"IMO-News" mailing list archive (1997) ========================================= Date: Wed, 1 Jan 1997 13:36:27 -0500 (EST) From: ixlr8@bikerider.com Subject: Knockout 1997! Wish all the best to all, Have a great New Year and let's hope 1997 brings health, happiness, clear skies and prosperity to us all. Regards coming towards u almost at the speed of light; Ferdy. Date: Fri, 3 Jan 97 12:47:03 +0100 From: Juergen Rendtel Subject: Quadrantids 1997 Hi folks, Here is a first summary of my visual Quadrantid observation of 1997 January 02/03. Observer: Juergen Rendtel Location: west of Potsdam, Germany (13.0 deg E, 52.4 deg N) Period UT T_eff LM QUA h_R ZHR DCA COM SPO 2311-0010 0.71h 6.03 5 23 25 1 0 4 0030-0121 0.80 5.95 6 31 21 2 0 4 0136-0220 0.70 6.10 11 39 33 0 1 2 0248-0320 0.50 5.90 12 48 50 0 2 2 0325-0421 0.90 5.90 27 55 57 0 1 7 0445-0515 0.48 6.08 21 65 66 1 1 4 0515-0545 0.48 5.98 22 69 72 1 1 4 h_R gives the radiant elevation at the middle of the interval. The ZHR is calculated with r=2.1 and gamma=1.0 (no further correction). Conditions were rather poor with cirrus clouds drifting through. Sometimes the cirrus was thick enough to dim the light of the moon. Conditions improved towards the morning. Juergen Rendtel Date: Sat, 4 Jan 1997 03:12:45 +0100 (MET) From: Nikola Biliskov Subject: happy new year Hello everybody! We already sitting in the Visnjan Observatory and waiting for the clear skies. Tonight is the QUA maximum, but we havejolly bad weather - the sky is covered by clouds and the situation is pretty hopeless. Hence, we wish you happy new year and many successful observations in 1997. Warm regards, PPPS DOK Nikola Biliskov Slaven Garaj Silvija Gradecak Neven Grbac Goran Zgrablic Date: Mon, 6 Jan 1997 16:42:38 +0100 From: Daniel Fischer Subject: Quadrantid observations under unusual circumstances The 1997 Quadrantids must have been pretty good from the U.S. - or so I conclude from a soundbite I saw on the CBS Evening News the next day (via Sky News here in Europe). It was an interview with a woman who had spent the whole night on the roof of her car when it was caught by the flooding (I forgot in which state she was). When she described her ordeal, she explicitly mentioned the many shooting stars she saw! Unfortunately no ZHR was mentioned in the report... Daniel Fischer, Skyweek & The Cosmic Mirror, http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/5599/mirror.html Date: Tue, 7 Jan 1997 11:01:21 +0100 (MET) From: Sirko Molau Subject: Digital Measurement and Analysis of All-Sky Meteor Photographies Hello friends, if you understand German and if you have a *fast* connection to the Internet, the following link might be of interest to you: http://archiv.tu-chemnitz.de/pub/1997/0001/ It contains a postscript file (10 MByte!) of my graduate work entitled "Digitale Vermessung und Auswertung von All-Sky-Meteorfotografien" The file is formated to be printed double-sided. Regards, Sirko Molau ************************************************************************** * Sirko Molau * __ * * Str.246 Nr.16 * " 2B v 2B " * * D-13086 Berlin * * * smo@informatik.tu-chemnitz.de * Shakespeare * * http://www.tu-chemnitz.de/~smo * * ************************************************************************** Date: Sat, 11 Jan 1997 19:59:59 +0100 (MET) From: Sirko Molau Subject: Video Meteor Observation Hello friends, in the next WGN issue you will find the following paper: S. Molau, M. Nitschke, M. de Lignie, R.L. Hawkes and J. Rendtel: "Video Observations of Meteors: History, Current Status and Future Prospects" If you do not want to wait until the issue is in your mailbox, you can read it now at http://www.tu-chemnitz.de/~smo/meteore/status.html Best wishes, Sirko ************************************************************************** * Sirko Molau * __ * * Str.246 Nr.16 * " 2B v 2B " * * D-13086 Berlin * * * smo@informatik.tu-chemnitz.de * Shakespeare * * http://www.tu-chemnitz.de/~smo * * ************************************************************************** Date: 15 Jan 97 16:42:55 EST From: Rainer Arlt <100114.1361@CompuServe.COM> Subject: IMO Shower Circular -- Quadrantids 97 ------------------------------------- I M O S h o w e r C i r c u l a r ------------------------------------- Quadrantids 1997 Very few observations of the 1997 Quadrantids have arrived until now. Particularly, the weather in North America was preventing many observers from watching the maximum of this shower, which was expected for about 11h UT on January 03. The only observer who covered that period was Norman McLeod. He reported increasing ZHRs exceeding 100 until the end of his observing session. Mark Davis was the second lucky observer in the US with a ZHR well over 100 too. European observers saw the ZHRs increasing from 20 in the evening of January 2, 22h UT, to ZHR=60 on January 3, 4h UT. The following (European) night saw a ZHR=50 in the evening and ZHR=20 around 1h UT on January 4. These very raw data are based on the observations of Rainer Arlt (Germany), Felix Bettonvil (the Netherlands), Detlef Koschny (Germany), Ralf Koschack (Germany), Ake Lysell (Sweden), Jurgen Rendtel (Germany), Marko Toivonen (Finland), Manuela Trenn (Germany), Ilkka Yrjola (Finland). I hope more observations will permit giving a ZHR graph soon. Rainer Arlt, 1997 Jan 15. Date: Sat, 18 Jan 1997 16:12:51 +0100 (MET) From: Vladimir Lukic 180/93 Subject: What's up in YU? Hi, everybody! You must have heard about the events going on in Yugoslavia during last two months. I guess that you are pretty concerned because of this year's IMC. Well, so were we, at the very beginning of the protest, as we didn't know wether we'll be able to make it in a peacefull way till the end. Pictures of the force used in the streets would have been very discouraging for anyone thinking about comming to Yugoslavia... Luckily, after first week the protest turned to be rather carneval than anything else. I hope that you got same impression. Nevertheless, we decided to stay silent about IMC till the end of the protest. Protest is not over yet, but we're definitely approaching it's end. During last few days we are more in the Universuty buildings than in the streets, and the government gradualy satisfies our demands. Very soon, we will turn to our usual activities. And for this year our usual activity is organization of IMC. These days we will (finally) send the first circular that we promised in last issue of WGN, and we hope that there will be no further obstacles in organizing the IMC. In the way, the protest came out to be usefull in some aspects for us, as we learned a lot about organizing the various events (there was a plenty of them at the University after our 'walks') during last two months :) . Besides that we made some observations, not too succesfull, due to the weather. For Leonids and Geminids we have had only one clear night (per shower ;) ), while for Quadrantids expedition the weather was cloudy all the time. Our Quadrantid expedition was organized at Adriatic coast, temperature was up to 15C (ABOVE zero!), and few of us spent New Years Eve at the beach, clothed only in sweaters!!! It would have been TOO good, if skies were clear. That's all, so far... If you have any comments on the IMC issue, send me a message. I am VERY VERY LIKELY to see your attitude