[Prev][Next][Index][Thread]
(meteorobs) Meteor Activity Outlook June 2-8, 2000
This will be the best week to watch for meteors this month. The moon is
new on Friday and then enters the evening sky over the weekend and into
next week. One can observe as soon as it gets sufficiently dark. As we
approach the June solstice on the 21st the Northern Hemisphere will
endure late sunsets and short nights. Just is opposite is true south of
the equator as they enjoy their longest nights of the year with early
sunsets and late sunrises. Most of the activity centers are located low
in Northern Hemisphere skies but high above for southern meteor
observers.
The first source of activity for the night could be the Omega Scorpids
(OSC). This is a possible outlying member of the antihelion complex. On
Saturday evening this radiant is located 28 degrees west of the main
center of the ecliptical source at 15:52 (240) -20. This position is
just below the famous double star "Acrab", the topmost star of three in
the "head" of the Scorpion. At only 21 kilometers per second, any shower
member would appear to travel very slowly compared to the majority of
meteors seen.
A bit further east would be the antihelion (ELC) radiant now located
near 17:52 (268) -23. This area of the sky is very close to the location
of the December solstice where the sun lies in mid December, near the
intersections of Ophiuchus, Serpens Cauda, Scorpius and Sagittarius. It
is located in the southeastern sky during the evening hours and is best
seen just after midnight. At this time of year there are many different
subradiants located in this area so it is impractical for the visual
observer to try to sort them. It is suggested that any meteor from this
general area be called "ECL's" or "SAG's".
The Apex (SPO/APX) sources are rapidly moving northward and becoming
better situated for northern observers. On Sunday morning the northern
branch will be located at 22:55 (342) +8. This location is in near
the intersection of Aquarius, Pegasus, and Pisces, between the "Circlet
of Pisces" and the "neck" of the winged horse. On the same morning the
southern branch is will be located at 22:55 (342) -22, which is on the
Pisces Austrinus/Aquarius border north of the 1st magnitude star
Fomalhaut. The entire area of western Pegasus, Aquarius, and Pisces
Austrinis can be considered part of this source. Meteors from this
source would be swift except when appearing near the radiant source.
On Sunday morning the Arietids (DAR) are active from a radiant located
at 02:28 (044) +22 . This is located in eastern Aries approximately 10
degrees west of the Pleiades. This is 32 degrees east of the sun so
activity can only be seen shortly before the onset on dawn. Any activity
would likely appear as "Earthgrazers", which are long meteors lasting
several seconds shooting upward from the horizon. Your best chance of
seeing one of these rare meteors occurs Wednesday morning when rates
reach maximum activity. It is a shame that this radiant is so close to
the sun as it is one of the most active annual radiants often producing
50 shower members per hour. These rates were obtained from radio and
radar studies. Consider yourself lucky to see even one of the meteors!
I might also mention that there is also another strong shower active at
this time that is totally invisible to visual observers. It is called
the Zeta Perseids and its radiant is located only 16 degrees west of the
sun. If seen high in a dark sky this radiant would produce
approximately 40 meteors per hour on June 9. Combine these two showers
and there could be over 100 meteors per hour obscured by the sunlit
skies. Obviously this is the best time of the year for radio observers!
Finally the sporadic rates are near their annual minimum levels for
Northern Hemisphere observers. I would expect evening observers to see
2-3 per hour and morning observers to see 6-8 random meteors. Observers
in the Southern Hemisphere could easily see twice these amounts.
Clear Skies!
Robert Lunsford
AMS Visual Coordinator
To UNSUBSCRIBE from the 'meteorobs' email list, use the Web form at:
http://www.tiacdot net/users/lewkaren/meteorobs/subscribe.html