BRIN Explains Chronology and Causes of Meteorite Passing Over Java

JAKARTA - National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) Professor of Astronomy, Thomas Djamaluddin, revealed that the phenomenon of bright celestial objects that passed and were visible on Java Island on Saturday night (11/7) was a large-sized meteor that entered the Earth's atmosphere. Thomas explained that the meteor was first detected passing over the Java Sea before it was seen from the Bekasi area at around 21.22.35 WIB. At that time, the meteor was still at a fairly high altitude, so it looked like a relatively small white glowing object. "Meteors come from space rocks orbiting the sun. When their trajectory crosses the Earth's orbit, the rocks enter the atmosphere at very high speeds. Friction with the atmosphere causes the surface to heat up to glow, so it looks like a meteor," he said as quoted by ANTARA. Thomas explained that the sputtering process begins when the space rock enters the atmosphere at an altitude of about 120 kilometers above the Earth's surface. In this phase, the rock material begins to undergo ablation or erosion due to very high temperatures, resulting in bright light that can be seen from the Earth's surface. Based on its trajectory analysis, it is clear that the meteor is moving southeast across part of Java Island. When entering the denser atmosphere, the object gets brighter and starts to show different color changes at various observation locations. Meanwhile, in the eastern part of West Java, a number of residents of Cirebon and Kuningan reported hearing a sound of a bang shortly after the meteor passed. Thomas explained that the sound was not from an explosion on the surface, but a sonic boom that was formed when the meteor was traveling at very high speed in the lower atmosphere. "The sound of the impact occurs because the meteor is moving much faster than the speed of sound. The shock wave was only heard a few moments after the meteor passed because the sound takes time to reach the surface," he said. In Majalengka, continued Thomas, the meteor was reported to appear blue. Furthermore, the same object was seen in the Nagreg area around 21.23.37 WIB and Tasikmalaya as a bright light that occasionally illuminates the clouds. The color variation is a common phenomenon in meteors because it is influenced by the composition of the minerals that make it up as well as the atmospheric conditions it passes through. When it passed through the Yogyakarta area at around 21.23.57 WIB, a number of residents witnessed the meteor emitting a very bright green light. According to Thomas, the green color comes from the magnesium element contained in the space rock and emits a characteristic light when it burns at very high temperatures due to friction with the atmosphere. From the series of observations collected, BRIN estimates that the meteor continues to move southeast until it finally loses its speed and possibly ends up in the Indian Ocean, south of East Java or Bali. "This phenomenon is an interesting natural event that also serves as a reminder that the Earth continues to interact with the space environment. As long as the meteor burns out in the atmosphere or falls in an uninhabited area, people don't need to worry. The most important thing is to understand the phenomenon scientifically so that it is not easily influenced by various incorrect information," said Thomas Djamaluddin.