about ... everything! Greetings from Belgrade! Vladimir Date: Tue, 21 Jan 97 15:48:17 GMT From: poerinku@worldaccess.nl Subject: Geminids 1996 (3) For the third and last time: GEMINIDS, DECEMBER 13/14, 1996 Halley Observatory, Heesch - The Netherlands Observations of 4 members of the Landelijke Werkgroep Meteoren der NVWS (Meteor Section of the Netherlands Association for Meteorology and Astronomy) They observed from 22.00 UT - 05.00 UT (December 13/14). Distribution of magnitudes Roy Keeris (KEERO) Joost Hartman (HARJO) Felix Bettonvil (BETFE) Anne van Weerden (WEEAN) Ntot. = 666 meteors MAG +3 +2 +4 +1 0 +5 -1 -2 +6 -3 -4 -5 -6 N= 142 135 115 89 69 51 30 20 7 5 3 0 0 % 21 20 17 13 10 7.7 4.5 3 1.1 0.8 0.5 0 0 Combined ZHR GEMINIDS 1996 KEERO HARJO WEEAN BETFE 22-23 236.3 + 152.1 + 74.3 + 154.0 616.7/4 = 154 23-00 112.4 + 82.4 + 64.5 + 90.1 349.4/4 = 87 00-01 173.9 + 136.7 + 116.0 + 165.4 592 /4 = 148 01-02 99.9 + 91.2 + 107.4 298.5/3 = 100 02-03 126.1 + 61.3 + 101.8 289.2/3 = 96 03-04 130.4 130 04-05 114.5 + 103.5 218 /2 = 109 Anne van Weerden Oude Hofstad 12 5211 RG 'S-HERTOGENBOSCH THE NETHERLANDS Date: Fri, 31 Jan 1997 17:13:54 +0100 (MET) From: Sirko Molau Subject: announcement Dear friends, in the last few weeks the WWW site of the International Meteor Organization (IMO) has undergone important changes. We hope that this will improve our service and ensure the future availability of meteor information from IMO in the Web. We moved the pages to another server and introduced new features. The new URL of IMO's homepage is http://www.imo.net/ Please, update the address in your bookmark file and change the corresponding link at your web site, if neccessary. The old address at the University of Chemnitz will be valid for a limited time only. The pages there are not updated anymore. The directory structure of IMO's pages remains the same. The following services are new: * You can access public domain software and the mailing list archive via anonymous ftp at ftp.imo.net * New mail addresses can be used to contact council members and commissioners of imo: president@imo.net - IMO's president secretary@imo.net - the secretary general visual@imo.net - the head of the visual commission photo@imo.net - the head of the photographic commission tele@imo.net - the head of the telescopic commission fidac@imo.net - FIDAC, the Fireball Data Center video@imo.net - the author of the video pages radio@imo.net - the author of the radio pages wgn@imo.net - the editor of WGN webmaster@imo.net - the webmaster of IMO's WWW pages hostmaster@imo.net - the hostmaster of IMO's web site The IMO-News mailing list also moved to the new server. Please, send your information for subscription und unsubscription now to imo-news-request@imo.net. Contributions to the mailing list are to be sent to imo-news@imo.net. The old addresses will not be served anymore. If you encounter any problems at the new site, please, contact the webmaster (webmaster@imo.net). Last but not least I would like to thank Werner Depoorter, who did most of the transfer and installation work and who will serve as our hostmaster. Thanks also to Marc Gyssens, who made his machine available for our pages. Sirko Molau (IMO-Webmaster) PS: You should receive this message two (or three) times: One time via the old mailing list, and another time from the new list at imo.net. If you get for some reason only one, please report that to imo-news-request@imo.net. ************************************************************************** * Sirko Molau * __ * * Str.246 Nr.16 * " 2B v 2B " * * D-13086 Berlin * * * smo@informatik.tu-chemnitz.de * Shakespeare * * http://www.tu-chemnitz.de/~smo * * ************************************************************************** Date: Fri, 7 Mar 1997 11:33:28 +0100 (MET) From: Sirko Molau Subject: Near-Earth Object Grant Program THE PLANETARY SOCIETY Guidelines for the Near-Earth Object Grant Program OBJECTIVES The Planetary Society Near-Earth Object (NEO) Grant Program seeks to encourage the discovery and exploration of NEOs by supporting observation projects and related research around the world. The Society intends these grants to accelerate the NEO discovery rate, to improve and increase observations, and to encourage international cooperation in this field. CATEGORIES The Planetary Society invites applications in one or more of the following categories: 1. NEO Observational Programs. Projects in this category could include discovery programs and those projects that might increase the rate of discovery. For example, an observation program by an amateur or at a small observatory could provide follow-up to discoveries, and thereby free observers at larger telescopes for more discovery work. Such a program would qualify for a Planetary Society grant. 2. NEO Research Programs. The category will include all those fields relating to understanding NEOs and their roles in the evolution of Earth and the solar system. Spectroscopy measurements and analysis would be an example of a project in this category. 3. International Collaboration in NEO Observations. Projects in this category include those that develop international collaboration through cooperative research, or those that enable amateurs and researchers at smaller observatories to participate in NEO observations and data analysis. SELECTION CRITERIA The selection committee will consider how a project enables discoveries, advances knowledge, and/or enhances international scientific collaboration. Projects will also be judged on their feasibility, creativity, originality, significance and likelihood of completion. The committee will give special consideration to "seed" grants -- where a little help now can generate high leverage for future work. Amateurs and scientists and observers from developing countries will be given special consideration. AMOUNTS OF GRANTS The average grant will be $5,000 to $10,000, although the selection committee will consider a range from $1,000 to $25,000, depending on need and expected results. The amount available is made possible by the donations of Planetary Society members. ELIGIBILITY Anyone anywhere may submit an application for a Planetary Society Near-Earth Object grant. We will accept only one application per individual or group. An application submitted on behalf of a group must clearly indicate the person acting as the group's representative or principal investigator. That person must sign the application form. Should a group project be chosen, the grant will be presented to the group's representative or principal investigator. The Planetary Society will have no obligation to any other member of the group. APPLICATIONS Applications may be submitted at anytime. To be considered, an application must be neatly printed in English by letter, no more than three pages in length. Supporting documentation may be submitted or referenced. Send your application to: NEO Grant Program The Planetary Society 65. North Catalina Avenue Pasadena, CA 91106-2301 USA Applicants should send copies, not originals, of supporting documents, figures or photographs. No applications will be returned. Supporting materials must arrive with the application form unless prior arrangements are made. NOTIFICATION Grant recipients will be notified of their award as soon as a decision is made. No