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Re: (meteorobs) FWD: Fireball Frequency
Message dated Thursday 19, February 1998:
>There have been various papers published by organizations like the BAA and
>IMO.
>Comparing reports since the War clearly shows a slight fall in fireball
>activity, despite the fact that there are more observers now than at any
>time in
>the past. This lead the BAA Meteor Section Director to conclude that
>Taurid
>fireballs do not exist(!) even though evidence for Taurid fireballs goes
>back to
>at least the 11th Century and there are numerous photographs.
>
>--
>Phil Bagnall
>http://www.ticetboodot demon.codot uk/
This reminds me of a couple unusually bright showers I have seen in the
past:
1988 Ursids (morning of Dec 22): 14 meteors seen within 1.5 hours. Three
-3 fireballs seen within half hour before morning twilight. Viewing done
through bedroom window with clear LM=4.5 !!
1991 South Taurids (early evening of Nov 2): Checking through window
facing radiant to see if it's clear. Almost instantly, a -3 slow, long
fireball appears. Going outside to observe, within 10 minutes another
fireball! This time a slow exploding -5 STA. Too bad I observed only 20
minutes total.
Has other observers seen these showers? My observations are limited but
seem to indicate some form of enhancement for these dates.
I heard about a fireball peak occuring at a time slightly different from
the normal peak for some showers. How many showers have this 'fireball
peak' preceding or following the main peak?
Clear skies!
Pierre Martin
Ottawa, Ontario in the Great White North
Meteor observing and Graphic design