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(meteorobs) May 2000 Observations, NAMN
North American Meteor Network
Results of May Observations
During the month of May, NAMN concentrated its efforts on the Eta Aquarid
meteor shower. Some consider this the sister shower of the Orionids of
October as both the Orionids and Eta Aquarids have Comet Halley as their
parent. The May sibling is better placed for observers at more southerly
latitudes as the radiant at maximum is at -01 degrees declination. Observers
who monitor this shower are often rewarded with fast and bright meteors the
last hour or two before sunrise. This year we again participated with the
International Meteor Organization in collecting observations of the Eta
Aquarids (see IMO Shower Circular - Eta-AQUARIDS 2000 -- I & II).
The month of May opened with Eta Aquarids being reported on the 1st by Robin
Gray, Robert Lunsford and Norman McLeod. The next six mornings were covered
with rates generally lower than 5 per hour. Exceptions to this were Robert
Goler on May 2 (avg. 7.8/hour); Kim Youmans (avg. 5.5/hour) on May 3;
Michael Mattiazzo (avg. 10.5/hour), Norman McLeod (avg. 7.1/hour), Mark
Davis (avg. 5.3/hour), Robert Lunsford (avg. 7.0/hour) on May 4; John
Drummond (avg. 5.9/hour), Kim Youmans (avg. 7.3/hour), Scott Moser (avg.
5.0/hour) on May 5; Mike Linnolt (avg. 8.5/hour) on May 6; Kim Youmans (avg.
5.4/hour), Norman McLeod (avg. 10.5/hour) on May 7. Other observers
reporting Eta Aquarids in May (at lower rates, often away from the peak)
include: Jure Atanackov, Asdai Diaz, Robin Gray, Pierre Martin, Erick Mota,
Harry Waldron and Jin Zhu.
The second most active shower during the month was the Sagittarids. Several
radiants in the Scorpius and Sagittarius region of the sky were combined
into this one shower by the International Meteor Organization several years
ago. Therefore, they have a long activity period ranging from mid-April into
mid-July with rates never reaching more than about 5 per hour at the most.
Their maximum is normally considered to occur around May 20th. Throughout
this month, most of our observers were able to record at least a few of
these meteors. The highest average hourly rate was 2.85 as reported by Asdai
Diaz on May 6.
As can be seen in the shower list below, there were several minor streams
that exhibited a limited amount of activity during the month. These showers
are normally followed by observers utilizing plotting techniques. Observers,
and the showers they monitored, include: Jure Atanackov (ABO, MVI); Robin
Gray (MVI); Mike Linnolt (ABO, ASC, CAU, MVI); Pierre Martin (ABO, MVI,
OCA); Norman McLeod (ABO, FBO, MVI); James Smith (ABO, ASC, FBO, MVI) and
Kim Youmans (ABO).
In all, 19 observers submitted reports for the month of May. These included:
Jure Atanackov (Slovenia) Michael Mattiazzo (Australia)
Mark Davis (United States) Norman McLeod (United States)
Asdai Diaz (Cuba) Scott Moser (United States)
John Drummond (New Zealand) Erick Mota (Cuba)
Robert Goler (Australia) James Smith (Canada)
Robin Gray (United States) Harry Waldron (United States)
Javor Kac (Slovenia) Kim Youmans (United States)
Mike Linnolt (United States) Jure Zakrajsck (Slovenia)
Robert Lunsford (United States) Jin Zhu (China)
Pierre Martin (Canada)
Showers observed, and the number of each recorded during over 90 hours of
effective observing time in May include:
Shower Number Observed
ABO - Alpha Bootids 9
ASC - Alpha Scorpiids 9
CAU - Beta Corona Australis 3
ETA - Eta Aquarids 242
FBO - Phi Bootids 2
MVI - Mu Virginids 14
OCA - Omega Capricornids 2
SAG - Sagittarids 50
SPO - Sporadics 666
For those interested in a complete listing of observations, visit the
"Recent Observations" section of the NAMN website at
http://web.infoavedot net/~meteorobs. There you will find reports broken down
into observing periods.
Thanks to all observers who contributed reports this past month, and clear
skies in June!!
Mark Davis
NAMN Coordinator
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