[Prev][Next][Index][Thread]
(meteorobs) Meteor Activity Outlook for January 25-31, 2002
-
To: undisclosed-recipients: ;
-
Subject: (meteorobs) Meteor Activity Outlook for January 25-31, 2002
-
From: Robert Lunsford <lunro.imo.usa@home.com>
-
Date: Wed, 23 Jan 2002 15:22:59 -0800
-
Delivered-To: meteorobs-mh@atmob.org
-
Delivered-To: meteorobs@atmob.org
-
Reply-To: meteorobs@atmob.org
-
Sender: owner-meteorobs@atmob.org
-
User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Win98; en-US; rv:0.9.4) Gecko/20011128 Netscape6/6.2.1
The moon is full on Monday January 28. With the moon's bright glare in
the sky all night long, meteor observing will be difficult and most
likely unrewarding. The showers listed below are active during this
period but will be difficult to observe. If your sky is transparent and
the limiting magnitude exceeds +5.0 then you may be able to achieve some
success at observing during this period. The estimated total hourly
rates for evening observers this week should be near 1 for everyone
regardless of location. For morning observers the estimated total hourly
rates should be near 3 for everyone regardless of location. These rates
assume that you are watching from rural areas away from all sources of
light pollution. The actual rates will also depend on factors such as
personal light and motion perception, local weather conditions,
alertness and experience in watching meteor activity. Rates are reduced
by moonlight during this period.
The positions listed below are exact for Saturday night/Sunday morning
January 26/27. The positions do not change greatly day to day so these
positions may be used during this entire period. Most star atlas's
(available at science stores and libraries) will provide maps with grid
lines of the celestial coordinates so that you may find out exactly
where these positions are located in the sky. A planisphere or computer
planetarium program is also useful in showing the sky at any time of
night on any date of the year. Activity from each radiant is best seen
when it is positioned highest in the sky, either due north or south
along the meridian, depending on your location. Meteor activity is not
seen from radiants that are located below the horizon. The radiants
below are listed in a west to east manner in order of right ascension
(celestial longitude). The radiants listed first are located further
west therefore are accessible earlier in the night while those listed
last rise later in the night. This list also provides the order of
ascending velocity for each radiant with those listed first usually
being much slower than those last on the list. Velocity should not be
the prime factor for shower association as all showers can produce slow
meteors. Slow meteors can be produced from normally swift showers, such
as the Leonids, when meteors appear near the radiant or close to the
horizon. The true velocity is only revealed in shower members seen far
from the radiant and high in the sky.
The detailed descriptions of each shower will return next week when
moonlight becomes less of a factor.
Alpha Carinids 06:28 (097) -54
Delta Velids 08:04 (121) -46
Alpha Hydrids 09:28 (142) -15
Antihelion 09:24 (141) +14
Theta Centaurids 12:36 (189) -33
Alpha Crucids 13:14 (205) -68
Northern Apex 14:24 (216) +02
Southern Apex 14:24 (216) -28
Clear Skies!
Robert Lunsford
AMS Visual Program Coordinator
The archive and Web site for our list is at http://www.meteorobs.org
To stop getting all email from the 'meteorobs' lists, use our Webform:
http://www.meteorobs.org/subscribe.html