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(meteorobs) Xi Bootid Alert
If you get a chance to observe over the next couple nights, don't forget to
keep an eye out for the Xi Bootids. More information, contributed by George
Gliba, is below.
-Mark Davis
* * * * MINOR METEOR SHOWER ALERT - Possible Xi Bootid Meteors * * * *
On Sunday morning, February 6th, or sooner, there may be a repeat
showing of the possible Xi Bootid minor meteor shower, which was first seen
in 1997 from the Florida Keys, during the annual Winter Star Party. I saw 14
meteors in about 2.5 hours Teff from a radiant near Xi Bootis. I estimated
the general location of the putative radiant as best I could as I wasn't
plotting. If I hadn't see seven meteors from the same area during the first
hour, from 7:23 to 8:23 UT, it would have been hard to estimate a radiant
without plotting, but seeing so many meteors in an hour alerted me to
enhanced activity coming from the constellation Bootes.
Once fixed on a radiant near Xi Bootis, I was strict when assigning any
association to it. As I knew that personal bias can play bad tricks, I put a
limit of five degrees on the size of the radiant. This is smaller than what
the IMO uses for meteor shower associations when plotting. After a total of
about 7.5 hours of meteor observing, from Feb. 5/6 to Feb. 8/9 1997, at
early morning hours, I determined that 26 meteors of medium speed, with an
average magnitude of 3.6, were seen coming from a possible new unknown
radiant near the star Xi in Bootes.
Interestingly, about three hours of enhanced radio meteor activity was
reported by noted radio meteor observer Maurice De Meyere of Deurle,
Belgium, the year before, on February 4/5 1996 UT, according to Radio Meteor
Observation Bulletin No. 31 (March 1996). It is not known if this other
activity is related or not, but it may be.
Although the bright gibbous moon interfered in early February of 1999,
four possible Xi Bootids were plotted by the Canadian meteor observer Pierre
Martin on January 25/26, from RA 13:55 DEC +22 in ~1.6 hours. This area is
about where the radiant for the Xi Bootids would be expected, assuming a
normal eastward drift of about one degree per day, which is very plausible.
This may be the first early confirmation for this possible new minor meteor
shower, and that it starts in late January.
Also, some meteor observers from the Nippon Meteor Society in Japan had
reported in meteorobs last year that some meteor activity was seen in Corona
Borealis, in early February. This is only about 10 degrees from the Xi
Bootis area; so it is possible that this could be the same radiant. Small
errors in their plotting, or in my estimated location could account for
this.
With the very favorable lunar and calendar conditions this year (New
Moon and the Weekend), this year would be a good time to try to plot meteors
from this part of the sky to try to confirm any possible minor shower
activity. Video, radio, radar, and photographic observations are also
encouraged.
Sincerely,
G.W. Gliba
NAMN AMS ALPO AAVSO
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