(meteorobs) NAMN Notes: January 2007

[Mark Davis]

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NAMN Notes:  January 2007
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Introduction:
NAMN Notes is a monthly newsletter produced by the North American Meteor
Network and is available both via email, and on the NAMN website at:
http://www.namnmeteors.org


Contents:

1.  Happy New Year!...
2.  Quadrantids, Highlight for January...
3.  Other January Meteor Activity...
4.  Index to 2006 Articles...
5.  Upcoming Meetings...
6.  For more info...


1.  Happy New Year!...

Welcome to 2007!  The North American Meteor Network wishes you all a
'Happy New Year' and lots of clear dark skies for the year ahead.

If you have any questions on observing, or on how to fill out a meteor
report, drop a note to the NAMN Coordinator, Mark Davis at
meteors at comcast.net.  We welcome observations and feedback from observers
not just in North America, but from around the globe as well.

We have a great meteor community, with many active observers.  At NAMN we
concentrate on visual observations, but there are many other means of
observing as well - such as telescopic, photographic, video and radio.
Information on these other types of observations can be obtained from the
International Meteor Organization (IMO) at http://www.imo.net

Get involved in 2007 - we'd like to hear from you!


2.  Quadrantids, Highlight for January...

The Quadrantids (QUA) reach a peak on January 4th this year at about 0h30m
Universal Time (UT).  For observers in eastern North America, on EST, this
means 5 hours earlier at about 7.30 pm on the evening of January 3rd.  The
duration of the shower is from January 1st to 5th.  These are average
velocity meteors at about 41 km per second.

ZHR rates at the peak - and only for a handful of hours - are about 120
meteors per hour.  Unfortunately, this year we will have a full moon.

What is ZHR?  ZHR stands for Zenithal Hourly Rate and is the number of
meteors that an observer would expect to see, on average, in an hour of
observing with the unaided eye, if they are out observing away from city
lights, under a nice dark country sky, and if the radiant, the area in the
sky where the meteors seem to come from, is directly overhead.  The bright
skies this year will reduce the number of meteors that will be visible.  Try
to block the moon from your view as much as possible.

The radiant at the peak will be at 230 degrees, ie. RA 15h 19.8m, Dec. +49,
which is northern Bootes.  A map of the radiant can be found at
http://www.imo.net/calendar/2006/winter

If you want to record visual data for the meteor researchers,
check out our NAMN Observing Guide for information on what to record.  Our
Guide can be found at http://www.namnmeteors.org/guide.html.  We record such
info as the time a meteor occurred, its magnitude (brightness), the shower
it belongs to, its speed, and other comments such as train left behind, or
color.  General information to record includes such things as how dark your
perceived sky is (limiting magnitude), and comments on weather and cloud
cover.  If you have any questions, drop a note to our NAMN Coordinator at
meteors at comcast.net

For visual observers, NAMN has a set of 4 star charts to help you judge the
brightness (magnitude) of the meteors you see.  They are also a great tool
for new observers, to help you learn your constellations better.  The charts
can be printed off from http://www.namnmeteors.org/charts.html.  Set your
printer to landscape mode.

Forms to record your observations can be found at
http://www.namnmeteors.org/namn_form.html and
http://www.namnmeteors.org/appendixC.html


3.  Other January Meteor Activity...

NAMN follows the meteor shower designations in the IMO 'Working List of
Visual Meteor Showers', available on the International Meteor Organization
website at http://www.imo.net

The IMO 'Working List' has some changes this year.  The IMO "does not list
individual periods for various ecliptical showers, but combines them into a
year-round source."  This source has been called the "Antihelion Source".

For January, the Antihelion Source (ANT) produces a ZHR of about 3 meteors
per hour.  These are average velocity at about 30 km per second.  A map
showing the movement of the radiant throughout the month can be found at
http://www.imo.net/calendar/2007.  According to the IMO:

"The Antihelion Source in January produces predominantly faint meteors...
with a large, complex, diffuse radiant that probably consists of several
sub-centres...  an activity maximum may occur close to... January 17...
though ZHRs do not rise above ~ 3-4 even then."

