JawaPos.com A meteor shower is an annual astronomical phenomenon that occurs when a number of meteors appear to slide back and forth from a certain point in the sky. Meteors look like shooting stars or moving stars. Meteors are actually interplanetary rock or dust that enter the atmosphere and then burn up due to atmospheric friction.
Main Researcher in Astronomy and Astrophysics at the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Thomas Djamaluddin, explained that at the end of July, the Alpha-Capricornids and Delta-Aquariids meteor showers will occur. These two meteor showers occur in the southern sky so they are suitable to be observed from Indonesia.
“This Alpha-Capricornids meteor shower can be observed on 30-31 July 2022 starting at 20.00 WIB on the eastern horizon. But the best time is after midnight in the direction of the southern sky. It is estimated that about 5 meteors per hour appear to pass through the sky. This meteor shower comes from the dust cluster of comet 169P/NEAT which passed the earth,” he said, quoted from the official statement from BRIN.
Thomas explained, comet dust that is small in size enters the Earth’s atmosphere and then burns up like a shooting star. “Even though the number of meteors is small, sometimes this meteor shower shows bright meteors from the remains of a larger comet,” he explained.
While the Delta Aquariids meteor shower can be observed on July 29-30 starting at 23.00 WIB on the eastern horizon. The peak is around 02.00 WIB in the southern sky. “This meteor shower displays dozens of meteors per hour. Comet 96P/Machholz dust is thought to be the source of this meteor shower,” he explained.
Thomas added that the combination of two meteor showers in the southern sky became an attraction for sky observers in Indonesia. It is hoped that dry conditions and without interference from moonlight will make meteor shower observations more interesting.
Choose an observation location that is minimally disturbed by light and the field of view to the southern sky is not disturbed by trees or buildings. Meteor observations are better without tools, because the eye has a wider field of view.
“Is this meteor shower dangerous? Absolutely harmless. The comet’s remaining dust burns up at an altitude above 80 km,” he concluded.
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