Note! Unspeakable Sky Phenomenon Throughout 2021

Meteor shower illustration (doc. Nasa)

JAKARTA - The years have changed, but the celestial phenomenon will always be anticipated. If in the previous year, we saw amazing views from the conjunction of the Planet Jupiter and Saturn to the supermoon.

Of course, the celestial phenomenon in 2021 is no less interesting. Especially for the period of January 2021, there will be at least about seven asteroids that will pass near the earth and three of them will decorate Indonesia's skies.

1. Asteroid 2003 AF23

The first asteroid nicknamed by NASA was Asteroid 2003 AF23. This celestial body has approached Earth on Sunday January 3 tomorrow. As the name suggests, this asteroid was first discovered in 2003 and has a diameter of 235 meters.

Uniquely, this asteroid has a height equivalent to the Golden Gate Bridge, and is classified as an Aten class near-Earth asteroid, so it has an orbit that can intersect with Earth's orbit. AF23 will pass near Earth in a distance of 18.3 times, or the average distance of Earth-Moon or the equivalent of 7 million kilometers.

2. Asteroid 2008 AF4 and Asteroid 2026 CO247 (January 6)

There is also Asteroid 2008 AF4 and Asteroid 2016 CO247. The two asteroids will later follow Asteroid 2003 AF23 peeking at Earth on Wednesday, January 6, 2021.

It is known, Asteroid 2008 AF4 will pass near Earth in a distance of 9.6 times the average distance of Earth-Moon or the equivalent of 3.7 million kilometers. This asteroid 2008 AF4 was discovered in 2008, and has a diameter of 408 meters and is also classified as an Apollo class asteroid so it has an orbit that can intersect with Earth's orbit.

Meanwhile, Asteroid 2016 CO247 was discovered in 2016 and has a diameter of 282 meters, classified as a near-Earth asteroid class Apollo. According to reports, this asteroid will pass through Earth in a distance of 19.3 times, approximately the Earth-Moon average distance or the equivalent of 7.4 million kilometers.

3. Asteroid 2015 NU13 (9 January)

Then the 2015 NU13 Asteroid that was discovered in 2013 will pass the Earth in a distance of 14.8 times, the average distance of Earth-Moon which is equivalent to 5.7 million kilometers on Saturday, January 9.

The 2015 NU13 asteroid is similar to Asteroid 2008 AF4, which has a diameter of 408 meters and is classified as a near-Earth asteroid of the Apollo class.

4. Asteroid 65717/1993 BX3 (17 January)

Furthermore, Asteroid 65717 (1993 BX3), which was discovered in 1993, has a diameter of 246 meters and is classified as a near-earth asteroid of the Apollo class, so it has an orbit that can intersect with Earth's orbit, and will pass through Earth in a distance of 18.5 times the average distance. Earth-Moon average or the equivalent of 7.1 million kilometers.

5. Asteroids 2020 PP (23 January)

On Saturday 23 January, an Asteroid 2020 PP will pass near Earth within 18.2 times the average Earth-Moon distance, which is equivalent to 7 million kilometers.

As the name suggests, the 2020 PP Asteroid was discovered in 2020, has a diameter of 218 meters and is classified as a near-earth asteroid of the Apollo class so it has an orbit that can intersect with Earth's orbit.

6. Asteroid 468727/2010 JE87 (25 January)

Last Monday, January 25, this celestial phenomenon from Asteroid 468727 (2010 JE87) will pass near Earth within 15.8 times the average Earth-Moon distance or the equivalent of 6.1 million kilometers.

It is known that Asteroid 468727 (2010 JE87) was discovered in 2010, has a diameter of 257 meters and is classified as a near-earth asteroid of the Aten class.

Although including asteroids that are close to Earth, all these asteroids have no potential to collide with Earth, at least for the next century.

Meteor Rain

1.The Quadrantids Meteor Rain Peak (January 3 to 4)

Second, the peak appearance of the Quadrantids meteor shower is equally amazing. This phenomenon will occur on January 3 to 4 which is a meteor shower and is known to have a large intensity of more than 100 meteors per hour.

