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(meteorobs) NAMN Notes: January 2000



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NAMN Notes: January 2000
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Introduction:

NAMN Notes is a monthly newsletter produced by the North American Meteor
Network, and is available both via email, and on the NAMN website at:
http://web.infoavedot net/~meteorobs

Contents:

1. Welcome to 2000...
2. Quadrantids...
3. Other January Showers...
4. Closing the Year Out...
5. Index of 1999 Articles...
6. Upcoming Meetings...
7. For more info...


1. Welcome to 2000...

Welcome all to the year 2000! This marks the end of the first full year of
our publication NAMN Notes and we hope that you have all found it both
informative and useful. We have tried in each issue to include both
information on meteor showers for the coming month, and articles on the
various aspects of meteor observing - observing technique, plotting, what
the various terms mean, and how to write up your meteor reports. We have
also provided brief summaries of observations over the course of the year.
In this coming year we look forward to continuing to provide as much
information and assistance as we can to those of you starting out in meteor
observing!

In 1999, we have also expanded and improved the website of the North
American Meteor Network to better serve the needs of beginning meteor
observers. NAMN Notes is now available on the website as well as by email.
We
have prepared and posted on the site a good set of beginning star charts for
use in learning constellations, star magnitudes, and finding meteor shower
radiants. The NAMN site continues to be one of the best sites for beginning
meteor observers, with the NAMN Observing Guide providing all the basics
that you need to know to get more involved in this fascinating hobby of
ours!

How can you, as a beginning observer, best prepare for this coming year? Do
as much reading as you can during this colder time of the year, so that you
will be prepared for your observing outings when you do go out for a meteor
session. Go to the NAMN website at http://web.infoavedot net/~meteorobs and
print off the NAMN Observing Guide, and a set of star charts. Go to the
website of the IMO (International Meteor Organization) at http://www.imodot net
and print off their 2000 Meteor Shower Calendar. It gives all the main
showers visible for the year and maps showing the radiant positions and
their drift over time. A summary of this 2000 calendar will be available on
the NAMN website early in the new year. Lastly, check out Gary Kronk's
Comets and
Meteor Showers website at http://comets.amsmeteors.org to see some online
movies of comets, meteors and asteroids, and to read up on some neat
historical info on the various meteor showers.

Consider subscribing to the printed meteor newsletters for the year 2000.
Meteor Trails, the newsletter published by the AMS, American Meteor Society,
is available for only $8 US for the year (associate membership). To receive
the newsletter, send a money order payable to "AMS" to Karl Simmons, AMS
Treasurer, 3859 Woodland Heights, Callahan, FL 32011, USA. The bimonthly
publication of the IMO is called WGN, and is available as part of membership
which is $25 US. Send a money order payable to "Robert Lunsford" to Mr.
Robert Lunsford, 161 Vance Street, Chula Vista, CA 91910, USA. Both of these
publications are well worth subscribing to if you are interested in getting
into more serious observing.

The year 2000 promises to be an interesting one - both for regular meteor
showers and for such unusual events as the Leonids in November. Some of the
major showers are adversely affected by moonlight this year - such as the
Lyrids, Perseids and Geminids near full moon - but most of the other showers
are more favorable. There are many lesser showers that can be very rewarding
for both experienced and beginning observers alike. If you are just starting
out in meteors, you will be surprised at all the wonderful showers that
exist that you have probably never even heard of!

So, welcome to the new century and the year 2000! We wish you many meteors,
and lots of warm, clear skies!


2. Quadrantids...

The highlight of January is the Quadrantid meteor shower (QUA), named after
the ancient constellation Quadrans Muralis. It is expected to reach a
maximum on January 4th at about 05h UT, Universal Time. This is very near
the time of new moon, so the skies will be dark and very favorable. The
radiant is at 230 degrees, ie. RA 15h20m, Dec +49, which is just past the
halfway mark on a line from the end star of the handle of the Big Dipper to
the upraised arm of Hercules.

The ZHR (Zenithal Hourly Rate) is about 120 meteors per hour with the naked
eye, if the radiant is directly overhead, and if you are out under a dark
country sky. The rates can vary, however, from about 60 to 200 meteors per
hour, so this is a shower well worth your effort in spite of the cold of the
winter season! The meteors are medium velocity at about 41 km per second.

