(meteorobs)

Peter Jenniskens peter at max.arc.nasa.gov
Mon Jun 28 21:59:22 EDT 2004


IAU C22 - ProAmat Working Group                   June 28, 2004
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PRO-AMAT REGISTRY

At the June's meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Denver,
Colorado, the AAS Working Group for Professional-Amateur Collaboration
announced the inauguration of an on-line registry. This will be a 
searchable database that allows amateur astronomers to detail their
abilities and professional astronomers to make known their observational
needs. 
 
At this moment, the registry is still being developed at:
http://www.aas.org/wgpac/registry/
but is open to entries. Meteor observers interested in participating
in professional observing campaigns with video, photographic, or 
telescopic (CCD) capabilities are encouraged to register. 


JUNE BOOTID (IOTA-DRACONID) OUTBURST JUNE 23 

An outburst of June Bootid meteors was observed from about 
June 22 19h UT until June 24 01h UT (ZHR > 1/hr), peaking at 
a rate of ZHR ~ 30/hr at 11±2 h UT, June 23. The meteors wee 
mostly yellow in color, and the thre low-resolution spectra
recorded by Peter Jenniskens show a strong sodium line, a weak
magnesium line, and a continuum with a relatively small 
contribution from the first positive system of N2. 

The event was predicted by Sergey Shanov and Sergey Dubrovsky, and also
studied by Mikiya Sato and Jeremie Vaubaillon, the latter at IMCCE, and
is the result of Earth passing through a cluster of dust trails of
7P/Pons-Winnecke ejected in the returns of 1819, 1825, and 1830. The
theoretical radiant was calculated at RA = 223.0, Decl. = +47.1 (Vg =
14.14 km/s) by Sato.
e.g.: http://kaicho.pobox.ne.jp/tenshow/meteor/7p2004/e1.htm

PERSEID OUTBURST

The next anticipated outburst will occur during this year's
Perseids, when Earth encounters the recent 1862 dust trail.
Esko Lyytinen  predicts that the 1862 dust trail of comet 
109P/Swift-Tuttle will pass just inside of Earth orbit (at 
a distance of 0.0012 AU) when Earth approaches that point 
during the upcoming 2004 Perseids.  Earth passes the trail 
node at solar longitude (2000.0) 139.441 degrees. This occurs 
at 11 August 20:54 UT. The outburst will be visible from parts 
of Europe and Asia. 


-Peter Jenniskens

Chair ProAmat Working Group
IAU C22  
..........................................................................
 
 Peter Jenniskens       
             
   The SETI Institute                    e-mail: pjenniskens at mail.arc.nasa.gov
   2035 Landings Drive                      tel: (650) 966-8117 or 604-3086
   Mountain View, CA 94043                  fax: (650) 961-9705
 
   http://leonid.arc.nasa.gov
   http://aio.arc.nasa.gov/~leonid/



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