The Peak of the Alpha Monocerotid Meteor Shower Decorates the Sky Tonight

CNN Indonesia

Tuesday, 21 Nov 2023 12:37 IWST

Jakarta, CNN Indonesia —

Peak meteor shower Alfa Monocerotid will decorate the sky, this Tuesday night (21/11) until tomorrow morning before the sun rises.

The Alpha Monocerotid meteor shower is one of the meteor showers that will decorate the November sky.

This celestial phenomenon is active from 15 to 25 November. The Alpha Monocerotid meteor shower has a varying intensity of between 1-5 meteors per hour at the zenith on November 22.

Quoted from the BRIN Aeronautics and Space Research Organization (ORPA), the Alfa Monocerotid meteor shower is a meteor shower whose radiant point is located in the constellation Canis Minor near the star Alfa Monocerotis, constellation Monoceros.

Alfa Monocerotid can be seen from all regions of the country in the east from November 21 at around 22.00 local time (according to each time zone) until it fades in the west before the sun rises on November 22.

The intensity of this meteor shower varies in each region. The intensity in northern areas such as the city of Sabang and Selintang varies between 1-5 meteors per hour, while the intensity in southern areas such as Rote Ndao and Selintang varies between 0-4 meteors per hour.

This difference occurs because the height of the radiant point during transit is between 78-85 degrees above the southern horizon.

The Alpha Monocerotid meteor shower originates from the remaining dust from comet C/1917 F1 (Mellish) which orbits the Sun with a period of 143.5 years. The geocentric speed of this meteor reaches 234,000 kilometers per hour.

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Apart from Alfa Monoceros, November also has several other meteor showers, such as Andromedid which peaks on November 5; North Taurid whose peak occurs on November 12; and Leonid whose peak occurred on November 18.

The month of November will be closed by a display of the Orionid meteor shower which peaks on November 28. This meteor shower is active from November 14 to December 6, and has a maximum intensity of 3 meteors/hour at the zenith on November 29.

(lom/dmi)