If you’ve seen a bright streak in the sky over the past few days, you’ve probably been lucky enough to spot a meteorite that originated from the year’s last meteor shower: the Geminideas. The phenomenon began on November 4 and will continue until Friday (17). The peak of rain, that is, the date on which it will be possible to observe a greater number of meteors in the sky – it will be Tuesday (14), during the night.
According to Professor Rodolfo Lange, Coordinator of the Astronomy Observatory at Unesp (São Paulo State University) in Bauru, in the interior of São Paulo, the good news is that rain can be observed by people from all over Brazil. The bad thing is that astronomy lovers will have to stay up until at least 3am to get a good view. Before that, the moon, which is in crescent phase and is 75% bright, will remain very high in the sky, darkening the meteor glow.
The constellation of Gemini, which is the radiant sign of Gemini [ponto no céu da onde os meteoros parecem se originar] It will be born at 9:30 pm, but at that time the rain intensity will still be low. From midnight until 3 am, meteors will be heavy, but on the other hand, the brightness of the moon will hamper the observation. Therefore, the best time would be from three in the morning.”
According to Lange, under ideal conditions, it is expected that it will be possible to monitor up to 120 meters per hour. But he emphasizes, however, that this is a calculation based on a series of variables that, unfortunately, will not be in favor of the Brazilians.
An example is the absence of a moon in the sky. The other is for the radiator to be above the viewer’s head, which won’t happen. Under these conditions, at best, it would be possible to see only about 20 meteors per hour.
“The tendency to make the most of this phenomenon is to move to a place away from the city lights and, if possible, lie down on a beach chair, in order to get the largest possible field of view. It is worth noting that, however, as the meteorites appear to have originated from One point, it can be seen from anywhere in the sky.”
“Another golden tip is to stay away from the cell phone, as looking at the device screen reduces the size of the pupil and blurs the retina, thus reducing the observer’s vision. It takes at least 20 minutes in the dark total so that the eye can return to working at full capacity,” Add.
What are meteorites?
Meteorites are phenomena that characterize the passage of a meteorite through the Earth’s atmosphere. Meteorites, in turn, are bits of comets or asteroids that separate from these stars and wander through space in orbits around the sun.
In the case of Geminis, the star in question is an asteroid named 3200 Phaeton, discovered in October 1983 by IRAS (Infrared Astronomy Satellite), a joint space observatory of the United States, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. The star became known after its “close proximity” to Earth, astronomically speaking, on December 10, 2007. Every year, around this time, the Earth passes through debris left by Phaeton in its orbit, causing rain of meteorites.
* Trainee in R7 Under the supervision of Pablo Marquez