The Coma Berenicids (COM), although having reached a peak back on December
20th, can still be seen until about January 23rd.  These are fast meteors,
at about 65 km per second.  At their peak, ZHR rates were about 5 meteors
per hour.  Rates in January will be less.  This shower is possibly
associated with Comet Lowe, 1913 I, discovered by an amateur astronomer in
south Australia.  A map showing the radiant can be found at
http://www.imo.net/calendar/2006/fall

The alpha Centaurids (ACE) start to become active about January 28th but
will not reach a maximum until February 8th.  These are fast meteors at
about 56 km per second.  ZHR rates are variable.  At the peak rates are
usually about 5 meteors per hour, but outbursts of 20 to 30 an hour have
occurred.  Rates in late January will be lower, but should be monitored.
Many of these meteors are very bright, even fireballs.  Note that this is a
southern shower with a radiant declination of about -59 degrees.  A map of
the radiant can be found at http://www.imo.net/calendar/2005/winter

For other January minor showers not on the International Meteor
Organization's 'Working List of Visual Meteor Showers', and for a wealth of
historical information on all showers, check out Gary Kronk's 'Comets and
Meteor Showers' website at http://comets.amsmeteors.org

Besides January's main activity, and other minor showers, there is also
sporadic meteor activity.  This sporadic meteor activity is about 7 meteors
per hour visible to the unaided eye.  Some of these are random and some
belong to old untraceable meteor showers.

For those of you interested in plotting your meteors (recommended for
serious observations), special IMO plotting maps can be ordered through
Robert Lunsford of the International Meteor Organization.  For details,
contact him directly at lunro.imo.usa at cox.net

Planets at midmonth, and their magnitudes, for northern observers, are:
Venus      -3.8   low in the southwest in evening twilight
Jupiter    -1.8   very low in the southeast in morning twilight
Saturn      0.2   in Leo
Mars        1.5   very low in east-southeast in morning twilight

Depending on your location on the globe, there are a number of occultations
this month - Saturn on January 6th, Venus on January 20th, and Uranus on
January 22nd.  For those of us not in very northern or very southern
locations, the planets will appear just close to the moon on those dates.

The phases of the moon for January are as follows:
Wed.   Jan.  3   full moon
Thurs. Jan. 11   last quarter
Fri.   Jan. 19   new moon
Thurs. Jan. 25   first quarter

A monthly moon calendar can be printed off from
http://stardate.org/nightsky/moon.  For the NASA kids' calendar for the
month, go to http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/en/kids/calendar.shtml

One of the simplest sky charts can be found on the website 'Heavens Above',
at http://www.heavens-above.com.  Ignore the 'Register' bit.  Just 'Select'
your country, then your city, and then scroll down the page to 'Whole Sky
Chart'.  Type in what day you want, and pick a time of night.  Pick black on
white as it's easier to read.  The maps show the constellations and the
positions of all the visible planets.


4.  Index to 2006 Articles...

The following is an index to articles that appeared in the 2006 issues of
NAMN Notes.  The issues can be found online at
http://www.namnmeteors.org/namnnotes.html

January 2006
Happy New Year!...
Quadrantids...
Other January Showers...
Cloudy Night Web Reading...
Index to 2005 Articles.......

February 2006
February - The Doldrums of Winter...
Alpha-Centaurids, a Southern Alert...
Other February Activity...

March 2006
March Meteors...
Invitation to Observers - Come to Holland!...
A Polish Comet for Winter Skies...
Other Neat Things to Observe in March...

April 2006
April - Lyrids for Spring!...
Other April Showers...
Comet Fragments Approaching Earth...

May 2006
Eta Aquarids - Debris from Halley's Comet...
Other May Showers...
International Astronomy Day...
Comet Flyby of Schwassmann-Wachmann 3...

