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(meteorobs) NAMN Notes: March 2003
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NAMN Notes: March 2003
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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:
http://www.namnmeteors.org
Contents:
1. March Meteor Showers...
2. Websites for Cold Winter Nights...
3. Upcoming Meetings...
4. For more info...
1. March Meteor Showers...
March is a fairly quiet month for meteor showers - and also one of the
coldest months of the year for North American observers. There is some
activity though, for hardy and dedicated observers.
The delta Leonids (DLE), although having reached a peak back on February
24th, can be seen until about March 10th. These are slow meteors, with
a velocity of about 23 km per second. The ZHR, Zenithal Hourly Rate, was
only about 2 meteors per hour back in February, so March rates will be low.
Because these are such slow meteors though, they should be easily
recognizable. Zenithal Hourly Rate means the number of meteors, on the
average, that an observer would see if they were out under a dark
country sky, and if the radiant, the area in the sky where the meteors seem
to come from, is directly overhead. A map showing the radiant of this
shower can be found at http://www.imodot net/calendar/cal03.html#delta-Leonids
The gamma Normids (GNO) reach a maximum on March 14th, with a radiant
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, ZHR rates will be about 8
meteors per hour. A map showing the radiant can be seen 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 radiant moves along the
path of the ecliptic in the sky. These are slow to average velocity, at
about 30 km per second. ZHR rates are about 5 meteors per hour. Radiant
coordinates for the month are as follows, and can be plotted on our NAMN
star charts (http://www.namnmeteors.org/charts.html) for easy reference:
March 10 186 0 ie. RA 12h 24m Dec 0
March 20 192 -3 ie. RA 12h 48m Dec -3
March 30 198 -5 ie. RA 13h 12m Dec -5
For information on minor showers visible, check out Gary Kronk's
'Comets and Meteor Showers' website at http://comets.amsmeteors.org
Besides recognized main showers, and other minor showers, there is also
sporadic meteor activity in March. This sporadic activity is about 7
meteors per hour, visible to the unaided eye. This activity is
comprised partly of random meteors and partly of meteors that belong to
long-ago, now untraceable showers.
This month, the phases of the moon are as follows:
Mon. Mar. 3 new moon
Tues. Mar. 11 first quarter
Tues. Mar. 18 full moon
Tues. Mar. 25 last quarter
Planets at midmonth, and their magnitudes, are:
Venus -4.1 in east in morning
Jupiter -2.5 in Cancer
Saturn 0.0 in Taurus
Mars 0.8 in Sagittarius
A star map showing the planets' positions can be printed off from
http://www.heavens-above.com - Select your location, then go to
'Whole Sky Chart'.
Recording sheets for your data can be found at
http://www.namnmeteors.org/namn_form.html
and an email template at
http://www.namnmeteors.org/appendixC.html
with information on what to record found in our NAMN Observing Guide at
http://www.namnmeteors.org/guide.html
2. Websites for Cold Winter Nights...
When you are not out observing on these bitter cold nights, check out
the following rather interesting websites. Some are meteor/meteorite
related, and others have general astro or unusual night projects...
Earth Impact Crater Image Archive...
http://www.unbdot ca/passc/ImpactDatabase/images.html
The Meteorite Exchange...
http://www.meteorite.com/
The International Meteor Organization...
Have <you> joined us yet?
http://www.imodot net
Personal Pages of Astronomers...
http://my.voyagerdot net/~stargazer/personal.html
Michael Boschat's Astronomy Page...
http://www.atm.daldot ca/~boschat/
Astronomy Software...
http://www.physics.sfasudot edu/astro/software.html
CCD's and Astrophotography...
http://pages.sprintdot ca/todd/files/ccd.html
Fighting light at night? check out:
http://members.aol.com/ctstarwchr/LiteLynx.htm
Or... night photography! for a completely different perspective...
http://www.nightphotographer.com/links.htm
3. Upcoming Meetings...
March 17-21, Texas, USA...
The 34th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference will be held in League
City, Texas. A special session will be held on the Chicxulub impact crater
scientific drilling project, with analyses of core samples released.
For information, check out http://www.lpi.usradot edu/meetings/lpsc2003/ or
contact Paula Walley at walley@lpi.usradot edu.
June 25 - July 2, Moscow, Russia...
The 95th Anniversary of the Tunguska Event, the Tunguska 2003
International Conference, will be held over several locations - Krasnoyarsk,
Vanavara, and Moscow, with talks and a special excursion to the epicenter of
the Tunguska event. The organizers welcome all those interested in the
Tunguska event - even if you just want to come as a tourist to visit the
famous Tunguska site! For information, check out
http://olkhov.narod.ru/conf03.htm#7b or contact Elena Batygina at
batyginaek@evenkya.ru.
August 10-14, Washington State, USA...
The Cometary Dust in Astrophysics conference will be held at Crystal
Mountain, in Washington State, USA. The purpose of the meeting will be
the integration of astrophysical observations of comets and cosmic dust with
laboratory analyses of interplanetary dust, stardust, and meteorites.
For more information, check out http://stardust.wustldot edu/CDA.html or
contact Donald Brownlee at brownlee@bluemoon.astro.washingtondot edu
September 18-21, Bollmannsruh, Germany...
The IMC, International Meteor Conference, of the IMO, the International
Meteor Organization, will be held in Bollmannsruh, Germany. This is the
annual world meeting for amateur meteor observers and professionals
alike! The location of the conference is a hostel near the town of
Brandenburg, about 40 km west of Berlin. It is situated in a rural area by
a lake, and facilities include accommodation in bungalows, a cafe and bar, a
lecture hall, an open air stage, and a place for a campfire and barbecue.
The special excursion during the conference will be to Berlin to the
Museum for Natural History, for a lecture on meteorites and viewing of the
meteorite collection. For more information, check out
http://aipsoe.aipdot de/~rend/2003imc.html and
http://www.imodot net/news/imc.html
or contact Ina Rendtel at IRendtel@t-onlinedot de. IMC 2003 marks the 15th
anniversary of the IMO - so meteor observers from around the globe are
all invited for this special event!
For more information on upcoming astronomy meetings, see: "International
Astronomy Meetings List" at http://cadcwww.hia.nrcdot ca/meetings
4. For more info...
NAMN email: namn@atmob.org
NAMN website: http://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, namnmeteorites@yahoo.com
Staten Island, New York, USA
Coordinator, Fireballs and Meteorites
Back issues of NAMN Notes can be found online at the NAMN website and in
the MeteorObs archives at:
http://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 2003 NAMN Notes co-written
by Mark Davis and Cathy Hall
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