(meteorobs) Possible outburst of beta-Perseids

[pmartsching at mchsi.com]

On 9/10 August 1988 I saw an unusual number of Perseids during one hour.  
CDST 9/10 Aug 1988 2:00 - 3:00am = UT 10 Aug 1988 7:00 - 8:00
During this hour I saw 34 Perseids.  At that time I seldom made magnitude
estimates of meteors.  My note says: "Many were fairly faint and within 10
degrees of the main radiant.  Most had trains."  

My meteor counts that night:

UT           PER  UPE  KCG   Spor  L.M.
03:00-04:00   7   1    1     11    6.1
04:00-05:00   2   3    3      5    6.25
05:00-06:00  17   5    0      5    6.3
06:00-07:00  16   2    0      9    6.3
07:00-08:00  34   2    0     20*   6.25
08:00-08:30  11   2    0      5    6.15  0.5 hour

*My note about the 20 Sporadics 07:00-08:00: "Most were 4th & 5th magn. medium
speed, no trains & in Cassiopeia.  path length generally 1 - 4 degrees."

The UPE's (Upsilon Pegasids) were still active then.  They seem to have vanished
completely in the past few years.

I was facing Andromeda and the Double Cluster.  Observing at my usual place: 93
deg 34 min W; 42 deg 05 min N; 4 miles NE of Ames, Story County, Iowa.

Paul Martsching


> Possible outburst of beta-Perseids
> 
> Date: August 08, around 02:50 UT.
> 
> In 1935, a large number of faint meteors were seen
> visually by S. Holm in Denmark. The meteors had
> short tracks and where mostly of +5 and +6 magnitude,
> with only 6-8 meteors brighter than +4 in each 5-minute
> count. Observing conditions must have been excellent
> and the magnitude distribution index steep. Raw counts
> by Holm peak at an amazing 548 meteors in a 5-minute
> interval centered at 23h15m MET. An observer 35 km
> from Silkeborg (at Brabrand, near Aaarhus) noted a
> large intensity of weak meteors at 23h MET, but not
> at all as many as reported by Holm.
> 
> The dust trail responsible for this event, if it is real,
> would be very near Earth's path again on August 8,
> 2006. Meteors would radiate from R.A. = 52º, Decl. = +40º.
> Peak time would be around 02:50 UT. This event
> could be visible from western Europe and the eastern USA.
> 
> If you are able to observe in the night of August 7/8,
> please look for faint meteors (binoculars?). The Moon
> should be out of the way in the final hour of the night.
> 
> I would appreciate any reports on the level of activity,
> in 5-minute intervals, even if no beta-Perseids are seen.
> 
> Peter Jenniskens
> 
> The SETI Institute
> 
> pjenniskens at mail.arc.nasa.gov
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