(meteorobs) Meteor Activity Outlook for January 10-16, 2015

Thu Jan 8 17:26:35 EST 2015

Robert,

This week's Outlook is all jammed together and 
very difficult to read. Apparently, you sent it in a different way this week.

Regards,
Richard

At 05:03 PM 1/8/2015, you wrote:
>During this period the moon reaches its last 
>quarter phase on Tuesday January 13th. At this 
>time the moon is located 90 degrees west of the 
>sun and rises near midnight local standard time 
>(LST). At this time evening skies are dark but 
>the light of the half illuminated moon will 
>interfere with observing during the morning 
>hours. This weekend the waning gibbous moon will 
>hamper viewing meteor activity after 2200 (10pm) 
>LST.  The estimated total hourly meteor rates 
>for evening observers this week is near 3 as 
>seen from the northern hemisphere (45N) and 2 as 
>seen from southern tropical latitudes (25S). For 
>morning observers the estimated total hourly 
>rates should be near 10 as seen from the 
>northern hemisphere and 8 as seen from south of 
>the equator. 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 during the morning hours are reduced due 
>to interfering moonlight. Note that the hourly 
>rates listed below are estimates as viewed from 
>dark sky sites away from urban light sources. 
>Observers viewing from urban areas will see less 
>activity as only the brightest meteors will be 
>visible from such locations. The radiant (the 
>area of the sky where meteors appear to shoot 
>from) positions and rates listed below are exact 
>for Saturday night/Sunday morning January 10/11. 
>These positions do not change greatly day to day 
>so the listed coordinates may be used during 
>this entire period. Most star atlases (available 
>at science stores and planetariums) will provide 
>maps with grid lines of the celestial 
>coordinates so that you may find out exactly 
>where these positions are located in the sky. A 
>planisphere or computer planetarium program is 
>also useful in showing the sky at any time of 
>night on any date of the year. Activity from 
>each radiant is best seen when it is positioned 
>highest in the sky, either due north or south 
>along the meridian, depending on your latitude. 
>It must be remembered that meteor activity is 
>rarely seen at the radiant position. Rather they 
>shoot outwards from the radiant so it is best to 
>center your field of view so that the radiant 
>lies at the edge and not the center. Viewing 
>there will allow you to easily trace the path of 
>each meteor back to the radiant (if it is a 
>shower member) or in another direction if it is 
>a sporadic. Meteor activity is not seen from 
>radiants that are located below the horizon. The 
>positions below are listed in a west to east 
>manner in order of right ascension (celestial 
>longitude). The positions listed first are 
>located further west therefore are accessible 
>earlier in the night while those listed further 
>down the list rise later in the night. These 
>sources of meteoric activity are expected to be 
>active this week. The center of the large 
>Anthelion (ANT) radiant is currently located at 
>08:12 (123) +18. This position lies in western 
>Cancer, 4 degrees west of the 4th magnitude star 
>Asellus Australis (Delta Cancri). Due to the 
>large size of this radiant, Anthelion activity 
>may also appear from western Leo, Gemini, Canis 
>Minor, northwestern Hydra as well as Cancer. 
>This radiant is best placed near midnight LST, 
>when it lies on the meridian and is located 
>highest in the sky. Rates at this time should be 
>near 2 per hour as seen from the northern 
>hemisphere and 1 per hour from south of the 
>equator. With an entry velocity of 30 km/sec., 
>the average Anthelion meteor would be of slow 
>velocity. The December Leonis Minorids (DLM) are 
>active from a radiant located at 12:04 (181) 
>+21. This position lies in western Coma 
>Berenices, 7 degrees northeast of the 2nd 
>magnitude star Denebola (Beta Leonis). These 
>meteors are best seen near 0400 LST when the 
>radiant lies highest above the horizon. This 
>shower peaked on December 21st so current rates 
>would be less than 1 per hour no matter your 
>location. At 63 km/sec. the December Leonis 
>Minorids produce mostly swift meteors. The Canum 
>Venaticids (CVN) are a new shower discovered by 
>Peter Brown and his associates at the University 
>of Western Ontario, using meteor orbits obtained 
>by radar. This activity was verified by the IMO 
>video network which has 271 possible candidates 
>in its database. This shower is best seen from 
>January 13-18, with maximum activity occurring 
>on the 15th. At maximum the radiant is located 
>at 14:00 (210) +38, which places it in eastern 
>Canes Venatici, 6 degrees west of the 3rd 
>magnitude star Seginus (Gamma BoÃ¶tis).  These 
>meteors encounter the atmosphere at 56 km/sec., 
>which would produce mostly medium-swift meteors. 
>These meteors are best seen during the last few 
>hours before dawn, when the radiant lies highest 
>in a dark sky. This activity would be difficult 
>to view from the southern hemisphere as the 
>radiant lies low in the north at dawn. The X 
>Corona Borealids (XCB) are another new shower 
>discovered by Peter Brown and his associates at 
>the University of Western Ontario. This shower 
>is best seen from January 11-18, with maximum 
>activity occurring on the 15th. At maximum the 
>radiant is located at 16:36; (249) +30, which 
>actually places it within the borders of 
>Hercules, 2 degrees southwest of the 3rd 
>magnitude star Zeta Herculis.  These meteors 
>encounter the atmosphere at 49 km/sec., which 
>would produce meteors of average velocity. These 
>meteors are best seen during the last few hours 
>before dawn, when the radiant lies highest in a 
>dark sky. This activity would be difficult to 
>view from the southern hemisphere as the radiant 
>lies low in the north at dawn. As seen from the 
>mid-northern hemisphere (45N) one would expect 
>to see approximately 7 sporadic meteors per hour 
>during the last hour before dawn as seen from 
>rural observing sites. Evening rates would be 
>near 2 per hour. As seen from the tropical 
>southern latitudes (25S), morning rates would be 
>near 6 per hour as seen from rural observing 
>sites and 2 per hour during the evening hours. 
>Locations between these two extremes would see 
>activity between the listed figures. Rates 
>during the morning hours are reduced due to 
>interfering moonlight. The list below offers the 
>information from above in tabular form. Rates 
>and positions are exact for Saturday 
>night/Sunday morning except where noted in the 
>shower descriptions. Anthelion (ANT) - 08:12 
>(123) +18  Velocity - 30km/sec. Northern 
>Hemisphere - 2 per hr.   Southern Hemisphere - 1 
>per hr. Dec. Leonis Minorids (DLM) - 11:14 (169) 
>+27  Velocity - 64km/sec. Northern Hemisphere - 
>1 per hr.   Southern Hemisphere - 1 per hr. 
>Canum Venaticids (CVN) - 14:00 (210) 
>+38  Velocity - 56km/sec. Northern Hemisphere - 
><1 per hr.   Southern Hemisphere - <1 per hr X 
>Coronae Borealids (XCB) - 16:36 (249) 
>+30  Velocity - 49km/sec. Northern Hemisphere - 
><1 per hr.   Southern Hemisphere - <1 per 
>hr   Clear Skies! Robert Lunsford    American 
>Meteor 
>Society 
>_______________________________________________ 
>meteorobs mailing list meteorobs at meteorobs.org 
>http://lists.meteorobs.org/mailman/listinfo/meteorobs