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(meteorobs) NAMN Notes: March 2002

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NAMN Notes:  March 2002
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Introduction:

NAMN Notes is a monthly newsletter produced by the North American Meteor
Network, and is available both via email, and on the NAMN website at:
www.namnmeteors.org


Contents:

1.  Winter Showers of March...
2.  A Cute Meteor Video for Kids...
3.  Fireball Update...
4.  Upcoming Meetings...
5.  For more info...


1.  Winter Showers of March...

March is a fairly quiet meteor month, but a good time to practice some
winter observing!

The delta Leonids (DLE), although having reached a maximum back on February
24th, can still be seen until about March 10th, at lesser rates than the ZHR
of 2 meteors per hour back in February.  These are slow meteors, with a
velocity of about 23 km per second.  According to the IMO Handbook, these
meteors have a possible association with the asteroid 4450 Pan.  On March
10th, the radiant will be at 180 degrees, ie RA 12h 00m, Dec +12, which is
about 4 degrees down to the left of the star beta Leonis on a star map, the
star known as Denebola.  For a map showing the radiant area, check out
http://www.imodot net/calendar/cal01.html#delta-Leonids

What is ZHR, by the way?  It is the Zenithal Hourly Rate, the number of
meteors that an observer would expect to see, on the average, if they are
out under a dark country sky, with the radiant, the area in the sky where
the meteors seem to come from, directly overhead.  In other words, if you
don't have dark skies - or if there is a bright moon, or if the radiant is
not directly overhead, then you will not see as many meteors as predicted by
the 'ZHR rate'.

The gamma Normids (GNO) reach a maximum on March 13th, and can be seen until
about March 22nd.  On the 13th, the radiant will be at 249 degrees, ie RA
16h 36m, Dec -51, which is about 24 degrees due south of the bright star
Antares in Scorpius.  These are fast meteors, with a velocity of about 56 km
per second.  At maximum, the ZHR rates will be about 8 meteors per hour.  A
map showing the movement of the radiant can be found at
http://www.imodot net/calendar/cal02.html#gamma-Normids

The Virginids (VIR) can be seen all month, and through until mid-April.
They are known as the 'ecliptic activity' as the path of the radiant, as it
moves across the sky, follows the ecliptic - or moves from 'zodiac'
constellation to 'zodiac' constellation, if you can remember it better that
way.  The ZHR rate for the Virginids is about 5 meteors per hour.  These
meteors are slow to average velocity, at about 30 km per second.  On March
10th, the radiant will be at 186 degrees, ie RA 12h 24m, Dec 0, which is
very close to the star eta Virgo.

Besides recognized showers, there is also sporadic meteor activity in
March, about 7 meteors per hour, visible to the unaided eye. This
activity is comprised partly of random meteor activity and partly of
meteors that belong to long-ago, now untraceable showers.

If you need some star charts to help you find your way around the night sky,
print yourself off a set from our NAMN website at
www.namnmeteors.org/charts.html.  These charts show the constellations, and
give the magnitudes of stars helpful in judging the brightness of the
meteors you see.  For details on what to record, if you want to do more than
just casually observe, check out our NAMN Observing Guide at
www.namnmeteors.org/guide.html.

In March, last quarter moon is on Wednesday March 6th, new moon on Thursday
March 14th, first quarter on Friday March 22nd, and full moon on Thursday
March 28th.  Spring arrives on Wednesday March 20th, at 19h 16m UT,
according to the Handbook of the RASC, the Royal Astronomical Society of
Canada.

For use in judging the brightness of the meteors you see this month, the
magnitudes of the planets are as follows, at mid-month:
Jupiter     -2.4 visible in Gemini
Saturn      0.1 visible in Taurus
Mars        1.3 low in the evening sky in Aries
On March 20th, Saturn will be occulted by the moon, and on March 22nd,
Jupiter will be occulted by the moon.  If you don't see the planet go behind
the moon where you live, you will at least see them quite close together!


2.  A Cute Meteor Video for Kids...

We couldn't resist this.  If you have children who are interested in
science, or space... show them this little 'NASAtoon' on meteors that we
found on the web:

http://kids.msfc.nasadot gov/SolarSystem/Meteors/MeteorsToon.asp

There are a number of educational video clips out there, but this was a
particularly neat one for our young observers!


3.  Fireball Update...

Our Fireball Coordinator, Kevin Kilkenny, has provided details on some of
the recent fireballs reported for the past couple months.  This information
is collected by NAMN, and then forwarded to the appropriate groups
interested in tracking down any possible meteorite falls.