other notification will be sent by The Planetary Society before this date, except for requests by the selection committee for supplementary information. SELECTION ADVISORY COMMITTEE The selection advisory committee for the NEO grants will be composed of internationally renowned scientists. The final selection will be made by the Board of Directors of The Planetary Society. The committee's procedures and deliberations will be kept confidential. PUBLICATION OF AWARDS Winners of the Planetary Society NEO grants will be published in The Planetary Report and The NEO News. The Society reserves the right to publish summaries of the most interesting projects in either publication. The Society also encourages professional publications and other popular promotion and articles, so long as proper credit is given for any support. Date: Tue, 11 Mar 1997 03:24:10 GMT From: Peter Jenniskens Friends, I just learned from Donald Yeomans of JPL that comet P/Tempel-Tuttle was discovered today: Today's IAU Circular 6579 announces the recovery of comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle at Mauna Kea and La Silla - very close to its predicted position. The estimated apparent magnitude was 22 - 22.5 Greetings, -Peter .......................................................................... Peter Jenniskens The SETI Institute e-mail: peter@max.arc.nasa.gov NASA Ames Research Center tel: (415) 604-3086 Mail Stop 239-4 fax: (415) 604-1088 Moffett Field, CA 94035-1000 http://www-space.arc.nasa.gov/~leonid/ Date: Thu, 1 May 97 13:11:33 +0200 From: Juergen Rendtel Subject: Eta Aquarids ------------------------- IMO call for observations ------------------------- The next considerable meteor shower after the moonlit Lyrids is the Eta Aquarids. It is associated with 1P/Halley, like the Orionids. However, the Earth is not as far from the meteoroid stream's core as in October. Consequently, the maximum ZHR of the Eta Aquarids significantly exceeds that of the Orionids. Most meteor observers live at mid-northern latitudes, and so this shower does not play a role in their plans. At 50 deg N, the radiant rises less than an hour before twilight brightens. So only very few long meteor trails indicate the radiant's existence. For observers south of about 30 deg N, the situation is much better, and the Eta Aquarids are one of the best showers for southern hemisphere observers. This year there is no interference from the moon. The time of the maximum is given as May 5, 22 UT, but the activity profile is wide enough to expect interesting rates also in the adjacent mornings. Some activity lasts until end of May. Reports of observations using various techniques are welcome. Please send your reports to the appropriate IMO responsible: visual@imo.net visual data photo@imo.net photographic data tele@imo.net telescopic observations fidac@imo.net fireball reports Thank you and clear skies. Juergen Rendtel May 1, 1997 president@imo.net Date: Fri, 16 May 97 20:23:12 +0200 From: Juergen Rendtel Subject: Shower circular ------------------------------------- I M O S h o w e r C i r c u l a r ------------------------------------- The 1997 Eta Aquarids ===================== More than 60 observation periods (>52 hrs effective observing time, almost 600 shower meteors) of the eta Aquarids in the period between May 04 and May 08 are available only one week after the shower maximum. This is a well observed return of this southern meteor shower, particularly seen the situation that only the last 1.5-2.5 hours can be used for respective observations. Nevertheless, the radiant remained low in the sky for most observers - except those in the southern hemisphere. The short duration of the observing window for each location also leads to the situation that there is no overlap between the observing periods from different sites. Hence we have neither a continuous activity information, nor we can do any calibration for personal effects (perception). Sporadic rates may serve as a reference to a certain extent. The following table of zenithal hourly rates (ZHR) gives an overview of the activity between May 04 and May 08. The ZHRs were calculated with a population index of r=2.7, the perception of all observers was assumed to be equal 1.0. No zenithal exponent was applied to the correction of the radiant elevation. The individual values scatter considerably which is expressed in large error margins (being the standard deviation of the average). In fact, the averages are always just one average ZHR for each `observation window' (i.e. America, Middle East/Africa, etc.). The participating observers who sent their data by now were: Observer Location Sanaa Abdo, Jordan 37.1 E 31.7 N Joseph Assmus, USA 116.6 W 32.8 N Mohammad Awadallah, Jordan 37.1 E 31.7 N Tim Cooper, South Africa 28.3 E 26.1 S Hani Dalee, Jordan 37.1 E 31.7 N Pete Gural, USA 78 W 38 N Ibrahim Jamil, Jordan 37.1 E 31.7 N Robert Lunsford, USA 116.6 W 32.8 N Adam Marsh, Australia 145 E 36 S Norman W. McLeod, USA 81.8 W 26.6 N Sirko Molau, Germany 37.1 E 31.7 N Mirko Nitschke, Germany 37.1 E 31.7 N Mohammad Odeh, Jordan 37.1 E 31.7 N Jurgen Rendtel, Germany 37.1 E 31.7 N Date (1997) Sollong #Int N_ETA ZHR +- May 4.08 43.69 2 30 41 7 May 4.75 44.34 2 21 55 10 May 5.06 44.64 8 122 45 14 May 5.37 44.94 6 56 38 12 May 6.02 45.57 15 140 50 25 May 6.36 45.90 7 55 32 11 May 7.02 46.54 11 98 45 15 May 7.37 46.88 5 53 37 11 May 8.37 47.85 5 14 17 10 As already mentioned above, this data is not sufficient for a detailed analysis of the 1997 return of the ETA shower. Nevertheless, it is a considerable amount of data compared with previous returns. This preliminary summary also supports the activity information given in the IMO Visual Handbook: there is a rather wide activity maximum with (averaged) ZHRs of the order of 50-60, centered at solar longitude 45.5 deg (2000.0). Thanks for all immediate reports - any further observing reports are welcome! Juergen Rendtel and Rainer Arlt, 1997 May 16 Date: Fri, 6 Jun 1997 14:45:44 +0200 From: Daniel Fischer Subject: The wild claims about the hail of mini-comets Im sure that most in the meteor community have by now heard about the revival of the ideas about the hail of 10 m sized and highly unusual comets that supposedly hit the Earth's atmosphere every few minutes. At http://smallcomets.physics.uiowa.edu discoverer L. Frank himself tells the story, while various stories e.g. at http://www.sciencenow.org/html/970528b.htm , http://www.sciencenews.org/sn_arc97/5_31_97/fob1.htm and http://washingtonpost.com:80/wp-srv/WPlate/1997-06/01/117L-060197-idx.html also give weight to the highly controversial nature of the claims. What puzzled me most was a picture released last week, e.g. at http://smallcomets.physics.uiowa.edu/www/may28-2.html and ftp://pao.gsfc.nasa.gov/pub/pao/releases/1997/97-61.jpg that, according to the caption, "contains the trail of an object over the Atlantic Ocean and Western Europe on Sept. 26,1996. The object was in sunlight but the Earth below was in darkness, so a map of the Earth has been superposed onto the image as a frame of reference. According to Dr. Louis A. Frank of the University of Iowa, the instrumens principal investigator, this time lapse image with a duration of 54 seconds shows a small comet the size of a two-bedroom house that disrupted 5,000 to 