{"id":37205,"date":"2023-12-10T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-12-10T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/386d4164-432d-4b7b-af8b-0127746dbbc5"},"modified":"2023-12-10T15:46:12","modified_gmt":"2023-12-10T14:46:12","slug":"hyperactive-alcohol-comet-could-spawn-never-before-seen-meteor-shower-tonight","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/rss_feed\/hyperactive-alcohol-comet-could-spawn-never-before-seen-meteor-shower-tonight\/","title":{"rendered":"Hyperactive \u2018alcohol\u2019 comet could spawn never-before-seen meteor shower tonight"},"content":{"rendered":"

Modelling has predicted that Earth\u2019s orbit will intersect with the meteoroid stream this December. <\/p>

By Holly Spanner\n <\/p>

Published: Sunday, 10 December 2023 at 14:00 PM<\/p>

\n\n

There is a chance, albeit a small one \u2013 that Earth may encounter a debris stream from comet 46P\/Wirtanen between 10 \u2013 12 December, the later date coinciding with the start of the Geminids peak.<\/p>

This means we could<\/em> see a brand-new meteor shower<\/strong> in 2023:<\/p>

\u201cNew research has indicated that on 12 December 2023, the Earth may travel through a trail of dust left behind by Comet 46P\/Wirtanen back in 1974,\u201d explains Dr Darren Baskill<\/a>, an astrophysicist\u00a0from the University of Sussex.<\/p>

A mysterious hyperactive alcohol comet<\/h2>

46P\/Wirtanen is a short-period \u2018Jupiter-family\u2019 comet, which takes just 5.4 years to orbit the Sun<\/a>. This family of comets are so named after Jupiter<\/a>, because their orbits are primarily determined by the gravitational influence of the gas giant. More than twice as massive as all the other planets combined, Jupiter has a significant effect on bodies within the Solar System. \u00a0<\/p>

Comet 46P\/Wirtanen is what\u2019s known as a \u2018hyperactive\u2019 comet. This means that it shows more activity than expected (i.e., the comet is emitting more than expected), given the small size of its nucleus. It has an estimated diameter of 1.4km (0.9 miles), and narrow-band observations taken from the 2018 apparition suggest that 40 per cent of the nucleus surface is active<\/a>.<\/p>

Observations from the W. M. Keck Observatory<\/a> on Maunakea in Hawai\u02bbi found that during the most recent approach in 2018, the comet was releasing unusually high amounts of alcohol<\/a>. And, also unusually, that another process \u2013 beyond radiation from the Sun \u2013 was heating up the comet. Comet Wirtanen clearly has more secrets to reveal, and maybe future apparitions (the next closest approach in May 2024) will provide some answers.<\/p>

The comet was the original target for ESA\u2019s Rosetta spacecraft, however, due to the mission being delayed the original launch window was missed. A new target, 67P\/Churymov-Gerasimenko,<\/a> was established instead.<\/p>

A new meteor shower from Comet Wirtanen?<\/h2>

Back in 1974 \u2013 and then again in 1980 \u2013 46P\/Wirtanen ejected a meteoroid stream, which previously had not intersected with the path of Earth\u2019s orbit. Modelling by the IMCCE l\u2019Observatoire de Paris<\/a> has revealed, however, that there was an encounter in 2007 and 2018. An encounter with the stream is again predicted for December this year, when the Earth will pass through a denser part of the meteoroid stream.<\/p>

It\u2019s important to emphasise that this is based on modelling only; no meteor shower has so far been confirmed.<\/p>

But the modelling reveals that meteors from 46P\/Wirtanen are<\/em> making it to Earth.<\/p>

How to differentiate simultaneous meteor showers<\/h2>

So, if we do see a meteor shower \u2013 how can we differentiate these meteors from those of the Geminids?<\/p>

We\u2019ll be able to differentiate this shower from the Geminids by the radiant and velocity of the meteors observed. The radiant for this new shower will be near the faint constellation of Sculptor in the southern sky, and at around 15km\/s (10.3 km\/s before the influence of Earth’s gravity), the meteors would be much slower than the Geminid meteors. The shower (if it occurs) is yet unnamed.<\/p>