Jakarta –
meteor showerGeminid takes place from December 3 to 20, 2022. This meteor shower can be observed across Indonesia from December 8, 2022 at 20:15 local time (depending on the area) until it vanishes in the northwest before the ‘Sunrise.
This celestial phenomenon in late 2022 is somewhat unique. This is because the glow from the Geminid meteor has a yellowish and greenish color.
At first glance, the glow from meteor beams may appear to be plain white. However, when observed correctly, the color of meteors can vary. How come?
Researcher Andi Prince of the Space Research Centre, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) said the colors of the meteors are generally seen in fairly good observations, photos and videos.
Andi explained that the colors of the meteors were influenced by the chemical composition of the meteors and the velocity of the meteors as they entered Earth’s atmosphere.
Quoted from the BRIN Space Science Education page, Andi said that different chemicals in a meteor will produce different colors as the meteor enters Earth’s atmosphere and burns up.
For example, meteors containing calcium will glow purple, while meteors containing iron will glow yellow.
Meteors containing magnesium will glow bluish or greenish. Thus, sodium-containing meteors will produce an orange glow.
Especially for meteors which do not contain calcium, iron, magnesium and sodium, the light will be reddish. Because this type of meteor will interact with nitrogen and oxygen gases in the earth’s atmosphere.
Slow meteor, the color is red
Andi added that slow-moving meteors or those with speeds below 100,000 km/hour will be reddish or orange in color.
Meanwhile, the Geminids meteor shower of December 13, 2022 has 126,000 km/hour. Because of this, this meteor emits a yellowish or sometimes greenish light.
He explained, meteors with speeds above 200,000 km/hour will be bluish in color. However, the Perseid meteor shower, which peaks in mid-August, will produce brightly colored meteors with speeds of up to 212,400 km/h.
Good vision meteor showerdetective!
Watch a video “December 2022 Sky phenomenon: Geminid-Ursid meteor shower“
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