[Prev][Next][Index][Thread]

(meteorobs) 2001 Lyrids

North American Meteor Network
Call for Observations: 2001 Lyrids

This year NAMN kicks off its meteor observing campaigns with the Lyrids of
April. Since many of us will be experiencing a little warmer weather, I
encourage you to make plans now to contribute observations this month. All
of the reports we receive will be archived, forwarded to the International
Meteor Organization (IMO), and mentioned in an upcoming issue of our monthly
newsletter “NAMN Notes.”

You will be able to catch some of these meteors during the period of April
16th to April 25th. But I will warn you beforehand that you won't see very
many if you observe very far from their maximum. The IMO predicts this peak
of activity will occur at 0400 hours Universal Time on April 22, 2001. And
that's good news for a lot of us since that is the weekend (Saturday
night/Sunday morning -April 21/22)! And to sweeten the pot, the nearly new
moon will pose no problem at all.

For the Lyrids, we have set aside two nights for coordinated watches.
Observers can make plans for Friday night/Saturday morning (April 20/21) or
Saturday night/Sunday morning (April 21/22). Of course, reports from other
dates are welcome too, but we are particularly interested in seeing a strong
turnout for these two dates.

The radiant for the Lyrids, or where they will appear to come from, is
located at 18’04” right ascension and +34 degrees declination. There are two
star charts available on the Internet that shows the location of the
radiant. For a larger scale map showing nearby constellations, see the NAMN
star chart at http://web.infoavedot net/~meteorobs/charts.html (choose Map #3).
A smaller scale chart, which marks the location of the radiant, is the IMO’s
chart at http://www.imodot net/calendar/cal01.html#Lyrids.

For a complete report, the information you need to record includes:

* Your name
* Your address
* Longitude/latitude of observing site
* Date
* Start and end times of your observing period
* Field of View - the direction and altitude you face while observing
* Clouds, or the amount of sky obscured
* Limiting magnitude of the sky
* Observed showers
* Meteor magnitudes

Not sure how to obtain some of this information? Or what format to report it
in? No problem! We have an article available via email that discusses each
of these in detail, and even includes a simple reporting form to use in
reporting your results. To get a copy, email me at MeteorObs@charlestondot net.

For more information on the history of the Lyrids, see the April issue of
NAMN Notes available at the NAMN website.

Mark Davis, MeteorObs@charlestondot net
Goose Creek, South Carolina, USA
Coordinator, North American Meteor Network
=======================================================
NAMN:   http://web.infoavedot net/~meteorobs
=======================================================






To UNSUBSCRIBE from the 'meteorobs' email list, use the Web form at:
http://www.tiacdot net/users/lewkaren/meteorobs/subscribe.html