[CBC뉴스] 눈부신 쌍둥이자리 유성우가 최근 중국 남서부 윈난 성 리장 시의 위룽쉐산에서 포착되었다.
A dazzling Geminid meteor shower was recently captured in the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain in Lijiang City, in southwest China's Yunnan Province.
The Geminids, which is how they are known because they appear to emerge from the Gemini constellation, are pieces of an asteroid known as 3200 Phaethon. Every year in mid-December, the Earth passes through the debris – ice and rock - from the asteroid, which, upon contacting the earth's atmosphere, burn up and leave a streak across the sky.
With a high altitude, Lijiang has favorable astronomical resources. And the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, or the Yulong Snow Mountain, is one of the few observation sites that are internationally recognized. Located at 27.5 degrees north latitude, the mountain serves as an excellent observation point for the meteor shower.
"Because of its 33-degree declination, the Geminid meteor shower can be perfectly viewed here," said Wang Xiaobin, a researcher at the Yunnan Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
The meteor shower reached its peak on the wee hours of Monday, and dozens of meteors can be detected within an hour.
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CBC뉴스ㅣCBCNEWS 권오성 기자 press@cbci.co.kr
