Tonight, Vietnamese people can see an unprecedented meteor shower in history?

A brand new meteor shower may appear tonight, December 12, surprising and exciting many astronomy lovers. Can we observe this meteor shower in Vietnam?

"Brand new" meteor shower

Scientists predict that debris from Comet 46P/Wirtanen could enter Earth's atmosphere and create a brand new meteor shower, dubbed the Lambda-Sculptorids. According to Space.com, Earth typically experiences several meteor showers a year, with the source being the dusty tails of some comets and asteroids. However, 46P/Wirtanen has never caused this.

Meteor showers are interesting phenomena for astronomy lovers.

HAS

Accordingly, on December 12, debris from 46P/Wirtanen may enter the Earth's atmosphere and create a completely new meteor shower, named Lambda - Sculptorids. The event was discovered by chance by a group of scientists from the Paris Observatory (France). According to Space.com, the time of the unprecedented Lambda - Sculptorids meteor shower in history will occur from 8:00 to 12:30 on December 12 GMT, or 15:00 to 19:30 Vietnam time. The level of activity of this meteor shower is still uncertain because it is unprecedented. The most convenient observation area will be Australia, especially Eastern Australia and New Zealand.

How does Vietnam observe?

Speaking to Thanh Nien , Mr. Nguyen Anh Tuan, former head of the Ho Chi Minh City Amateur Astronomy Club (HAAC) confirmed the above information. According to Mr. Tuan, the epicenter of this meteor shower is in the constellation Sculptor, but the intensity of this meteor shower cannot be predicted yet. According to the former head of HAAC, this meteor shower can be observed well in the southern hemisphere, when the Sculptor constellation is near the southern celestial pole. However, Vietnamese people can also observe this phenomenon if the weather conditions are ideal, and the meteor shower occurs as predicted. “In Vietnam, the epicenter of the meteor shower is the Sculptor constellation, which will set after midnight, so the time it can be observed is from dusk to midnight in the southwest. The Sculptor constellation is at its highest when the sun has just set. Because it is a southern constellation, the further south the localities go, the higher this constellation will be above the southern horizon.

Ideal weather is a prerequisite for viewing meteor showers.

HUY HYUNH

Note that in Vietnam, this constellation only reaches its highest point of 20 - 45 degrees in the early evening (the further south the region is, the higher this constellation will appear) and will gradually decrease afterwards, making it difficult to observe well due to clouds on the horizon and light pollution," Mr. Anh Tuan instructed. According to Mr. Tuan, because this is a meteor shower that has never happened before, there are no specific figures. The Hoang (17 years old, living in Tay Ninh ) said that through astronomy groups, the young man accidentally learned about this special meteor shower. As someone who has a special love for celestial phenomena, especially meteor showers, he said he would not miss it. "Even though it is the middle of the week, I still have to go to school, but I definitely will not miss it. Hopefully the weather is good. I also made many friends to watch, because I live in the countryside, there is no light pollution so I can observe more easily," Hoang excitedly said. After this meteor shower, on the evening of December 14 and early morning of December 15, the Geminids meteor shower will reach its peak. This is an event that many astronomy lovers are looking forward to, as it is known as the most beautiful meteor shower of 2023 or "king of meteor showers".

Thanhnien.vn