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(meteorobs) Meteor Activity Outlook for February 7-13, 2003
The moon reaches its first quarter phase on Sunday February 9. At this
time the moon will set near midnight and will allow early morning
observers a dark sky free of midnight. Towards the end of the period the
moon will be approaching full and will not set until the last few hours
before dawn. 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 12 for those
located in the Northern Hemisphere and 20 for those in the Southern
Hemisphere. 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. Moonlight will reduce rates seen during the evening hours this
week.
The positions listed below are exact for Saturday night/Sunday morning
February 8/9. The positions do not change greatly day to day so these
positions may be used during this entire period. Most star atlases
(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 following radiants will be
active this week:
The Delta Velids is a shower listed among the radiants of the Dutch
Meteor Society. The date of maximum activity is February 14 with a
predicted ZHR of 2. Current rates would also be less than one shower
member per hour. With such low activity care must be ta