June 2006
June Bootid Activity...
Other June Showers...
RASC Award for Meteor Researcher - Ed Majden...
Summer Reading for Meteor Enthusiasts...
Meteor Info Sheets for the Public...
Maps and Tools for Learning the Sky...

July 2006
Summer Brings the Aquarids...
Other July Activity...
International Meteor Observer Gathering...

August 2006
Perseids - The Best of the Summer...
Lots of Summer Aquarids...
Other August Meteor Activity...
The Pleasures of Amateur Astronomy, by Pierre Martin...

September 2006
September - Aurigids are Falling!...
Aries-Triangulid & September Taurid Meteors... by G.W. Gliba
Other Interesting September Events...

October 2006
October - Monitor the Draconids...
Orionids and Halley's Comet...
Taurids and Fireballs...
Other October Activity...

November 2006
Leonids - Enhanced Activity?...
Taurids - and Comet 2P/Encke...
Alpha Monocerotids...
Other November Meteors...

December 2006
NAMN Notes, 100th Issue...
Geminids, The Jewel of the Meteor Year...
Ursids, Our Christmas Shower...
Other December Meteor Activity...
Other Meteor Observing Methods...


5.  Upcoming Meetings...

June 11-15, 2007, Barcelona, Spain...

The Meteoroids 2007 conference will be held from June 11th to 15th at the
CosmoCaixa Museum in Barcelona, Spain, organized by the Institut d'Estudis
Espacials de Catalunya.

The preliminary scientific program includes the following sessions:
1. Observational techniques and meteor detection programs
2. Meteor showers' activity and forecasting
3. Orbits of meteoroids and dust
4. Meteoroids' interactions with atmospheres
5. Atmospheric effects induced by meteors
6. Astromineralogy:  properties of meteoroids
7. Interrelationships:  meteoroids - IDPs - dust - micrometeorites -
   meteorites
8. Meteoroid flux and impact hazard
9. Meteor studies in astrobiology

Invited speakers include Diego Janches, Pavel Spurny, Douglas ReVelle, Peter
Brown, Jeremie Vaubaillon, Junichi Watanabe, Peter Jenniskens, P.A. Wiegert,
I. Williams, Olga Popova, Lars Dyrud, John Plane, Nick Mitchel, Frans J.M.
Rietmeijer, Jiri Borovicka, George Flynn, Matthew Genge, Donald Yeomans,
Clark Chapman, M.E. Sansaturio, Jose Ortiz, Joseph A. Nuth III, Josep M.
Trigo-Rodriguez, and Alessandra Rotundi.

For more information, check out the Meteoroids 2007 website at
http://www.spmn.uji.es/meteoroids-2007, or contact Dr. Josep M.
Trigo-Rodriguez at trigo at ieec.uab.es.  Note that the deadline for abstracts
is January 12th.

For information on other astronomy meetings, see: 'International
Astronomy Meetings List' at http://cadcwww.hia.nrc.ca/meetings


6.  For more info...

NAMN email: namn at namnmeteors.org
NAMN website: http://www.namnmeteors.org

Mark Davis, meteors at comcast.net
Goose Creek, South Carolina, USA
Coordinator, North American Meteor Network

Cathy Hall, chall at cyberus.ca
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Writer, NAMN Notes

Lew Gramer, dedalus at alum.mit.edu
Homestead, Florida, USA
Coordinator, Public Outreach
Owner/Moderator, 'MeteorObs'

Kevin Kilkenny, namnfireball at earthlink.net
Staten Island, New York, USA
Coordinator, Fireballs and Meteorites

Back issues of NAMN Notes can be found online at the NAMN website and in
the MeteorObs archives at:
http://www.meteorobs.org by selecting 'Browse Archive by Month'

To subscribe to the meteor email list:
Contact Lew Gramer at: dedalus at alum.mit.edu

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Here's to 'Clear Skies' for January...

January 2007 NAMN Notes
written by Cathy Hall & edited by Mark Davis
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