15,000 miles above the Earth." In his own description of the image Frank calls it a "spectacular disruption (at right) of a small comet the size of a two-bedroom house [that] took place 5,000 to 15,000 miles above the Atlantic Ocean at 2228 UT on September 26, 1996. A view of Earth at the time of the event has been superposed onto the far-ultraviolet image as a frame of reference. This unusually bright and long-lived trail, which was captured by Earth Camera aboard NASA's Polar spacecraft, ends over Germany." Germany, at 22:28 UTC? That means it was already dark! Which leads to the immediate question: Did anyone observe something unusual on that Sept. 26, 1996, evening over the British Isles or Central Europe - or did meteor cameras record something unusual? From the otherwise undocumented image itself it is impossible to judge the luminosity (let alone the visual brightness) of the phenomenon, but its visual observation (or clear null result) would be an important constraint for the physics involved. Another interesting note for amateur observers: In his new "FAQ" list at http://smallcomets.physics.uiowa.edu/www/faq.htmlx Frank also addresses amateur astronomy and visual observers twice: "Can the small comets be seen by the naked eye? Yes, but you will need lots of patience--and a little luck. Too see a small comet you must stand out on a clear dark night until you see a short streak that quickly snuffs out. It will be about the brightness of Venus for about two seconds before it vanishes. But you will have to be out there for a hundred hours or so to see one. A hundred hours of clear night viewing does not happen often in the average lifetime. How can amateur astronomers spot the small comets? Amateur astronomers whose telescopes have mirrors or lenses measuring12 inches or larger should be able to sight the small comets. During the course of a day there are two times for observation, each about one or two hours long. One ends about 45 minutes before sunrise; the other begins about 45 minutes after sunset. The small comets will be seen at a distance about 2,500 to 4,500 miles from the observer,so the telescope should be pointed in such a way that it is looking for them at these distances, just outside the Earth's shadow. Inside the shadow the objects are not illuminated by the Sun and are invisible. Every two hours or so a small, quite dim object will slowly move across your view, as long as your field of view is about four times the size of the Moon. The object will move at a distance equal to the Moon's diameter every five seconds or so. Several amateur astronomers have reported seeing such objects." Comments on this remarkable issue - and Frank's wild claims in the last two paragraphs in particular - would be highly welcome, especially since I am right now writing a review article about it! Daniel Fischer, dfischer@astro.uni-bonn.de http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/5599/mirror.html Date: Fri, 6 Jun 1997 10:36:06 -0700 (PDT) From: "Fred H. Francis" Subject: Re: The wild claims about the hail of mini-comets (fwd) Dear Daniel, Which is more "wild", Dr. Frank's theory, or your analysis? Did you fail to note in that the photo, as published was clearly described as a composite (hence, in all probability, a v.l. representation of the earth was superimposed for clarity beneath the genuine image of the comet)? Did you fail to note your own recitation of the fact that the image was taken in the ultra-violet (hence accounting for the object's brightness)? Did you fail to note that, in the description of the phenomenon itself, republished with the latest photo, the reason cited for the almost complete lack of a v.l. (visual light) signature is that the snowball breaks-up almost immediatly upon touching the atmosphere, thus dissipating the bulk of its momentum and thus the possibility of normal luminous radiation due to atmospheric heating.? Given that your attack on Dr. Frank's views is so pointed, I must add that the fact that you obviously did not read much of te material you cite is at least amazing as the fact that you seem to understand so little of it. To compound that by writing a review article on it without actually (apparently) contacting the NASA folks to at least get their explanation of the facts which seem to confuse you is truly marvelous. As you do not, apparently, understand either Dr. Frank's theory or its factual/phenomenological basis, I must ask the following question: How is it possible to write your article without checking the facts, or do you intend to rely upon intuition and 'common sense'? Sincerely, Fred H. Francis Date: 09 Jun 1997 16:38:00 +0200 From: Andre Knoefel Subject: IMO Meteor Shower Calendar 1998 International Meteor Organization 1998 Meteor Shower Calendar (Net-Version) ========================================= compiled by Alastair McBeath based on data in IMO Monograph No.2: Handbook for Visual Meteor Observers, edited by Juergen Rendtel, Rainer Arlt and Alastair McBeath, IMO, 1995, with additional contributions from Rainer Arlt, Marc de Lignie, Juergen Rendtel and Paul Roggemans. Layout by Andre Knoefel. Introduction ------------ Welcome to the 1998 International Meteor Organization (IMO) Meteor Shower Calendar. This year promises to be an extremely interesting one, with most major showers free from moonlight interference (except the eta-Aquarids and Perseids), the prospect of a Draconid return in October, and a possible meteor storm from the Leonids in November. Do not forget that monitoring of meteor activity should ideally be carried on throughout the rest of the year too, however! We appreciate that this is not practical for many observers, and this Calendar was devised as a means of helping observers deal with reality by highlighting times when a particular effort may most usefully be employed. Although we include to-the-hour predictions for all the more active night-time and daytime shower maxima, based on the best available data, please note that in many cases, such maxima are not known more precisely than to the nearest 1deg of solar longitude (even less accurately for the daytime radio showers, which have received little attention in recent years). In addition, variations in individual showers from year to year mean past returns are at best only a guide as to when even major shower peaks can be expected, plus as some showers are known to show particle mass-sorting within their meteoroid streams, the radio, telescopic, visual and photographic meteor maxima may occur at different times from one another, and not necessarily just in these showers. The majority of data available are for visual shower maxima, so this must be borne in mind when employing other observing techniques. The heart of the Calendar is the Working List of Visual Meteor Showers, thanks to regular analyses using the IMO's Visual Meteor Database, the single most accurate listing available anywhere today for naked-eye meteor observing. Even this can never be a complete list of all meteor showers, since there are many showers which cannot be properly detected visually, and some which only photographic, radar, telescopic, or video observations can separate from the background sporadic meteors, present throughout the year. The IMO's aims are to encourage, collect, analyze, and publish