Jan. 20/02, 8.13 pm local time... Willmington, DE, magnitude -10 with wake
and fragmentation, travelled from W to SW, from 30 degrees elevation to
about 25, fast

Feb. 3/02, 8 pm local time... Brighton, CO, magnitude -6 with train and
fragmentation, travelled from NE to SW, from 45 degrees elevation to about
12, average speed

Feb. 6/02, 9.20 pm local time... Cambridge, Ontario, Canada, magnitude -10
with train and fragmentation, travelled from S to W, from 30 degrees
elevation to about 10, slow

Feb. 6/02, 10.55 pm local time... Seattle, WA, magnitude -5 with no train
and no fragmentation, travelled E to ENE, from 33 degrees elevation to about
17, average speed

Feb. 8/02, 10.36 pm local time... Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, magnitude -10
with wake and fragmentation, travelled WNW to NW, from 20 degrees elevation
to about 10, average speed

Feb. 9/02, 10.30 pm local time... Kingston, NH, magnitude -3 with no train
or fragmentation, travelled S to N, from 30 degrees elevation to about 10,
fast

Feb. 9/02, 2.38 GMT... Nottingham, UK, magnitude -8 with train but no
fragmentation, travelled ENE to NE, from 75 degrees elevation to about 15,
slow

(1)Feb. 9/02, 2.14 pm local time... Boston, MA, magnitude -20 with train but
no fragmentation, travelled W to W, from 90 degrees elevation to 0 degrees
elevation, fast
(2)Feb. 9/02, 2.15 pm local time... Tolland, CT, magnitude -20 with train
but no fragmentation, travelled E to NW, from 60 degrees elevation to about
15, fast
(3)Feb. 9/02, 2.20 pm local time... Haverhill, MA, magnitude -20 with no
train or fragmentation, travelled S to NW, from 60 degrees elevation to
about 20, very fast
(4)Feb. 9/02, 2.30 pm local time... Salem, NH, magnitude -10 with train but
no fragmentation, travelled WNW to WNW, from 20 degrees elevation to about
15, average speed

Feb. 9/02, 10.09 pm local time... Lafayette, CO, magnitude -10 with no train
or fragmentation, travelled ESE to E, from 40 degrees elevation to 0 degrees
elevation, slow

Feb. 10/02, 8.19 pm local time... Golden, CO, magnitude -10 with wake but no
fragmentation, travelled SE to NW, from an unknown elevation to about 35
degrees elevation, very fast

Thanks for your fireball reports!  If you have any questions, drop a note to
Kevin Kilkenny at Mail4Meteors@aol.com


4.  Upcoming Meetings...

March 11-15, 2002, Houston, Texas USA...
The 33rd Lunar & Planetary Conference will be held at the South Shore
Harbour Resort & Conference Center in Houston, Texas.  There will be a
special session on 'Early Lunar Cratering and the Impact Chronology of the
Terrestrial Planets', and also a special 'Education / Public Outreach
Workshop for Scientists'.  For information, check out
www.lpi.usradot edu/meetings/lpsc2002.

July 21-26, 2002, Los Angeles, California USA...
The 65th annual meeting of the Meteoritical Society will be held at the
University of California in Los Angeles.  Special sessions planned include
'Mars:  Meteorites and Missions' and 'Chondrule and CAI origins'.  For
information, check out www.lpi.usradot edu/meetings/metsoc2002

September 26-29, 2002, Frombork, Poland...
IMC 2002, the International Meteor Conference, will be held in Frombork,
Poland - land of Copernicus!  This is the annual conference of the IMO, the
International Meteor Organization, and welcomes all meteor observers, both
amateur and professional.  The conference is organized by CMW, the Polish
Comets and Meteors Workshop.  Besides the talks and discussions, there are
many interesting sites to visit, such as the tower where Nicolaus Copernicus
made many of his observations and the Radziejowski tower with its
astronomical planetarium.  For information, check out www.imodot net and
www.astrouwdot edu.pl/~olech/pkim/imc2002/imc.html.  For specific questions,
contact Mariusz Wisniewski at pkim@astrouwdot edu.pl

For more information on upcoming astronomy meetings, see:
"International Astronomy Meetings List"
http://cadcwww.hia.nrcdot ca/meetings


5.  For more info...

NAMN email:  namn@atmob.org
NAMN website:  www.namnmeteors.org

Mark Davis, meteors@comcastdot net
Goose Creek, South Carolina, USA
Coordinator, North American Meteor Network

Cathy Hall, chall@cyberusdot ca
Metcalfe, Ontario, Canada
Co-author, NAMN Notes

Lew Gramer, dedalus@alum.mitdot edu
Medford, Massachusetts, USA
Coordinator, Public Outreach
Owner/Moderator, 'MeteorObs'

Kevin Kilkenny, Mail4Meteors@aol.com
Staten Island, New York, USA
Coordinator, Fireballs and Meteorites

Back issues of NAMN Notes can be found on-line at the NAMN website
and in the MeteorObs archives at:
www.meteorobs.org
by selecting 'Browse Archive by Month'

To subscribe to the meteor email list or
To find out information on our weekly chat sessions:
Contact Lew Gramer at:
dedalus@alum.mitdot edu

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Here's to 'Clear Skies' for March...

March 2002 NAMN Notes co-written
by Mark Davis and Cathy Hall

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