TEMPO.CO, Bandung - Throughout October 2021, four meteor showers can be seen in the sky starting from Draconid on Wednesday, October 6. The three other so-called shooting stars are the South Taurid, Delta Aurigid, and Orionid.

According to an astronomy activist from the Southern Sky Community in Bandung, Avivah Yamani, the Draconid meteor shower is classified as minor which will last five days and peak on October 8 with 10 fireballs per hour from the dust remnants of comet 21P Giacobini-Zinner.

“This meteor shower can be enjoyed after sunset until the Draco constellation sets at 21:33 WIB (Western Indonesian Time),” she said on Tuesday, October 5.

The South Taurid meteor shower will last from September 10 to November 20 and peak on October 10. Derived from the dust grains of Asteroid 2004 TG10 and the remnants of Comet 2P Encke's dust, the maximum number of meteors is only 5 per hour. “Interestingly, this Taurid meteor shower will produce many fireballs,” Avivah added.

She said they will fall at a speed of 28 kilometers per second. Observers can wait for the shooting stars after sunset. The best time for observation starts at 21:00 WIB. “When the moon has set and the radians of the South Taurid constellation is high enough,” she explained.

The Aurigid delta meteor shower, meanwhile, will appear on October 10-18. As quoted from the Southern Sky’s page, the peak time will be on October 11, and there will only be 3 meteors per hour from the constellation Auriga. The meteor speed will be 64 kilometers per second. However, its origin remains unknown to date. The best observation time starts at 23:09 WIB until dawn.

The last meteor shower will be Orionid which will last from October 2 to November 7 and peak on October 21, 2021. The shooting stars from Halley's comet dust will produce 25 meteors per hour at a rate of 66 kilometers per second. However, the light of the full moon will make it difficult to be observed.

Read: Meteor Rains to Appear on Indonesian Sky Mid-April

ANWAR SISWADI (CONTRIBUTOR)