combined meteor data obtained from sites all over the globe in order to further our understanding of the meteor activity detectable from the Earth's surface. Results from only a few localized places can never provide such total comprehension, and it is thanks to the efforts of the many IMO observers worldwide since 1988 that we have been able to achieve as much as we have to date. This is not a matter for complacency, however, since it is solely by the continued support of many people across the whole world that our steps towards constructing a better and more complete picture of the near- Earth meteoroid flux can proceed. This means that all meteor workers, wherever they are and whatever methods they use to record meteors, should follow the standard IMO observing guidelines when compiling their information, and submit their data promptly to the appropriate Commission for analysis. Visual and photographic techniques remain popular for nightly meteor coverage (weather permitting), although both suffer considerably from the presence of moonlight. Telescopic observations are less popular, although they allow the fine detail of shower radiant structures to be derived, and they permit very low activity showers to be accurately detected. Video methods have been dynamically applied in the last few years, and are starting to bear considerable fruit. These have the advantages, and disadvantages, of both photographic and telescopic observing, but are already increasing in importance. Radio receivers can be utilized at all times, regardless of clouds, moonlight, or daylight, and provide the only way in which 24-hour meteor observing can be accomplished for most latitudes. Together, these methods cover virtually the entire range of meteoroid sizes, from the very largest fireball-producing events (using all-sky photographic patrols or visual observations) through to tiny dust grains producing extremely faint telescopic or radio meteors. However and whenever you are able to observe, we wish you all a most successful year's work and very much look forward to receiving your data. Clear skies! January to March ---------------- The opening quarter of the year brings several low activity showers, including the first of the year's main diffuse ecliptical stream complexes, the Virginids, active from late January to mid-April. Of the two better showers, only the northern-hemisphere Quadrantids in early January are free from moonlight. The other, the alpha-Centaurids, a sometimes good southern hemisphere shower (maximum around February 7, 16h UT) is too close to full Moon for non-radio observations. The minor delta-Cancrids in mid-January lose out too to a bright Moon, along with the gamma-Normids in mid-March. Daylight radio peaks are due from the Capricornids/Sagittarids around 13h UT on February 1, and the chi-Capricornids on February 13, probably around 14h UT. Neither radio shower has been well-observed in recent times, and as both have radiants under 10deg-15deg west of the Sun at maximum, they cannot be regarded as visual targets even from the southern hemisphere. Quadrantids ----------- Active: January 1 - 5; Maximum: January 3, 17h UT (lambda = 283.16deg); ZHR = 120 (can vary around 60-200); Radiant: = 230deg, = +49deg; Radiant drift: see Table 3; Radius: 5deg at maximum; V = 41 km/s; r = 2.1 at maximum, but variable; TFC: alpha = 242deg, delta = +75deg and alpha = 198deg, delta = +40deg (beta > 40deg N); PFC: before 00h local time alpha = 150deg, delta = +70deg; after 00h local time alpha = 180deg, delta = +40deg and alpha = 240deg, delta = +70deg (beta > 40deg N). The year commences with a good return of the Quadrantids for northern hemisphere observers, as the Moon will be a waxing crescent setting by the local late evening hours of January 3. Since the shower's radiant is in northern Bootes, it is circumpolar for many northern locations, but it attains a useful elevation only after local midnight or so, and gets higher towards morning twilight. The Moon will thus present no problems in 1998. An interesting challenge is to try spotting the occasional long-pathed shower member from the southern hemisphere around dawn, but sensible Quadrantid watching cannot be carried out from such locations. The maximum time given above is based on the best-observed return of the shower ever analysed, from IMO 1992 data, confirmed by radio results in 1996 and 1997, and a repeat of which time in 1998 would favour sites from Alaska and the Northern Pacific islands to Far Eastern Siberia, China and Japan. The peak itself is short-lived, and can be easily missed in just a few hours of poor winter weather in the north, which may be why the ZHR level apparently fluctuates from year to year, but some genuine variability is probably present too. An added level of complexity comes from the fact that mass-sorting of particles across the meteoroid stream may make fainter objects (radio and telescopic meteors) reach maximum up to 14 hours before the brighter (visual and photographic) ones, so observers should be alert throughout the shower! Past observations have suggested the radiant is very diffuse away from the maximum, contracting notably during the peak itself, although this may be a result of the very low activity normally seen away from the hours near maximum. Photographic and video observations from January 1-5 would be particularly welcomed by those investigating this topic, using the PFCs and TFCs given above, along with telescopic and visual plotting results. delta-Leonids ------------- Active: February 15 - March 10; Maximum: February 24 (lambda = 336deg); ZHR = 2; Radiant: alpha = 168deg, delta = +16deg; Radiant drift: see Table 3; Radius: 5deg; V = 23 km/s; r = 3.0; TFC: alpha = 140deg, delta = +37deg and alpha = 151deg, delta = +22deg (beta > 10deg N); alpha = 140deg, delta = -10deg and alpha = 160deg, delta = 00deg (beta < 10deg N). This minor shower is probably part of the early Virginid activity. Rates are normally low, and its meteors are predominantly faint, so it is a prime candidate for telescopic investigation. Visual observers must make very accurate plots of the meteors to distinguish them from the nearby Virginids and the sporadics. Northern hemisphere sites have a distinct advantage for covering this stream, whose radiant is well on view for most of the night near the peak, close to the "Sickle" or "Head" of Leo, but southern hemisphere watchers should not ignore it, as they are better-placed to note many of the other Virginid radiants. With the Moon just two days before new at the shower's maximum, conditions could scarcely be better for observing it. April to June ------------- Meteor activity picks up towards the April-May boundary, with showers like the Lyrids, p-Puppids and h-Aquarids, and only this latter source suffers from moonlight this year. During May and June, most of the activity is in the daytime sky, with six shower peaks expected during this time. Although a few shower members from the o-Cetids and Arietids have been reported from tropical and southern hemisphere sites visually in previous years, sensible activity calculations cannot be carried out from such observations. For radio observers, the expected UT maxima for these showers and the Moon- affected h- Aquarids are as follows: April Piscids -- April 20, 13h