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(meteorobs) re comets & meteors



Dear Sergey Shanov and meteorobs folks

I read with interest the note Sergey Shanov made re comets and meteors.

Some simple quick thoughts for anyone interested.

73P/Schwassman-Wachmann 3 is traditionally thought to be associated with
the tau Herculids.  My memories a little rusty, but I think this shower was
firsted spotted as an outburst in Japan in 1930, predicted after the comet
was discovered.

Gary Kronk's webpages [comets.amsmeteors.org] should help here.
Specifically :-
http://comets.amsmeteors.org/meteors/showers/tau_herculids.html

So Sergey Shanov's speculations are interesting, especially as the comet
did fall to bits last time around.

Kronk notes vague similarities in orbit between 73P/SW3 and
7P/Pons-Winnecke, responsible for the June Bootids = iota Draconids =
Pons-Winneckids.

And then Takemo Hashimoto recently noted on the meteorobs pages an interest
in May alpha Bootids, because of a suspected 73P/SW3 connection.

Some of Sergey's predicted radiants are similar to some of Takemo's
observed visual ones, if you all look back a bit in the archives.

[As a general note, I'll say that Babadzhanov's work, as referenced by
Sergey, is often quoted nowadays as being at the forefront of this sort of
mathematics, not by me, who ain't clever enough follow such things [nor
read Russian], but by folk _really_ in the know].

Good old 45P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdusakova, as well as being a contender for one
of the longest comet names there is, is often hinted at as being the parent
of the Capricornid shower, whilst I believe no less an authority than Brian
Marsden himself has at some time or another found against this idea [using
memory].

103P/Hartley 2 : hands up all those who remember the beta Cygnids?

Basically, some time ago someone, somewhere, predicted this comet would
give a shower.  Anybody remembering the details kindly inform Sergey Shanov
of them.  I did find one vaguely possible beta Cygnid in the archives of
the Dutch Meteor Society's orbital databases.  One swallow does not make a
Spring.  Note that Sergey Shanov's radiant for 1997 is somewhat distant
from beta Cygni, which may help explain a thing or two re their
non-detection in the past...

107P/Harrington-Wilson gets the blame for a lot of things... ..dot it has even
been very loosely connected with the Murchison meteorite in its time,
though this is highly unlikely.

Many Jupiter family comets will give theoretical radiants near
Aquarius-Capricornus from late June to late August, although I note that
Sergey's radiant is actually in September, which is intriguing.


Such things are very interesting, and notification of potential upsurge in
shower activities can be useful [as recently debated on meteorobs].

Things like the Ursids and alpha Monocerotids have occasionally higher
rates, but over very narrow time intervals, such that in some cases it is
only of late that they have been caught displaying such behaviour.

I commend Sergey Shanov on his work.

Cheers to all

John

John Greaves
UK

PS to North American observers: anybody got any plotted evidence for meteor
activity from a tightish radiant near Leo's _hindquarters_ centred quite
tightly on Nov 21/22 of any year?  We're talking very fast meteors.  Maybes
some are hidden amongst Leonid data?

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