CNN Indonesia
Thursday, 14 Dec 2023 08:56 IWST
Illustration. The Geminid meteor shower which will decorate the night sky will reach its peak this week and can be seen in the Indonesian sky. (Photo: AFP PHOTO / Ye Aung Thu)
Jakarta, CNN Indonesia —
Meteor Rain Geminid which will decorate the night sky will reach its peak this week and can be seen at heaven Indonesia. Check out the best schedule to see it.
The Geminids are the only colorful meteor shower that Earth’s inhabitants can witness this year. This meteor shower will shoot out with an intensity of 120 ‘shooting stars’ per hour during the peak of the Geminid meteor shower tonight (13/12) until tomorrow (14/12) morning.
During the peak of the Geminid meteor shower, the Moon will not be visible in the night sky. According to experts this makes it the most prolific “shooting star” in 2023 in the Northern Hemisphere.
This meteor shower is active from November 19 to December 24 every year. This annual phenomenon is less well known than the Perseid meteor shower which occurs in August, possibly because it occurs in much cooler weather.
Although less well known, the Geminid meteor shower is one of the best shooting star displays of the year.
According to the American Meteor Society, the absolute peak of the Geminids is expected to occur at 20:00 EST on December 13 or 08.00 WIB the following day. This is the best time to watch this phenomenon from North America.
For starters, the new moon on December 13 will make the sky very dark on the peak night of the Geminids. In addition, the radiant point of the meteor shower will be high above the horizon after dark. That means the best time to see the Geminids is at their peak.
In Indonesia, according to the Jakarta Planetarium in its official account on Instagram, the peak of the Geminid meteor shower in Indonesia will only occur for two days, namely 14-15 December 2023.
“The Geminid Meteor Shower will be active from 4 to 17 December 2023. The peak will occur on 14-15 December 2023. Friends can observe this phenomenon from 20.05 WIB until sunrise,” reads a statement from the Jakarta Planetarium account.
The Geminid meteor shower is very bright and fast, and tends to be yellow, according to NASA. But these meteors can also be white or green, making this the only display of multicolored shooting stars this year.
Apart from that, the Geminid meteor shower is also the only large meteor shower that is not caused by a comet, but by an asteroid. Comets are made of ice dust particles, while asteroids are made of rock.
Shooting stars are generally caused by meteoroids left in the Earth’s orbital path. When a meteoroid enters the Earth’s atmosphere at high speed and burns up, it is called a meteor.
The Geminids are the result of an asteroid called 3200 Phaethon, which orbits the sun every 1.4 years.
Phaethon measures about 5.1 kilometers in diameter and this asteroid is likely a fragment of a comet. According to NASA, this asteroid is now forming a comet-like tail as it approaches the sun, leaving behind meteoroids in the inner solar system. The shooting star shot at a speed of 34 kilometers per second.
Furthermore, meteor showers are best seen with the naked eye. However, you can also use binoculars or invest in a good small telescope to get a closer view.
(lom/dmi)
Watch the Video Below:
2023-12-14 01:56:02
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