UT; delta-Piscids -- April 24, 13h UT; eta-Aquarids -- May 6, 04h UT; epsilon-Arietids -- May 9, 12h UT; May Arietids -- May 16, 13h UT; o-Cetids -- May 20, 11h UT; Arietids -- June 7, 15h UT; zeta-Perseids -- June 9, 14h UT; beta-Taurids -- June 28, 14h UT. The ecliptical complexes continue with some late Virginids and the best from the minor Sagittarids in May-June. Lyrids ------ Active: April 16 - 25; Maximum: April 22, 10h UT (lambda = 32.1deg); ZHR: 15 (can be variable, up to 90); Radiant: alpha = 271deg, delta = +34deg ; Radiant drift: see Table 3; Radius: 5deg; V = 49 km/s; r = 2.9; TFC: alpha = 262deg, delta = +16deg and alpha = 282deg, delta = +19deg (beta > 10deg S). The Lyrids are best viewed from the northern hemisphere, but they are observable from many sites either north or south of the equator, and are suitable for all forms of observation. Maximum rates are usually attained for only an hour or two at best, although in 1996, mean peak ZHRs of 15-20 persisted for around 8-12 hours. The ZHR can be rather erratic at times, a variability also seen in 1996, when rates ranged between 10-30 from hour to hour during the peak. The last high maximum occurred in 1982 over the USA, when a very short-lived peak ZHR of 90 was recorded. This unpredictability always makes the Lyrids a shower to watch, since we cannot say when the next unusual return may occur. As the shower's radiant rises during the night, watches can be usefully carried out from about 22:30 local time onwards. This year, the Moon will be a waning crescent in Capricornus/Aquarius for the peak, and will rise not long before dawn, so skies should remain dark for much of the night. The predicted maximum should favour sites across North America if correct, but variations in the stream could mean this is not the case in actuality. pi-Puppids ---------- Active: April 15 - 28; Maximum: April 23, 20h UT (lambda = 33.5deg); ZHR: periodic, up to around 40; Radiant: alpha = 110deg, delta = -45deg ; Radiant drift: see Table 3; Radius: 5deg; V = 18 km/s; r = 2.0; TFC: alpha = 135deg, delta = -55deg and alpha = 105deg, delta = -25deg (beta < 20deg N). This is a young stream produced by Comet 26P/Grigg-Skjellerup, and shower activity has only been detected from it since 1972. Notable short-lived shower maxima of around 40 meteors per hour took place in 1977 and 1982, both years when the parent comet was at perihelion, but before 1982, little activity had been seen at other times. In 1983, a ZHR of about 13 was reported, perhaps suggesting that material has begun to spread further along the comet's orbit, as theory predicts. Comet Grigg-Skjellerup was due at perihelion on 1997 August 30, but in 1997 an almost full Moon coincided with the shower's peak. At the 1998 return, we reach the closest-approach point to the orbit almost eight months after the comet, so this will be a useful year to check for pi-Puppid activity further from the comet, especially as the Moon is just three days from new for the maximum. The shower is best-seen from the southern hemisphere, with useful observations mainly possible before local midnight, as the radiant is very low or setting after 1h local time. So far, visual and radio data have been collected on the shower, but the slow, bright nature of the meteors makes them ideal photographic subjects too. No telescopic or video data have been reported in any detail as yet either. July to September ----------------- Minor shower activity continues apace from near-ecliptic sources throughout this quarter, first from the Sagittarids, then the Aquarid and Capricornid showers (discussed below with the Piscis Austrinids; the Southern iota- Aquarid and Northern delta-Aquarid maxima lose out to August's full Moon), and finally the Piscids into September. Other showers that vanish into bright moonlight this quarter include the Pegasids and Phoenicids in July; the Perseids in August (coverage is still important, but will be exceptionally difficult with a waning gibbous Moon; the maxima are predicted for August 12, 14h UT and August 12, 22h UT); and the alpha- and delta-Aurigids in September (alpha-Aurigid peak due around September 1, 05h UT). At least the minor kappa-Cygnids still survive this moonlight onslaught! For daylight radio observations, the interest of May-June has waned, but there remain the visually-inaccessible gamma-Leonids (peak due August 25d 14h UT), and a tricky visual shower, the Sextantids (maximum expected September 27d 14h UT). The latter has no problems from the waxing crescent Moon, but its radiant will rise less than an hour before dawn ineither hemisphere. Piscis Austrinids and Aquarid/Capricornid Complex ------------------------------------------------- Piscis Austrinids ----------------- Active: July 15 - August 10; Maximum: July 28 (lambda = 125deg); ZHR = 5; Radiant: alpha = 341deg, delta = -30deg; Radiant drift: see Table 3; Radius: 5deg; V = 35 km/s; r = 3.2; TFC: alpha = 255deg to 000deg, delta = 00deg to +15deg, choose pairs separated by about 30deg in alpha (beta < 30deg N). Southern delta-Aquarids ----------------------- Active: July 12 - August 19; Maximum: July 28, 06h UT (lambda = 125deg); ZHR = 20; Radiant: alpha = 339deg, delta = -16deg; Radiant drift: see Table 3; Radius: 5deg; V = 41 km/s; r = 3.2; TFC: alpha = 255deg to 000deg, delta = 00deg to +15deg, choose pairs separated by about 30deg in alpha (beta < 40deg N). alpha-Capricornids ------------------ Active: July 3 - August 15; Maximum: July 30 (lambda = 127deg ); ZHR = 4; Radiant: alpha = 307deg, delta = -10deg ; Radiant drift: see Table 3; Radius: 8deg; V = 23 km/s; r = 2.5; TFC: alpha = 255deg to 000deg, delta = 00deg to +15deg, choose pairs separated by about 30deg in alpha (beta < 40deg N). PFC: alpha = 300deg, delta = +10deg (beta > 45deg N), alpha = 320deg, delta = -05deg (beta = 0deg to 45deg N), alpha = 300deg, delta = -25deg (beta < 0deg S.) Northern iota-Aquarids ---------------------- Active: August 11 - 31; Maximum: August 20 (lambda = 147deg); ZHR = 3; Radiant: alpha = 327deg, delta = -06deg; Radiant drift: see Table 3; Radius: 5deg; V = 31 km/s; r = 3.2; TFC: alpha = 255deg to 000deg, delta = 00deg to +15deg, choose pairs separated by about 30deg in alpha (beta < 40deg N). The Aquarids and Piscis Austrinids are all rich in faint meteors, making them well-suited to telescopic work, although enough brighter members exist to make visual and photographic observations worth the effort too, primarily from more southerly sites. Radio work can be used to pick up the Southern delta-Aquarids especially, as the most active of these showers. The alpha-Capricornids are noted for their bright - sometimes fireball- class - events, which, combined with their low apparent velocity, can make some of these objects among the most impressive and attractive an observer could wish for. A minor enhancement of alpha-Capricornid ZHRs to around 10 was noted in 1995 by European IMO observers, although the Southern delta- Aquarids were the only one of these streams previously suspected of occasional variability. Such a concentration of radiants in a small area of sky means that familiarity with where all the radiants are is essential for accurate shower association for all observing nights. Visual watchers in particular should plot all potential stream members seen