Majestic meteor showers triggered by comet debris to light up sky. Check when to watch

Good news for meteor enthusiasts. Celestial delight is on the way! If you missed the glimpse of meteor showers this year, there is still a good chance to catch the sight of these majestic lights. Planet Earth will enter a stream of debris left around the sun by a near-Earth comet, which will trigger a new meteor shower this week.

As per scientists at the Observatoire de Paris, the Comet 46P/Wirtanen, which orbits the Sun every 5.4 years, could spark a meteor shower on Tuesday as its debris enters and burns up in the Earth’s atmosphere.

Also Read |Space gas stations: American startup aims to revolutionise space technology

Add WION as a Preferred Source

“The results show a possible encounter forecast for 12 December 2023, between 8:00 and 12:30 UT [0300 and 0730 EST]. The activity level of the shower is highly uncertain due to the absence of reported past showers,” they wrote in a yet-to-be peer-reviewed study posted in arXiv.

How to watch meteor showers this week?

As per scientists, the best view of a meteor shower this week can be captured from Eastern Australia, New Zealand and Oceania. They can be witnessed on Dec 12 between 8:00 and 12:30 UT while the exact time may vary a few hours.

Scientists say the meteor shower observation would be of “tremendous scientific interest” as it can put constraints on the distribution of large particles for the comet.

Meteor showers

Meteor showers are created when Earth passes through clouds of debris left behind by comets as they move close to the sun. As radiation from our star heats them, solid material within the comet turns straight into gas through a process called sublimation.

Also Read |Longer daily commute linked to poor mental health: Study

As the gas erupts from the outer icy shell and escapes the comet, it blows debris free that forms the distinctive tails called “comas”, of these icy cosmic bodies.

Meteors showers are named after objects in the sky from where the most intense bombardment seems to come. Thus, the Perseid meteor shower originates from debris left by the comet Swift-Tuttle that appears to stream to Earth from the constellation Perseus.

(With inputs from agencies)