By YOSUKE FUKUDOME/ Staff Writer
December 14, 2021 at 18:05 JST
A composite image of Mount Fuji and the Geminid meteor shower taken at 10:12 p.m. and 11 p.m. in Fujikawaguchiko in Yamanashi Prefecture on Dec. 13 (Yosuke Fukuduome)
FUJIKAWAGUCHIKO, Yamanashi Prefecture--For those wishing upon a shooting star, snow-capped Mount Fuji in the background fulfilled the desires of skywatchers wanting the perfect setting for this year's spectacular Geminid meteor shower.
Countless meteors were spotted streaking across the sky between late night on Dec. 13 and the early hours of Dec. 14, mesmerizing viewers who gathered at Saiko lake near the mountain for the annual phenomenon.
Meteors became more clearly visible on Dec. 14 after the sky darkened at around 2 a.m., following the setting of the moon, which was about 80 percent full.
Onlookers shouted, “awesome,” and “how beautiful,” when two shooting stars were viewed simultaneously and when a bright meteor with a long tail was observed darting across the sky.
Although it was freezing as the temperature dipped below zero in the early morning of Dec. 14, the celestial vista warmed every heart with an additional treat: A display of the most famed mountain in Japan as reflected in the placid waters of the lake.
The Geminid meteor shower can be seen every December, created by debris from the asteroid Phaethon, and appear to radiate from a point in the constellation Gemini.
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