The 23rd Astronomical Camping
1998 Leonids Storm from Jordan
Last Updated 18/11 at 22:20 UT
a.. General View
b.. Visual Observation
c.. Radio Observation
General View
A preliminary overview is given of the Jordanian observation of the 23rd
astronomical camping, which was dedicated to observe the 1998 Leonids meteor
shower around its peak. The camping was held between 16-18 November, in a
site close to Al-Azraq Oasis which is located 150 Km east of Amman, the
capital of Jordan. The Coordinates of the observing site are :-
37:06:45 E , 31:42:58 N , h=555 m .
10 members participated in the first night, and another 16 members followed
them in the second night. It was expected that a storm will occur anytime
between 15-23 UT on the night 17-18/11 But unexpectedly, the storm occurred
on the night 16-17/11 ! As we returned we knew that the storm occurred on
17/11 at 6 UT, over the Atlantic Ocean, i.e. 16 hours before the expected
time !
The high rate of meteors was detected as soon as the observers started the
observations at 20:45 UT on 16/11. This high activity was clearly noticed
even from Amman, where the sky was superb at that time and the limiting
magnitude reached about 5.0 ! This abnormal high rates forced many of our
members who had exams in universities and schools and other appointments on
17 and 18 November to totally ignore these things and to follow the others
on the second night, when the storm was expected. If such high rate was
detected 24 hours before the expected peak's time, so what will happen at
the peak's time ? This what those members said, and so they traveled to the
desert. The sky Al-Azraq was superb too, where it was cloudless, moonless,
and the limiting magnitude was about 6.2.
Visual Observation
Below are our preliminary results, we will update them within one or two
days; as soon as we finish the final report. The observers on the first
night were:-
1.. Khalil Konsul (KONKH)
2.. Khalid Al-Tell (TELKH)
3.. Amera Al-Hemsy (HEMAM)
4.. Iyad Mustafa (MUSIY)
5.. Ghazalaha Al-Abd (ABDGH)
6.. Yahya Bni-Hamad (HAMYA)
7.. Dana Al-Khatib (KHADA)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
The Night 16-17/11
Observer Time (UT) Teff Number of meteors
KONKH 20:45-03:15 6.5 1039
HEMAM 20:45-03:15 6.5 1042
TELKH 21:03-03:15 5.7 710
KHADA 20:45-01:00 4.25 375
MUSIY 20:45-00:00 3.25 350
ABDGH 20:45-03:15 6.5 +1000
HAMYA 20:45-01:22 4.37 585
* Teff: Effective time in hours.
a.. On 17/11 Khalid Al-Tell of JAS mentioned that he saw 256 meteors
between 1:02 - 1:58 UT, this correspondence to ZHR of 446, and he saw 237
between 1:58 - 2:54 UT (ZHR = 364). While he saw 64 meteors between 2:19 -
2:31 UT (ZHR = 463). He add that some fireballs appeared from horizon to
horizon (180 degrees) ! Many of which were green.
b.. From Amman I (Mohammad Odeh) was able to see many fireballs after 23
UT on 16/11, I couldn't believe what I was seeing, sometimes I was not able
to follow the meteors, where at certain times I estimated that three meteors
were visible each minute around 00 UT on 17/11 ! Within about one hour from
23:30 - 00:30 UT I may say that I saw about 200 meteors ! None of which was
fainter than magnitude ZERO ! It was the best meteor shower I've ever seen
so far.
Radio Observation
a.. Observers: Ala' al-Hemsy, Moh'd Alawneh, and Moh'd Odeh
b.. Location: Al-Azraq desert, Jordan (37 07' E, 31 43' N)
c.. Antenna: Yagi FM 3 elements.
d.. Receiver: Commercial FM radio (Eroica)
e.. Observing Method: Listening by ear
f.. Frequency: 97.2 MHz
g.. Transmitter Location: Three stations from Turkey, (750 Km, 900 Km,
and 1106 Km), 30 KW Power.
Day Time (UT) Teff Number
17/11 21:39-22:39 1.0 46
17/11 22:39-23:39 1.0 76
18/11 00:14-01:14 1.0 70
18/11 01:14-02:14 1.0 76
18/11 02:14-02:30 0.27 24
Total 4.27 Hours 292 Meteors
a.. Teff: Effective time in hours.
b.. Number: Number of meteors heard.
c.. Click here to hear a 20-second meteor ! The longest recorded meteor
we heard yet: leo.ra
d.. To know more about observing meteors by radio, kindly click here.
[Back to the Reports Page. | Back to JAS' Home Page | Back to Geocities'
Home Page ]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
By Moh'd Odeh. Jordanian Astronomical Society (JAS), All Rights Reserved.
This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission. For more
information Send E-mail or contact us at : The Jordanian Astronomical
Society (JAS), P.O.Box 35022, Amman 11180 Jordan