The Quadrantids are different from many of our familiar meteor showers in
that they have a very sharp peak. Most showers are visible over at least
several nights. The Quads, as they are often called, are only at maximum
rate for a mere handful of hours, centered this year on January 4th 05h UT.
According to the IMO, the favored locations include Europe and the eastern
side of North America. However, the IMO states that "an added level of
complexity comes from the fact that mass-sorting of particles across the
meteoroid stream may make fainter objects (radio and telescopic meteors)
reach maximum up to 14 hours before the brighter (visual and photographic)
ones, so observers should be alert throughout the shower!" The full duration
of the shower is listed by the IMO as January 1st to 5th, but with very low
activity away from the maximum.

This is the first major shower of the year, and quite possibly, will be one
of the best. In spite of the colder weather, do not miss this opportunity
to get out and break in the new century with the Quadrantids!


3. Other January Showers...

January is a fairly quiet month as far as reliable minor showers go, so it
is a good month for beginners to get into observing. There is lots of time
between meteors to work at learning the constellations and the brightness
of some of the various stars. If you wish to try plotting meteors, it is
much more relaxed. However, depending on where you live, it can also be
much colder so dress accordingly!

The Delta Cancrids (DCA) reach a maximum on January 17th, with a radiant at
130 degrees, ie. RA 8h40m, Dec +20, which is about halfway between Regulus
in Leo and the middle of Gemini. On January 5th, near new moon, the radiant
will be at 116 degrees, ie. RA 7h44m, Dec +22, which is about 6 degrees
south of the star Pollux in Gemini. The meteors can be seen from about
January 1st to 24th, but even at maximum, the ZHR rates are only about 4
meteors per hour. They are considered slow with a velocity of about 28 km
per second. This shower is listed by the IMO as being "probably an early
part of the Virginid activity... the diffuse ecliptical stream complex...
active from late January to mid-April." If you look on a star atlas, you
will see that this shower radiant is, indeed, just about on the line
labeled as the ecliptic.

The Coma Berenicids (COM), which reached a maximum back in December, are
still visible until about January 23rd but at very low rates. Back in
December the highest rates were only about 5 meteors per hour and will be
less than that in January. On January 5th, near new moon, the radiant
will be at 190 degrees, ie. RA 12h40m, Dec +18, which is about 2 degrees
north of a point about 1/3 of the way between the star Denebola in Leo and
the star Arcturus in Bootes. These meteors are fast, with a velocity of
about 65 km per second.

In summary, around new moon time in January, we have the fast Coma
Berenicids, the medium velocity Quadrantids, and the slower Delta Cancrids.
There will, of course, also be the sporadic or non-shower meteors, which
are always visible throughout the year. These are either random meteors or
meteors which used to belong to a shower that are now so diffuse we cannot
detect a recognizable source for them. On the average, an observer will see
about 7 sporadic meteors per hour.

It should be noted that there are some extremely minor showers visible each
month, but at rates far below detectability unless an experienced observer
plots each and every meteor very carefully. The meteor showers that we
present in our monthly notes are generally those on the International Meteor
Organization's "Working List of Visual Meteor Showers" and are showers
considered to have rates detectable by visual observing.

If you happen to see any rather bright meteors this month, the brightness
of the planets visible are approximately as follows: Venus -4, Jupiter
-2.5, Mercury -0.5, Saturn 0 and Mars 1.0 (to the closest half magnitudes).


4. Closing the Year Out...

We have had a very successful year in 1999 as evidenced by the increased
number of reports submitted. In fact, reports are still arriving daily as
observers close out their records on the year. I urge anyone with reports
not yet sent in to do so as soon as possible. Over the next month, we hope
to issue our November review of meteor activity as well as the 1999 NAMN
Annual Report. Reports should be sent to Mark Davis at the address listed at
the end of this newsletter.


5. Index of 1999 Articles...

The following is an index of the various articles that have appeared in NAMN
Notes over this past year. Every issue also contains 'Upcoming Meetings'
and 'For more info' sections.

The articles in NAMN Notes can be accessed and read on the NAMN home page
for about 6 months at:  http://web.infoavedot net/~meteorobs

Issues previous to that can be accessed in the meteorobs archive at:
http://www.tiacdot net/users/lewkaren/meteorobs by selecting "Browse Archive by
Month."

There are many articles that are very useful to beginners throughout the
year, regardless of what month you are observing!

NAMN Notes: January 1999
Quadrantids...
Other January Showers...
Help in filling out your reports...

NAMN Notes: February 1999
February Showers...
What is Plotting?...

NAMN Notes: March 1999
March Showers and Events...
Communication with Other Observers...
Who are the Meteor Groups?...

NAMN Notes: April 1999
The Lyrids!...
Other April Showers...
Meteor Email List and Chat Sessions...
Canada's Biggest Star Party - Starfest '99...
NAMN and ALPO Results in Use...

