(meteorobs) Meteor Activity Outlook for April 14-20, 2006

[Robert Lunsford]

With the arrival of April, observers in the northern hemisphere still
suffer with low sporadic rates, especially during the evening hours.
Observers south of the equator will witness increasing sporadic rates with
the maximum activity occurring in July. The overall meteor activity is
better than March due to the activity of the two major showers; the Lyrids
and the Eta Aquarids. The Antihelion radiant begins the month in the
constellation of Virgo. By the 15th, the Virginid portion of the antihelion
activity becomes quite low and few meteors are seen. During the last week of
the month a strong center of antihelion activity becomes active in the
constellation of Libra. Many of these meteors can be noticed while viewing
early Eta Aquarid activity. Due to the southerly position of the Antihelions
this time of year, they are slightly better seen south of the equator. The
most favorable time to view meteor activity this month would be near the new
moon, which occurs on April 27. April is also prime time for viewing
fireballs. No exact radiant has been determined for these fireballs but a
good number of them are associated with the Antihelion radiant. Therefore
the hours near 0200 (local daylight saving time) are the most favorable time
to view these events. Still, many have been witnessed during the early
evening hours, when the radiant area lies low in the southeastern sky.

The moon reaches its full phase on Thursday April 13. This weekend and for
the remainder of this period, the moon will be present in the sky most of
the night, limiting the meteor activity to be seen. The sources of meteors
listed below are active during this period but will be difficult to observe.
If your sky is transparent and the limiting magnitude exceeds +5.0, then you
may be able to achieve some success at observing during this period. The
estimated total hourly rates for evening observers this week is near one for
those in the Northern Hemisphere and two for those located in the Southern
Hemisphere. For morning observers the estimated total hourly rates should be
near five for those located in the Northern Hemisphere and six for those in
the Southern Hemisphere. These rates assume that you are watching from rural
areas away from all sources of light pollution. The actual rates will also
depend on factors such as personal light and motion perception, local
weather conditions, alertness and experience in watching meteor activity.
Rates are reduced this week due to intense moonlight


The full listing will continue next week when the moon reaches its last
quarter phase and is not such a nuisance to observers.


See the list below for active radiants this week:

Pi Puppids (PPU)  07:04 (106) -44
Northern Hemisphere   0 - Southern Hemisphere >1

Antihelion (ANT) - 14:32 (218) -14
Northern Hemisphere   1 - Southern Hemisphere  2

Lyrids (LYR) 17:36 (264) +34
Northern Hemisphere   >1 - Southern Hemisphere 0

Eta Aquarids (ETA) 21:12 (318) -09
Northern Hemisphere   0 - Southern Hemisphere >1


*For a detailed explanation on the different classes of meteor showers and
other astronomical terms, please visit:
http://www.amsmeteors.org/showers.html#X2006

Clear Skies!
Robert Lunsford
American Meteor Society