KATHMANDU, Jan 3: The first meteor shower of 2025 will occur in large numbers tonight. Since the source of the shower appears to be the Bootes constellation, it has been named the Bootes meteor shower.
The Nepal Astronomical Society (NASO) has announced that the Bootes meteor shower will remain active from December 28 to January 12, with a peak tonight. The meteor shower will be visible tonight from locations with minimal light pollution and clear skies.
Brightest meteor shower to be visible tonight
NASO states that observers do not need any equipment to watch the meteor shower. During its peak, they can enjoy viewing it with the naked eye. The meteor shower is expected to feature 50 to 120 meteors per hour, with medium-speed meteors resembling fire streaks visible in the atmosphere above 70 km.
As Earth orbits the Sun, dust particles and rocks from space collide with the atmosphere at high speeds and burn up. We call this a meteor shower. In Nepali, people also refer to a meteor shower as ‘a falling star’ or ‘a star passing by’.