NAMN Notes: May 1999
May brings the Aquarids...
Other May Showers...
Some Useful Websites for Meteor Observers...
Meteor Use in Ancient Times...

NAMN Notes: June 1999
The Major Shower for June...
June Lyrids - Deja Vu...
Other June Showers...
The Daylight Streams...
Meteor Shower Codes...
New Comet...

NAMN Notes: July 1999
The Major Shower for July...
The Ecliptic Activity...
Other July Showers...
Analyzing Plotting Maps...
May's Results...

NAMN Notes: August 1999
Here Come the Perseids...
Other August Showers...
A Radiant Summary for New Moon...
June's Results...

NAMN Notes: September 1999
September Brings the Fall...
Possible Aries-Triangulids...
Help for Beginners...
Meteor Results from July...
1999 South Georgia Perseid Results - by Kim Youmans

NAMN Notes: October 1999
October Showers & New Moon Weekend...
Plan Ahead for the Leonids...
Meteor Results from August...
Observing Partner Wanted...

NAMN Notes: November 1999
Here Come the Leonids!...
Other November Showers...
New Star Charts for Beginners...
Meteor Results from September...
Radio Observations of Meteors...

NAMN Notes: December 1999
The Geminids...
Other Showers & Neat Things to Observe...
For New People Interested in Observing...
Meteor Results from October...


6. Upcoming Meetings...

January 10-13, 2000:
The 38th annual Aerospace Sciences Meeting & Exhibit of the AIAA, American
Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, will be held in Reno, Nevada. A
special session on meteors has been proposed, called 'Aerothermochemistry
effects in meteoric plasmas' and will be chaired by meteor astronomer Dr.
Peter Jenniskens of The SETI Institute at NASA/Ames Research Center, and
co-hosted by plasma physicists Dr. Olga Popova of the Moscow Institute for
Dynamics of Geospheres RAS and Dr. Iain Boyd of the Department of
Aerospace Engineering of the University of Michigan. This is an opportunity
for the plasmadynamics, thermophysics, and fluid dynamics communities to
learn more about the physics, aerochemistry, and optical diagnostics of
meteoroids. Information on the conference can be found on the website at:
http://www.aiaa.org/calendar/asm00cfp.html.

April 10-14, 2000:
IAU Colloquium 181 on Dust in the Solar System and Other Planetary Systems,
will be held at the University of Kent at Canterbury, in the United Kingdom.
This colloquium is the seventh in a series dedicated to studies of
interplanetary dust starting in 1967 in Honolulu, followed by Heidelberg,
Ottawa, Marseilles, Kyoto and Gainesville. The meeting comprises 15 or 16
sessions of around one-and-a-half hours duration with a review talk for each
topic and a limited number of 15 minute contributed papers as well as
posters. Scientific areas to be covered will include such topics as
Cometary Dust Modeling and Asteroidal Sources of Meteoroids, The
Interplanetary Dust Complex: Observations from Earth and Space,
Instrumentation for Dust Detection and Analysis, and many others.
Publication of the proceedings is planned after the meeting. Details are
available on the web at: http://wwwdot ukc.acdot uk/physical-sciences/space/

September 21-24, 2000:
The IMC, International Meteor Conference, of the IMO, the International
Meteor Organization, is being held in Pucioasa, Romania, about 100 km
northwest of Bucharest. It is being organized by the Romanian Society for
Meteors and Astronomy (SARM), in cooperation with the mayoralty of Pucioasa.
Pucioasa can be reached by direct trains and buses from Bucharest, and a
shuttle bus from the Bucharest airport to the conference site is planned.
Accommodation will be provided in double rooms, and meals served at the
restaurant of the hotel close to the conference site. The conference fee
will be 170 DEM. A deposit of at least 100 DEM is requested for those
interested in attending, and a registration form is on the IMO website at
www.imodot net.


7. For more info...

Contact:
Mark Davis, MeteorObs@charlestondot net
Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, USA
Coordinator, North American Meteor Network

And check out:
NAMN home page:
http://web.infoavedot net/~meteorobs

Back issues of NAMN Notes can be found on-line at the NAMN website, and in
the meteorobs archives at:
http://www.tiacdot net/users/lewkaren/meteorobs
by selecting 'Browse Archive by Month'

To subscribe to the meteor email list or
To find out information on our weekly chat sessions:
Contact Lew Gramer at:
owner-meteorobs@jovian.com

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Here's to 'Clear Skies' for January...

January 2000 NAMN Notes co-written
by Mark Davis and Cathy Hall
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