(meteorobs) Missing delta-Leonids...

[Rainer Arlt]

Dear Karl and all,

> I was carefully reading at the 2009 IMO Shower Calendar,
> and was surprised to see that no text develops the
> observation of delta-Leonids, although their maximum
> occur when the Moon in nearly new. Is it due to a lack
> of space in the Calendar? Or due to another point I do
> not know?

Alastair McBeath who writes the Calendars does not consider
the delta-Leonids a relevant visual shower because of their
weakness and vicinity to the antihelion source. I would
still like to keep them in the Working List because of their
link to an asteroid, possibly dormant comet. Upon editing
the Calendar I add the delta-Leonids to the Working List,
but do not write new chapters in Alastair's text. You see
this is science -- there is no single 'official' opinion.
The delta-Leonids could be distinguished from the anthelion
source in video data, and there are a number of orbits
showing there is a distinct stream in space. But the shower
may be hard to detect visually.


Best regards,
Rainer