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(meteorobs) Time for alpha-Aurigids!
Hi!
I think it's about time to inform everybody that the Alpha Aurigid
Maximum on September 1st is a event that should not be missed. Having
read the IMO website and Gary Kronk's meteor calendar, I think there
is a big need for observations for this radiant (or radiant complex).
May I just quote the IMO website
(http://www.amsmeteors.org/imo-mirror/calendar/cal03.html#alpha-Aurigids)
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alpha-Aurigids
Active : August 25-September 8;
Maximum : September 1, 12h UT (sol= 158.6);
ZHR = 7;
Radiant : alpha = 84°, delta = +42°, Radiant drift: see Table 6;
V = 66 km/s;
r = 2.6;
TFC : alpha = 052°, delta = +60°; alpha = 043°, delta = +39°
and alpha = 023°, delta = +41° (beta > 10° S).
This shower and its less-favorable nearby source, the delta-Aurigids,
are both essentially northern hemisphere showers, badly in need of
more observations. They are part of a series of poorly-observed
showers with radiants in Aries, Perseus, Cassiopeia and Auriga,
active from late August into October. British and Italian observers
independently reported a possible new radiant in Aries during late
August 1997 for example. Of the known showers, the alpha-Aurigids are
the more active, with short unexpected bursts having given EZHRs of
~30-40 in 1935, 1986 and 1994, although they have not been monitored
regularly until very recently, so other outbursts may have been
missed. Audrius Dubietis and Rainer Arlt published a detailed
investigation of IMO data between 1986-2000 on this shower in 2002,
following which a few minor amendments have been made to the shower
parameters given above and used in the Working List of Visual Meteor
Showers below. The very tiny number of reports on the 1986 and 1994
outbursts (just three observers in total!) meant almost no useful
details could be derived on these regrettably, reinforcing the need
for more observers to be active in a favorable year such as 2003. The
radiant reaches a useful elevation after 23h-00h local time, so lunar
circumstances are ideal, with a waxing crescent Moon setting by
mid-evening. Telescopic data to examine all the radiants in this
region of sky - and possibly observe the telescopic beta-Cassiopeids
simultaneously - would be especially valuable, but photographs, video
records and visual plotting would be welcomed too.
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Does anyone have clear skies right now? It seems like summer is gone
in my part of Germany and it will probably be raining on Monday.
Should we organize a chat session on the #meteorobs IRC-channel or a
little discussion on the list? I think somewhere I've read that the
Alpha Aurigids have a very sharp maximum (only an hour or so?, which
would not be so good for Europeans at 12h UT). Can you confirm this?
Greetings
Daniel Gruen
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