in this region of sky rather than trying to make shower associations in the field. The only exception is when the Southern delta-Aquarids are near their peak, as from southern hemisphere sites in particular, rates may become too high for accurate plotting. All the above listed shower maxima are almost free from lunar interference in 1998. The Piscis Austrinid, Southern delta-Aquarid and alpha-Capricornid maxima have only a waxing crescent Moon to contend with, while August's new Moon falls favourably for the Northern iota-Aquarid peak. All these radiants are above the horizon for much of the night. kappa-Cygnids ------------- Active: August 3 - 25; Maximum: August 18 (lambda = 145deg); ZHR = 3; Radiant: alpha = 286deg, delta = +59deg; Radiant drift: see Table 3; Radius: 5deg; V = 25 km/s; r = 3.0; TFC: alpha = 330deg, delta = +60deg and alpha = 300deg, delta = +30deg (beta > 20deg N). The waning crescent Moon will rise during the local early morning hours at the kappa-Cygnid peak this year, a very minor nuisance only for watchers north of the equator, where the shower is chiefly accessible from. Its r- value suggests telescopic and video observers may benefit from its presence, but visual and photographic workers should note that occasional slow fireballs from this source have been reported too. Its almost stationary radiant results from its close proximity to the ecliptic north pole in Draco. There has been some suggestion of a variation in its activity at times, perhaps coupled with a periodicity in fireball sightings, but more data are urgently needed on a shower that often is ignored in favour of the Perseids during August. Piscids ------- Active: September 1 - 30; Maximum: September 20 (lambda = 177deg); ZHR = 3; Radiant: alpha = 005deg , delta = -01deg; Radiant drift: see Table 3; Radius: 5deg; V = 26 km/s; r = 3.0. TFC: alpha = 340deg to 020deg, delta = -15deg to +15deg, choose pairs separated by about 30deg in alpha (beta any). The Piscids are a poorly-studied minor shower, with a radiant very close to the March equinox point in the sky. Consequently, they can be studied equally well from either hemisphere throughout the night near the September equinox, close to their probable maximum time. This year, new Moon falls exactly on September 20, but there is some doubt as to exactly when the Piscid peak may occur - or indeed, if there is only the one. Telescopic and video methods can be usefully employed to study it, along with careful visual plotting. October to December ------------------- Ecliptical minor shower activity reaches what might be regarded as a peak in early to mid November, with the Taurid streams in action (the Southern Taurid maximum will be lost to bright moonlight this year, but something of the Northern peak should still be seen). Before then come an important return of the Draconids, the Orionid and the minor epsilon-Geminid maxima. This is also a key year for the Leonids in November, and a good one to check for a repeat of 1995's outburst for the alpha-Monocerotids. December's full Moon claims the maxima of the chi-Orionids, Phoenicids (December 6, 13h UT) and the early, better, part of the weak Puppid-Velid complex, as well as much of the Monocerotids and sigma-Hydrids. This does mean the Geminids, Coma Berenicids and Ursids are all much better-placed with regard to the Moon. Draconids --------- Active: October 6 - 10; Maximum: October 8, 17-23h (lambda = 195.40deg); ZHR = periodic, up to storm levels; Radiant: alpha = 262deg, delta = +54deg; Radiant drift: negliginle; Radius: 5deg; V = 20 km/s; r = 2.6; TFC: alpha = 290deg, delta = +65deg and alpha = 288deg, delta = +39deg (beta > 30deg N). Despite the presence of a waning gibbous Moon, which will rise within 2-3 hours of nightfall for the northern hemisphere sites this shower is visible from, 1998 is a very important year for observing the Draconids. This periodic shower has produced spectacular, brief, meteor storms twice already this century, in 1933 and 1946, and lower rates in several other years (ZHRs around 20-200+), most recently in 1985. So far, detectable activity has only been seen in years when the stream's parent comet, 21P/Giacobini-Zinner, has returned to perihelion, which it is expected to do again in 1998 November. Perturbations of the stream, coupled with the fact that the 1946 event remains the best-observed return, mean predicting when activity might occur is very difficult. The spread in solar longitudes at which notable past activity has been detected is from lambda = 195.26deg (1985) to lambda = 197.0deg (1933), which equates to times between October 8, 17h UT and October 10, 12h UT in 1998. This is certainly a period that all observers should be alert to, using a full range of techniques, but with the Earth expected to pass the comet's node at lambda = 195.398deg (October 8, 21 h UT), times earlier in this period may be more likely. The peak time given in the box above is a mean value of the previous returns, and should be viewed more as a general guide than an absolute value. The radiant, near Draco's "Head", is circumpolar from many locations, but is higher in the pre-midnight and near-dawn hours on October 8-10. Photographic and video data would be especially valuable in case high rates do take place. epsilon-Geminids ---------------- Active: October 14 - 27; Maximum: October 18 (lambda = 205deg); ZHR = 2; Radiant: alpha = 102deg, delta = +27deg; Radiant drift: see Table 3; Radius: 5deg; V = 70 km/s; r = 3.0; TFC: alpha = 090deg, delta = +20deg and alpha = 125deg, delta = +20deg (beta > 20deg S). A weak minor shower, whose meteors are very like the Orionids, active, and at maximum, around the same time, so great care must be taken to separate the two sources by instrumental techniques - especially video or telescopic work - or visual plotting. New Moon on October 20 presents an excellent opportunity to obtain more data on them from either hemisphere, although northern observers have an advantage. The radiant is higher only after midnight. Orionids -------- Active: October 2 - November 7; Maximum: October 21 (lambda = 208), ZHR = 20; Radiant: alpha = 095deg, delta = +16deg; Radiant drift: see Table 3; Radius: 10deg; V = 66 km/s; r = 2.9; TFC: alpha = 100deg, delta = +39deg and alpha = 075deg, delta = +24deg (beta > 40deg N); or alpha = 080deg, delta = +01deg and alpha = 117deg, delta = +01deg (beta < 40deg N). October's new Moon enhances the Orionids this year too. They are noted for having several maxima other than the main one detailed above, with activity sometimes remaining almost constant for several consecutive nights centred on this peak. In 1993, a submaximum as strong as the normal peak was detected on October 17-18 from Europe, for instance. All observers should be aware of these possibilities. Several subradiants have been reported in the past, but recent video work suggests the radiant is far less complex; photographic, telescopic and video work to confirm this would be useful, as visual observers have clearly had problems with this shower's radiant determination before. With a radiant almost on the celestial equator, the shower can be seen from most of the globe, and observations are possible from midnight onwards in both hemispheres, perhaps a little before in the north. Leonids ------- Active: