TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The phenomenon of a meteor falling on Saturday night, July 11, 2026, has sparked wide discussions on social media in Indonesia. Many residents uploaded videos showing a bright object streaking across the sky in several areas on Java Island. Some reported hearing a booming sound shortly after the object passed.
Based on his scientific analysis, Thomas Djamaluddin, an astronomy and astrophysics researcher at the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), stated that the phenomenon was a large meteor entering the Earth's atmosphere. Meteors originate from space rocks orbiting the sun. When their trajectory intersects with Earth's orbit, these rocks enter the atmosphere at very high speeds.
"Friction with the atmosphere causes the surface to heat up and glow, appearing as a meteor," said Thomas, through a written statement shared on Sunday night, July 12, 2026.
The research professor, who once served as the Head of the National Institute of Aeronautics and Space, explained that the glowing process began when the space rock entered the atmosphere at an altitude of around 120 kilometers above the Earth's surface. During this phase, the rock material began to ablate or erode due to the extremely high temperature, resulting in bright light.
Based on the trajectory analysis, the meteor seen on Saturday night moved southeast across parts of Java Island. Thomas mentioned that the meteor was first detected over the Java Sea before it was visible from the Bekasi area around 21:22:35 WIB. At that time, the meteor was still quite high, appearing as a small white object.
As it entered denser parts of the atmosphere, the object became brighter and displayed different colors in various observation locations. In Majalengka, the meteor was reported to appear blue. Subsequently, the same object was seen in the Nagreg area around 21:23:37 WIB and in Tasikmalaya. When passing through the Yogyakarta area around 21:23:57 WIB, several residents witnessed the meteor emitting very bright green light.
"The color variations are a common phenomenon in meteors due to the influence of the constituent mineral compositions and the atmospheric conditions it traverses," said Thomas. He explained that the color green is generally associated with the presence of magnesium or nickel, which ignite at high temperatures during entry into the atmosphere. "Each chemical element has a different light spectrum when heated."
From the observations gathered, BRIN estimated that the meteor continue to move southeast until it lost its speed, possibly ending in the Indian Ocean, south of East Java or Bali.
In the eastern part of West Java, some residents of Cirebon and Kuningan reported hearing a booming sound shortly after the meteor passed. Thomas explained that the sound did not come from an explosion on the surface, but from a shockwave (sonic boom) formed when the meteor traveled at very high speeds in the denser lower atmosphere.
"The booming sound occurred because the meteor was moving much faster than the speed of sound," said Thomas, adding, "The shockwave was only heard some time after the meteor passed, as the sound took time to reach the surface."
Thomas explained that the phenomenon of a falling meteor, as on Saturday night, is actually not unusual on an astronomical scale. For example, on October 5, 2025, the phenomenon of a fireball originating from the Draconid Meteor Shower also made headlines as it was seen in the Cirebon sky.
In fact, Thomas said, every day the Earth receives millions of space rocks of various sizes from outer space, but most are very small and burn up in the atmosphere, only appearing as "shooting stars".
He added that the Earth's atmosphere effectively acts as a natural shield against space objects. Most meteoroids (space rocks that enter the Earth) burn up before reaching the surface.
"As long as meteors burn up in the atmosphere or fall in uninhabited areas, the public need not worry. The most important thing is to understand the phenomenon scientifically to avoid being easily influenced by various inaccurate information," said Thomas.
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