Eta Aquarid Meteor Shower Up to 5 Asteroids Pass Near Earth

KOMPAS.com – During the month of May 2022, there will be a number of interesting celestial phenomena that can be witnessed in the sky of Indonesia.

Starting from the top Eta Aquarid meteor showerinterplanetary conjunctions, up to a number of asteroid which will pass near the earth also occurs.

Here are 11 celestial phenomena that will occur in May 2022, note the schedule.

1. The peak of the Eta Aquarid meteor shower, May 6, 2022

On Friday, May 6, 2022, the Eta Aquarid meteor shower peaked.

Eta Aquarid meteor shower is a meteor shower famous for its meteors originating from the debris of Halley’s comet.

Indonesian amateur astronomer Marufin Sudibyo said Halley’s comet is a long-period comet (orbit period between 71 to 76 years.

“This meteor shower seems to come from the constellation Aquarius,” said Marufin to Kompas.com, Tuesday (3/5/2022).

The Eta Aquarid meteor shower this time will have an intensity of about 60 meteors per hour. The Eta Aquarid meteor shower is relatively easy to observe because the sky is still quite dark with the Moon not yet full.

The Eta Aquarid meteors enter Earth’s atmosphere at a speed of 67 km/s.

“This meteor shower can only be seen from midnight until dawn,” he said.

Read also: Festive Sky Phenomenon 2022: Peak of Meteor Showers and Asteroids Passes Earth

2. Asteroid 467460 (2006 JF42) passes near Earth, May 9, 2022

The next phenomenon is asteroid 467460 (2006 JF42) which will pass near Earth on May 9, 2022.

Asteroid 467460 (2006 JF42) was discovered in 2006, has a diameter of 499 m and belongs to the Apollo class near-Earth asteroid so that it has an orbit that can intersect with Earth’s orbit.

“On Monday 9 May 2022 this asteroid will pass near Earth at a distance of 14.9 times the average Earth-Moon distance,” he said.

This 14.9-fold distance is the equivalent of 5.7 million kilometers.

3. Asteroid 388945 (2008 TZ3) passes near Earth, May 15, 2022

Asteroid 388945 (2008 TZ3) was discovered in 2008, has a diameter of 293 m and belongs to the Apollo class near-Earth asteroid, so it has an orbit that can intersect with Earth’s orbit.

On Sunday, May 15, 2022, this asteroid will pass near Earth at a distance of 15 times the average Earth-Moon distance, or the equivalent of 5.7 million kilometers.

“This asteroid does not have the potential to collide with Earth, at least for the next century,” he explained.

Read also: 3 Asteroid Collision Events with Earth, The Evidence Is There Until Now

–