Shooting stars to rain down in Geminid meteor shower
Stargazers in Hong Kong may have a chance to catch shooting stars zooming across the sky, with an astrophysicist saying conditions throughout the night should be favourable to view a spectacular meteor shower. The Geminid meteor shower, an annual astronomical event, is set to show the most activity at around 3am on Friday, possibly producing up to 150 visible meteors in an hour. Quentin Parker, director of Laboratory for Space Research at the University of Hong Kong, said the meteors will be more visible and higher in the sky in the early hours. "Anytime after midnight, you are likely to have a reasonable show if the weather is clear," he told RTHK. "One good thing is there's no moon, it's only the beginning of the lunar month... which means clouds won't be illuminated by the moon, so any gaps in the clouds will be dark, and you stand a chance to see some of the Geminids."  The astrophysicist also pointed out that the Geminids are different from most meteor showers.  "Its origin is not to be a comet, which is where most of the others originate and there are many famous meteor streams, but actually an asteroid," he said, adding that the shower has grown bigger since it was discovered in the mid-19th century. The Hong Kong Space Museum will be live-streaming the celestial display from 9pm to 11pm.  To spot the spectacular cosmic show, skygazers are advised to be in a dark, open space for a better view.