How to See the Leonid Meteor Shower in Indonesia and Tips for Taking Pictures of It

Illustration of how to see a Leonid meteor shower (Unsplash/Tengyart)

YOGYAKARTA - The phenomenon of the Leonid meteor shower presents a beautiful appearance of the sky in the early hours of the morning. This phenomenon can be witnessed by the people of Indonesia until November 30, 2022. The way to see the Lenoid meteor shower is also very easy.

Even though the peak of this phenomenon occurred on Friday (18/11), the Leonid meteor shower can still be witnessed in the Indonesian sky until the end of November. At its peak time, Earth will dive near a very dense region of space debris. This process results in sightings of about 15 meteors per hour.

“This is a meteor shower with the radian point (point of origin of meteors) located in the constellation Leo. It is active from 6 to 30 November, with varying intensities between 10-15 meteors/hour at the zenith on November 18, can be seen throughout Indonesia from the northeast after midnight (November 18) until it fades in the north before sunrise," BRIN's statement from the official BRIN Edusainsa website.

What Is the Leonid Meteor Shower?

The Leonid meteor shower originates from the remnants of comet Tempel-Tuttle. The geocentric speed of this meteor reaches 255.600 km/hour, reported by BRIN. When Earth passed through the debris cloud in November, remnants of Comet Tempel-Tuttle entered the atmosphere at 257 kilometers per hour. In the end it produces streaks of light and occasionally sees fireballs, quoted from Space.

The debris will create a meteor storm phenomenon every 33 years or so. During the phenomenon there are as many as 1,000 meteors per hour. This celestial phenomenon is a meteor shower whose radiance point is located in the constellation Leo.

Meteors in a meteor shower have the highest speed among other celestial bodies. Its speed is 72 km/sec relative to Earth. Meteor friction with the atmosphere will cause it to burn so it looks like a shooting star.

The Leonid meteor shower is one of five meteor showers that occur in November. Other meteor showers, namely the Andromedids on the 5th, the North Taurids on the 12th, the Alpha Monocerotids on the 21st, and the Orionids on the 28th.

How to See the Leonid Meteor Shower in Indonesia

The Leonid meteor shower can be seen across the region from the northeast after midnight. The public can witness this phenomenon without the need for optical aids. This meteor shower can be seen with the naked eye.

Based on information from the National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (LAPAN), this natural phenomenon can be seen from 00.30 a.m. Western Indonesian Time (WIB) until the sun rises at 05.25 WIB.

For those who want to take pictures and record the phenomenon of the Leonid meteor shower, you can use a DSLR camera and an all-sky camera with a 180-degree field of view. To see this phenomenon, it is more advisable to do it in a dark place.

If you want to see this phenomenon, just look at the sky in a dark place. The eyes will need about 30 minutes to adjust to the shade. After that, the eyes will get used to observing the sky, which clearly shows meteor showers.

The ideal sky conditions for seeing the appearance of the Leonid meteor shower are clear and pollution-free skies. The appearance of the meteor shower is even more obvious when witnessed on the outskirts of cities, coasts, villages and mountain slopes.

That's an explanation and how to see the Leonid meteor shower in Indonesia. This natural phenomenon presents a beautiful view of the night sky that can be seen with the naked eye. This moment is also an opportunity for photographers to capture beautiful natural phenomena.

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