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RETURN TO THE ISLAND: Students and astronomy enthusiasts at Balik Pulau, Penang had one of their best experiences observing the Geminid meteor shower, as the environmental conditions at the observatory were almost perfect.
Caused by an asteroid called 3200 Phaethon, the Geminid meteor shower is one of the most active and reliable meteor showers that occur around December of each year.
Lim Choon Kiat, a senior fellow at the Astronomical Society of Penang (ASP), said the time period between 10 p.m. Sunday (December 13) and 9 a.m. Monday (December 14) was when the maximum number of Geminid meteors could be seen.
He said that if ideal environmental conditions are met, observers could witness the maximum activity of the meteor shower.
“For the Geminid meteor shower, we could see between 120 and 150 meteors per hour if the environment is perfectly dark and the night skies are completely clear,” Balik Pulau told Bernama at his observatory in Pulau Betong when observing the meteors on Sunday. night.
He said that the night of December 13 was almost perfect as it coincided with the old moon, making the meteors more visible without the glaring moonlight.
“It was quite cloudy when we started our stargazing activity around 10 pm, but the skies cleared for the most part starting at midnight,” he said.
Around 20 observers from ASP and Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) participated in the observation of the Geminid meteor shower.
Lim explained that past observations of the meteor shower used to be open to the public and have catered to hundreds or thousands of curious observers.
“However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the Movement Control Order, we only limit to about 20 participants who have pre-registered,” he said, adding that they also broadcast a live broadcast of the Geminid Meteor Shower. through social media platforms.
ASP President Dr. Chong Hon Yew said that the meteor shower observation activity concluded at 6 am on Monday (December 14) and saw a total of 323 Geminid meteors, including 10 “geminid balls. fire”.
A “fireball” meteor is described as a significantly brighter meteor, while still lasting for a few seconds before disappearing.
“Several ASP members were able to capture some meteors and a fireball in images and on video,” he said.
Around 3.44 a.m., photographer Alex Oon, 43, managed to capture a photo of a green fireball passing through the Orion Belt.
He said that he had almost given up and was about to end the night as his camera battery was almost empty and memory card storage was almost full.
“My camera battery was at two percent, but I decided to give it one last push. I’m very happy that I managed to capture this lucky shot before my battery ran out, ”he said.Called
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