its path. As the Earth passes through this debris during its annual orbit, the particles are drawn into the atmosphere at a speed of about 32 kilometers per second.

According to Al-Saadoun, the meteors burned up at an altitude of around 80 kilometers above the Earth’s surface and did not reach the height at which aircraft fly.

What appeared as a bright streak in the sky was the combustion of extremely fine dust — equivalent to a handful of sand — which heated up due to air compression upon entry into the atmosphere, causing it to melt and evaporate.

He added that the varying colors seen during the meteor burn-up were determined by the chemical elements contained in the particles, such as iron, magnesium, copper, calcium and potassium.

Al-Saadoun said the best time to observe the Little Dipper meteor shower was after midnight until dawn, looking towards the northern horizon.