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(meteorobs) Meteor Activity Outlook for December 1-7, 2000



The moon reaches its first quarter phase on Monday December 4. At this
time it will be limited to the evening sky and will set near midnight.
The morning hours will still be available for dark observing conditions.
Next week will offer unfavorable conditions so you had better get out
now before we get too close to the holiday madness and the lack of
observing time that comes with it. The positions listed below are exact
for Saturday night/Sunday morning December 2/3. The positions do not
change greatly day to day so these positions may be used during this
entire period.

The Phoenicids is an irregular shower with good activity some years and
little the next. DMS records give this shower a ZHR of 2.8 which is
actually better than a lot of showers. If this is true then some shower
members should be visible each year. With a declination of -53 this
shower is mainly a Southern Hemisphere event. The location of the
radiant on Saturday evening is 01:04 (016) -54. This position lies in
southeastern Phoenix, some 5 degrees northwest of the bright star
Archernar (Alpha Eridani). The shower reaches maximum activity on
December 5 with a radiant position located at 01:12 (018) -53. Shower
members have an entry velocity of only 18 km/sec. which is very slow
compared to other showers. Compared to the Leonids, these meteors 
would seem to crawl across the sky. The Phoenicids have an short but
interesting history. After never being seen before this shower erupted
upon the scene on December 5, 1956 providing early evening observers
with rates near 100 per hour. Many of these meteors were fragmenting
fireballs. The exact solar longitude of the display was centered at
153.33 degrees which corresponds to 04:20 UT on December 5, 2000. This
time would favor Central America and western South America.
Unfortunately the first display was the most intense and shower rates
have been low every since. I would still keep an eye on this shower as
we never know when another Phoenicid outburst could again occur!

The Antihelion radiant is now centered at 5:44 (086) +23. This position
lies in extreme eastern Taurus near the borders of Gemini and Orion. 
Any slow meteor from eastern Taurus, southern Auriga, northern Orion, or 
western Gemini is a good candidate for this shower. This area of the sky
is best placed near 0100 local time when it lies on the meridian. At
this time expect to see perhaps 2 to 3 meteors from this source. Those 
observers reporting to the IMO should classify these antihelion meteors
as Chi Orionids. 

The Monocerotids are active from a radiant located at 06:24 (96) +08.
This location lies in northwestern Monoceros just 2 degrees northwest of
the famous "Rosette Nebula". This area of the sky is best placed high 
in the sky near 0200 local time. Rates this week should improve to 1 or
2 shower members per hour as seen from rural sites. The Monocerotids are
of medium speed which means they will appear to move slowly if seen 
near the radiant or near the horizon. Those seen far from the radiant
and high in the sky will appear to travel faster, but much slower than
swift showers such as the Leonids.

The Sigma Hydrids are just now becoming active. The current radiant lies
at  08:04 (121) +04 which is in eastern Canis Minor some 7 degrees east
of the brilliant star Procyon (Alpha Canis Minoris). This area of the 
sky is best placed near 0300 local time. Rates will be low this week,
most likely near 1 shower member per hour. Shower members possess a
swift velocity which means these meteor will appear as fast moving
streaks if seen far from the radiant and high in the sky. If seen near
the radiant or the horizon they will appear to move more slowly.

The Zeta Puppids may be active from a radiant located at 08:44 (131)
-46. This position lies in a rich star field in western Vela some 3
degrees southwest of the bright star Lambda Velorum. Activity from this
radiant would be difficult to detect from the Northern Hemisphere. Those
situated south of the equator have a much better chance of seeing any of
this activity. This radiant is highest in the sky near 0400 local time.
Shower members would appear to travel slowly if seen near the radiant or
low in the sky. Those appearing far from the radiant and high in the sky
would be of medium velocity.

The Northern Apex is now located at 10:44 (161) +22. This position lies
in northern Leo halfway between the bright stars Gamma and Delta Leonis.
Since this radiant is diffuse any meteors from  Leo or Leo Minor would 
be a good candidate. As seen from the Northern Hemisphere this source
should still be quite active producing 3-4 meteors per hour near dawn.
>From the Southern Hemisphere this source would be much lower in the sky 
and only producing 1-2 meteors per hour.

The Southern Apex source lies exactly 30 degrees south of its northern
counterpart at 10:44 (161) -08. This position lies in a rather blank
area of the sky in the southeast corner of the constellation Sextans.
Like the northern apex these meteors are best seen toward dawn when the
radiant lies highest above the horizon in a dark sky. Any meteor from
Sextans, Hydra, or Crater would possibly be a good candidate from this
source. As seen from the Northern Hemisphere this source should produce
2-3 meteors per hour near dawn. Similar rates would be seen from the
Southern Hemisphere.

The Sporadic rates for the Northern Hemisphere should still be quite
strong. One would expect to see perhaps 8-10 random meteors per hour
during the last hours before dawn from rural observing sites. During 
the evening hours perhaps 2-3 random meteors can be seen per hour with
some lunar interference. Rates seen from the Southern Hemisphere are on
the upswing but still only 75% of the northern rates.

Clear Skies!

Robert Lunsford

AMS Visual Program Coordinator
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