The Phoenicid meteor shower only occurs once a year, you know!
portrait of a meteor shower clearly visible in the night sky (commons.wikimedia.org/Kristian Pikner)
There are so many celestial phenomena that we can witness every once in a while. Starting from phenomena related to the Sun and other planets in our solar system to the beautiful presentation of meteor showers, they often reveal their beauty and mystery which can hypnotize anyone who sees them. So, in the final months of 2023, we will have another celestial phenomenon in the form of a meteor shower.
It’s called the Phoenicid meteor shower, a celestial phenomenon that occurs quite often towards the end of the year. This meteor shower is unique because it only appears in the southern part of the Earth. Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Indonesia are the lucky countries that can witness the Phoenicid meteor shower.
Approximately when can we witness the peak of the Phoenicid meteor shower and what are the interesting facts behind it? Come on, see the full review below!
1. The origin of the Phoenician meteor shower
captured image from NEOWISE showing the location of Comet Blanpain in 2020 (commons.wikimedia.org/Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (NEOWISE))
The Phoenicid meteor shower was first observed in December 1956 by the Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition. Reported Star Walk, this meteor shower comes from comet fragments with the name D/1819 W1 (Blanpain) with the point of emission being in the constellation Phoenix. In its classification, the Phoenicid meteor shower is actually classified as a small meteor shower.
Reported Phys.org, comet Blanpain which was the source of the Phoenicid meteor shower was first identified in 1819 before finally disappearing. Until finally in 2003, researchers discovered the remains of an asteroid in the orbit of comet Blanpain which was considered to be more than 100 years old. Therefore, researchers concluded that comet Blanpain was destroyed 1 century ago and is currently more suitable to be called an asteroid.
Well, the Phoenicid meteor shower that we can see is actually the remains of dust and gas from the destroyed comet Blanpain. Dust and gas that have escaped the asteroid’s orbital path will collide with Earth’s atmosphere when our planet is close to it.
Even so, don’t worry, all the material from the Phoenicid meteor shower will burn up in our atmosphere. So, we can still observe its beauty calmly.
2. Number and speed of the Phoenicid meteor shower
Perseid Meteor Rain which will occur in 2023 in Ohio, United States (commons.wikimedia.org/Jim Vajda)
To measure the number of meteorites at one time, a population index is usually used. This index refers to how bright the light produced by the meteor is. The smaller the number, the brighter the light that can be observed from the meteorite shower.
To measure speed, researchers usually use Zenith Hourly Rate or ZHR. The closer the meteorite is to Earth’s orbit, the faster the speed produced by the meteor shower.
In the context of the Phoenicid meteor shower, this event actually tends to be bright. In its population index, this meteor shower produces the number 3. As for its speed, the Phoenicid meteor shower recorded a figure of 12 km per second when it approached Earth’s orbit.
Also read: 3 sky phenomena in December 2023, there will be another meteor shower!
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2023-12-01 03:09:31
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