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(meteorobs) Here Come the Ursids!
Following November's outstanding display from the Leonids, and the solid
performance of this month's Geminids, observers now have the opportunity to
end the year on another high note - the Ursids! With the shower predicted to
reach maximum activity on December 22, the shower will conveniently peak on
a weekend, plus for many people, at the beginning of their Christmas
vacation! Being the "Christmas Shower" as some may call it also has
drawbacks though. The nearness to the holiday, plus the cold weather typical
for this time of year for many observers, often results in the Ursids being
neglected. This is unfortunate as this shower is in need of much more data,
and has occasionally entertained observers by pulling a few tricks out of
its hat.
The Ursids can actually be seen from December 17th to December 26th. The
radiant at maximum on December 22nd is at 217 degrees. For those who prefer
right ascension and declination coordinates, this corresponds to RA 14 hours
28 minutes, Dec +76. This is in the area of the "pointer stars" of the
Little Dipper (Ursa Minor). Moving at an average pace (33 km per second),
their zenithal hourly rate (ZHR) at maximum is in the neighborhood of 10
meteors per hour. But this shower has occasionally shown some variability
and produced rates several times that number.
I encourage everyone to set aside some time to observe this shower.
Observations throughout their activity period will be extremely valuable.
For those who are not certain of what data to record during the shower, we
have a convenient, basic form for your use. Once the information is
recorded, you can then simply transfer it into an email, and submit your
observation electronically. And to make it a snap to use, the form comes
with a step-by-step set of instructions on how to fill the form out. All of
it is available as a Microsoft Word file by sending me a request at
sc.meteors@home.com. If you would like a copy though, please contact me soon
as I will be out of town beginning December 20th. Finally, a very useful map
of the Ursid radiant can be found at
http://www.imodot net/calendar/cal01.html#Ursids.
Observations we receive will be archived and forwarded to the International
Meteor Organization. Observing summaries will be posted at the NAMN website
and in the January issue of NAMN Notes.
Clear skies, and good luck!
Mark Davis, sc.meteors@home.com
Goose Creek, South Carolina, USA
Coordinator
North American Meteor Network (NAMN)
NAMN Website: http://www.namnmeteors.org/
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If you are interested in complete links on the 2001 LEONIDS, see:
http://www.meteorobs.org/storms.html
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