BRIN Explains Meteor Sighting That Went Viral Over Jakarta's JORR Toll Road

A video showing a meteor streaking across the sky over the Jakarta Outer Ring Road (JORR) in East Jakarta has gone viral on social media. The National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) has provided an explanation for the phenomenon. The footage shows a white object moving rapidly from south to north in the sky over the JORR toll road heading towards Taman Mini Indonesia Indah (TMII). Professor of Astronomy at BRIN, Thomas Djamaluddin, confirmed that the event also occurred in Bekasi, West Java, on Saturday night. ‘It was an event last night that was also observed on the Bekasi toll road,’ Thomas said when contacted on Sunday. Thomas explained that a large meteor passed over Bekasi at 9:22 p.m. Western Indonesia Time. The meteor was at a high altitude, making it appear relatively small and white in colour. ‘A large meteor passed from the Java Sea and was detected over Bekasi around 9:22:35 p.m. WIB. This meteor was still quite high, so it looked relatively small and white,’ he said. He explained that meteors originate from space rocks whose orbits intersect with Earth’s, burning up upon entering the atmosphere at an altitude of about 120 kilometres. Thomas stated that the meteor sighting over the JORR toll road was the same one seen over Bekasi. He added that such small meteors are not dangerous and occur quite frequently in Indonesia.