[Prev][Next][Index][Thread]
(meteorobs) Back on topic.....
The clouds have us drifting again....so I will report on my Draconid
campaign. :)
As I already reported, the peak was washed out here. In fact, my lawn chair
was almost flooded out the back of my truck. I went up to the site the
following night (Friday night) and encountered a mostly cloudy evening with
nothing to report. My last evening attempt came Saturday night. Although
somewhat clearer (50 to 75 percent), I only saw two meteors...both
sporadics. Since the correction factors were so high, I did not submit a
report to the IMO (International Meteor Organization).
For the members of the list that are also AMS and/or NAMN members...now
would be a good time to get the early October reports in for
archiving....just in time for the
Orionids! ;->
Speaking of the Orionids, below is a reprint of this month's NAMN Notes
which lists some meteor activity available for those who see the clouds
drifting clearer.
Enjoy....and clear skies!
3. Other October Showers...
The Orionids (ORI) are the major shower of October, and are a reliable
yearly shower, with a ZHR, zenithal hourly rate, of about 20 meteors per
hour with the naked eye. The maximum is on October 21st, with a radiant at
095 i.e. RA 06h20m, Dec +16. Shower members can be seen from about October
2nd to November 7th. The meteors are fast, at about 66 km/sec, and have as
their parent body, Comet Halley.
The Orionids are an excellent shower for new observers. The rates remain
high for at least a couple days, and many of the meteors have trains left
behind them. In recent years, some increased numbers of brighter meteors
have also been seen. The conditions are excellent this year as the shower
is close to new moon. At the maximum, the radiant is near the left foot of
Gemini, in the top left part of the constellation of Orion.
There are a number of minor showers in October as well. Minor showers have
much weaker rates, usually only several meteors per hour, even on their best
night, so extra care must be taken when observing them.
The October Arietids (OAR) reach a maximum on October 8th, near full moon.
The radiant is at RA 02h08m, Dec +08. The meteors are slow, at about 28
km/sec. They can be seen all month, but the rates are very low.
The epsilon Geminids (EGE) reach maximum on October 18th, close to new moon.
The radiant is at 102 i.e. RA 06h48m, Dec +27. These are fast meteors,
at about 70 km/sec. They can be seen in the last half of October, from
about the 14th to the 27th. The rates are also low, only about 2 meteors
per hour, on the maximum night. The parent body is believed to be either
Comet Ikeya 1964VIII, or Comet Nishikawa-Takamizawa-Tago 1987III.
Lastly, the Leo Minorids (LMI) reach a very weak maximum on October 22nd at
RA 10h48m, Dec +37, with fast meteors, about 62 km/sec. Their activity
period, besides being extremely weak, is also very short, from about October
21st to 23rd.
Mark Davis, MeteorObs@charlestondot net
Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, USA
Coordinator, North American Meteor Network
===================================================
NAMN home page:
http://medicine.wustldot edu/~kronkg/namn.html
===================================================