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(meteorobs) Meteor Trails #4
The June issue of Meteor Trails is currently in the mail and should be
received by our subscribers this week. If you are interested in joining
the American Meteor Society and receiving this journal please request an
affiliation form from me.
The major articles in this issue include:
The Meteor Meniscus: Meteor Distance verses Meteor Zenith Angle by James
Richardson
Sporadic Hourly Rates January-March 1999 by Mark Davis
Reductions of Leonid Meteor Photographs by R.B. Minton
The 1999 Charles P. Olivier Award by Dr. David Meisel
Since there is a chance that some of you may not receive your issue
before the June Lyrids peak on Wednesday, the write-up on this shower is
included here:
TARGET SHOWERS FOR SUMMER
BY ROBERT LUNSFORD
Our first target shower for the summer season is the June Lyrids. This
shower was first detected in 1966 and was apparently active until the
early 70's. For the next 20 years rates were very low or nonexistent.
Rates were so poor that the IMO dropped the shower from its radiant
list. While trying to confirm any June Lyrid activity in 1996, a
surprise occurred when on the morning of June 12 I plotted 10 meteors
with an apparent radiant between the constellations of Draco and Cygnus.
This radiant was located 20 degrees north of the position listed for the
June Lyrids. Nothing was seen of this shower on the previous night and
very little activity was seen on the next two nights. Another surprise
came from the Netherlands 4 nights later when Marco Langbroek observed a
small outburst of activity from the exact same area of the sky. He
counted 13 meteors in just less than two hours time. He labeled this
radiant as the Xi Draconids and an article on this display was published
in the IMO Journal in August 1996. That same year activity from the
original June Lyrid radiant was very low.
In 1997, the Xi Draconids once again reappeared and badly outnumbered
the June Lyrids. I was out on both the nights of the 11/12 and the
15/16, with the first night producing the most activity.
In 1998, I was only able to observe on the night of the 15/16 and 4 Xi
Draconids vs. zero June Lyrids were recorded.
This year the moon is near new and will not cause any interference
whatsoever. The best observing period will be from June 11-20. The
radiant(s) will be some 30 degrees high in the northeastern sky at dusk
and will be near the zenith near 2am local daylight time. I would
suggest that observers place their center of view between the two
radiants so that equal coverage can be allotted to both showers. Be sure
to use the Atlas Brno charts provided to plot or to locate these
radiants.
Both of these radiants produce meteors of medium speed. Please make an
effort to watch this activity and share with us your counts from each
radiant.
Clear Skies!
Robert Lunsford
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