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After a new meteor shower, the peak is expected to occur next week. This exciting event has been described in an article available on the preprint server arXiv. The report states that the meteor shower, which will be named Lambda-Sculptorídeas, is set to reach its peak in the southern hemisphere. The scientific community is attributing this phenomenon to the world-renowned meteorologist, Jeremie Vaubaillon, from the Paris Observatory in France.
According to the study, this new shower will be born next Thursday between 5 and 9.30 in the morning, according to Brasília time. The radiant area of this meteor shower is close to the star Lambda Sculptoris, hence the proposed name Lambda-Sculptorídeas.
Interestingly, the cause of this meteor shower is not a celestial body commonly associated with such events. Instead, it is believed that comet 46P/Wirtanen will be considered the cause of this likely meteor shower. This relatively small comet, with an estimated diameter of 1.2 km and an orbital period of 5.4 years, was first photographed on January 17, 1948, by the American astronomer Carl A. Wirtanen. It took more than a year to identify this object as a short-period comet due to a limited number of initial observations.
In December 2018, NASA released an image of Comet 46P/Wirtanen as part of the National Solar System image. On the sixteenth of December that year, the comet passed within a few million kilometers of Earth. This distance is equivalent to thirty times the distance between Earth and Mercury. Usually, this comet has to travel quite a distance around Earth before it can be seen by astronomers. However, during its most recent visit, it got as close as it needed to be seen at this very moment, making it the twelfth closest approach of a comet to Earth in the entire modern period and one of the brightest in the last 20 years.
Interestingly, this wasn’t the first sighting of Comet 46P/Wirtanen. It had been seen in 2007, 2012, and 2017. According to models, Earth would have passed through a triangle of debris in both 2007 and 2018, potentially causing meteor showers. However, these events were never officially recorded. Astronomers who witnessed the comet’s discovery on each of these occasions have been eagerly waiting for a peer review of their results to confirm their findings.
Given the slow entry velocity and relatively small sizes of the meteoroids associated with this new meteor shower, astronomers predict that observations will be challenging. Despite the difficulties, the article encourages meteor enthusiasts to conduct scientific observations and send their reports to the International Meteorological Organization (IMO).
Meteors from this new shower may not be easily visible in Brazil. Astronomer Marcelo Zurita, who presides over the Paraibana Astronomy Association (APA) and is a member of the Brazilian Astronomical Society (SAB), explains that this is due to the fact that the shower is relatively concentrated and not widely spread out. Additionally, the peak of activity is expected to occur during the morning hours, with an estimated 10 meteors per hour.
However, Australia is expected to be the best place on Earth to observe this new meteor shower. Even there, it will not be easy to see the meteors at the beginning of the night on the 12th. The lack of visibility is primarily caused by the intensity of the meteors. Zurita warns that these meteors will not generate much light as they are generated by small particles and enter the Earth’s atmosphere at a relatively low speed of around 11 km/s. Nonetheless, it remains a great opportunity for those who wish to observe meteors.
In conclusion, this upcoming meteor shower, named Lambda-Sculptorídeas, is generating significant excitement within the scientific community. With expectations of a peak next week in the southern hemisphere, astronomers are eagerly preparing for the event. Although the visibility may be limited in certain regions, the opportunity to witness this natural phenomenon is one that should not be missed.