Quadrantid meteors seem to come from the ancient Quadrant Muralis constellation, which is now part of the constellation Bootes. First seen in 1825, they came from the tiny asteroid 1003 EH1, which was discovered by the Lowell Observatory Near-Earth Object Search in March 2003.

Apparently, this meteor was emitting from a constellation called the "Muralis Quadrans," which no longer exists. However, the constellation was not the true source of the meteor.

According to the American Meteor Society, the meteor shower has the potential to be one of the strongest showers this year, along with the Perseids and Geminids. Unfortunately, this rain activity lasted only six hours, because, "The reason the peaks are so short is due to the thin flow of particles and the fact that the Earth crosses the stream at a perpendicular angle," NASA said.

According to NASA, the Quadrantid is called one of the "best annual meteor showers." The Quadrantids returns annually between December 28 and January 12. However, after the Quadrantids, no more meteor showers will occur for more than three months, when the Lyrids and Eta Aquariids return in April.

2.Lyrids (April 14th to April 30th)

The first time this meteor was discovered by astronomers from China. He discovered these bursts of light more than 2,700 years ago.

They flare in the sky at a speed of about 107,000 miles per hour and explode about 55 miles in the planet's atmosphere. This shower comes from Comet Thatcher, which circles the sun every 415 years. His last journey was in 1861 and his next encounter near the Sun was in 2276.

3.Eta Aquariids (April 19 to May 28, peak around May 4 to 5)

The Eta Aquariids meteor shower, also sometimes known as one of the two meteor showers of Halley's comet. Meanwhile, the rain of his younger brother, Orionid, will reach its peak in October.

Spots from the Eta Aquariids streaked across the sky at a speed of about 148,000 miles per hour, making it one of the fastest meteor showers. The view is better seen from the southern hemisphere, where people typically enjoy between 20 and 30 meteors per hour during its peak.

4. Delta Aquariids (July 12 to August 23, peak around July 28 to 29)

They come from Comet 96P Machholz, which crosses the Sun every five years. Its meteors, which number between 10 and 20 per hour, are most visible before dawn, between 2am and 3am. This meteor shower can be seen clearly from the southern hemisphere.

5. Perseids (July 17 to August 24, peak around August 11 to 12)

The Perseids light up the night sky as Earth walks near the cosmic debris left by Comet Swift-Tuttle. The Perseids are 17 miles wide and take about 133 years to orbit the Sun. Its last round was in 1992.

Typically, between 160 and 200 meteors will appear dazzlingly visible in the Earth's atmosphere each hour during its peak. They hurtled through the atmosphere at about 133,000 miles per hour and exploded about 60 miles above the sky.

6. Orionids (2 October to 7 November, peak 19 to 20 October)

The Orionids meteor is a repeat of the Eta Aquariid meteor shower, which peaked in May. Both came from cosmic material spewed from Halley's comet.

Dubbed the celestial celebrity, because this meteor only orbits past Earth once every 76 years, this weekend's rain will occur again in 2061.

7.Leonids (November 6 to 30, peaks November 16 to 17)

The Leonids are one of the most dazzling meteor showers and every few decades produce a meteor storm, where more than 1,000 meteors can be seen in an hour.

The last time this powerful celestial phenomenon occurred was in 2002. Its parent comet is called Comet-Temple / Tuttle and orbits the Sun every 33 years.

8.Geminid (December 4 to 20, peaks December 13 to 14)

Geminids, along with the Quadrantids meteors that peaked in January, are thought to have originated not from comets, but from asteroid-like extraterrestrial rocks.

Geminids are thought to have been produced by an object called 3200 Phaethon. If you can see it, this meteor shower can illuminate the night sky at speeds between 120 and 160 meteors per hour.

9. Ursid (December 17 to December 26, peak December 21 to 22)

The Ursid meteor tends to illuminate the night sky around the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere. They only fire about 10 to 20 meteors per hour. They appear to be radiating from Ursa Minor, and coming from Comet 8P / Tuttle.