November 14 - 21; Maximum: November 17, 19h UT (lambda = 235.25deg); ZHR = 40+ (45 in 1996), but may reach storm levels in 1998-99; Radiant: alpha = 153deg, delta = +22deg; Radiant drift: see Table 3; Radius: 5deg; V = 71 km/s; r = 2.9; TFC: alpha = 140deg, delta = +35deg and alpha = 129deg, delta = +06deg (beta > 35deg N); or alpha = 156deg, delta = -03deg and alpha = 129deg, delta = +06deg (beta < 35deg N); PFC: before 00h local time alpha = 120deg, delta = +40deg (beta > 40deg N); before 04h local time alpha = 120deg, delta = +20deg (beta > 40deg N); and after 04h local time alpha = 160deg, delta = 00deg (beta > 00deg N); before 00h local time alpha = 120deg, delta = +10deg (beta > 40deg N); and alpha = 160deg, delta = -10deg (beta < 00deg N). The recovery of the Leonids' parent comet, 55P/Tempel-Tuttle, on 1997 March 4 has raised hopes further that a storm of Leonids might occur in 1998 or 1999. There are, of course, no guarantees that this will happen, but all observers must realise that even discovering the absence of any unusual Leonid activity would still be very valuable information - albeit not all that interesting to witness! Visual IMO International Leonid Watch and radio observations in 1996 indicated quite a broad Leonid maximum between lambda = around 235.1deg-235.4deg (equivalent to 1998 November 17, 14h-22h UT), with one minor peak at lambda = 235.17deg (1998 November 17, 17h UT). As the Earth should pass the node of the comet's orbit around 1998 November 17, 19h UT (lambda = around 235.3deg), this may well be the most likely time for the very highest activity to occur. As the radiant, in Leo's "Head" or "Sickle" asterism, rises only around local midnight (or indeed afterwards south of the equator), places in the Far East, including China, Eastern Siberia and Japan, south through the Western Pacific islands to Australia, should be the favoured spots, if the maximum keeps to this time. Even a minor variation could mean places east or west of this zone may see something of the shower's best too, however. Look out for further updates in the IMO's journal WGN after the 1997 return. The Moon is just two days from new on November 17, so it will cause no problems this year, and all observing methods should be utilised to the full, especially photography and video if a storm manifests. alpha-Monocerotids ------------------ Active: November 15 - 25; Maximum: November 21, 20h UT (lambda = 239.32deg); ZHR = variable, usually around 5 but may produce outbursts to around 400+; Radiant: alpha = 117deg, delta = +01deg; Radiant drift: see Table 3; Radius: 5deg; V = 65 km/s; r = 2.4; TFC: alpha = 115deg, delta = +23deg and alpha = 129deg, delta = +20deg (beta > 20deg N); alpha = 110deg, delta = -27deg and alpha = 098deg, delta = +06deg (beta < 20deg N). Another late-year shower capable of producing surprises, the alpha- Monocerotids gave their most recent brief outburst in 1995 (the top EZHR, around 420, lasted just five minutes; the entire outburst 30 minutes). Many observers across Europe witnessed it, and we have been able to completely update the known shower parameters as a result. Whether this indicates the propsed ten-year periodicity in such returns is real or not, only the future will tell, however, so all observers should continue to monitor this source closely. New Moon on November 19 makes this an excellent year for such scrutiny, with the radiant well on view in both hemispheres after about 23h local time or so. Geminids -------- Active: December 7 - 17; Maximum: December 14, 05h UT (lambda = 262.0deg); ZHR = 120; Radiant: alpha = 112deg, delta = +33deg; Radiant drift: see Table 3; Radius: 5deg; V = 35 km/s; r = 2.6; TFC: before 23h local time alpha = 087deg, delta = +20deg and alpha = 135deg, delta = +49deg; after 23h local time alpha = 087deg, delta = +20deg and alpha = 129deg, delta = +20deg (beta > 40deg N); alpha = 120deg, delta = -03deg and alpha = 084deg, delta = +10deg (beta < 40deg N); PFC: alpha = 150deg, delta = +20deg and alpha = 060deg, delta = +40deg (beta > 20deg N); and alpha = 135deg, delta = -05deg and alpha = 080deg, delta = 00deg (beta < 20deg N). One of the finest annual showers presently observable, their early stages will be lost to moonlight this year, but their peak occurs with a waning crescent Moon which should present few problems, and then only late in the night. Well north of the equator, the radiant rises around sunset, and can be usefully observed from the local evening hours onwards, but in the southern hemisphere, the radiant appears only around local midnight or so. Even here, this is a splendid stream of often bright, medium-speed meteors, a rewarding sight for all watchers. The peak has shown slight signs of variability in its maximum rates and the actual peak timing (ZHRs were around 110 around lambda 262.2deg-262.4deg in 1996, for instance), so the best activity may occur a little before or after the suggested time above. Even so, European, African, Near Eastern and American sites are the most likely beneficiaries of the very best Geminid rates in 1998. Some mass- sorting within the stream means the fainter telescopic meteors should be most abundant almost 1deg of solar longitude ahead of the visual maximum, with telescopic results indicating these meteors radiate from an elongated region, perhaps with three sub-centers. Further results on this topic would be useful, but all observing methods can be employed to observe the shower. Coma Berenicids --------------- Active: December 12 - January 23; Maximum: December 20, (lambda = 268deg); ZHR = 5; Radiant: alpha = 175deg, delta = +25deg; Radiant drift: see Table 3; Radius: 5deg; V = 65 km/s; r = 3.0; TFC: alpha = 180deg, delta = +50deg and alpha = 165deg, delta = +20deg before 03h local time, alpha = 195deg, delta = +10deg and alpha = 200deg, delta = +45deg after 03h local time (beta > 20deg N). A weak minor shower that is usually observed only during the Geminid and Quadrantid epochs, but which needs more coverage at other times too, especially to better-define its maximum. The shower is almost unobservable from the southern hemisphere, so northern watchers must brave the winter cold to improve our knowledge of it, especially this year as its expected peak is just two days after new Moon. The radiant is at a useful elevation from local midnight onwards. Ursids ------ Active: December 17 - 26; Maximum: December 22, 18h UT (lambda = 270.7deg); ZHR = 10 (occasionally variable up to 50); Radiant: alpha = 217deg, delta = +76deg; Radiant drift: see Table 3; Radius: 5deg; V = 33 km/s; r = 3.0; TFC: alpha = 348deg, delta = +75deg and alpha = 131deg, delta = +66deg (beta > 40deg N); alpha = 063deg, delta = +84deg and alpha = 156deg, delta = +64deg (beta 30deg to 40deg N); A very poorly-observed northern hemisphere shower, but one which has produced at least two major outbursts in the past half-century or so, in 1945 and 1986. Several other rate enhancements, recently in 1988 and 1994, have been reported too. Other similar events could easily have been missed due to poor weather or too few observers active. All forms of observation can be used for the shower, since many of its meteors are faint, but with so little work carried out on the stream, it is impossible to be precise in making statements about it. The radio maximum in 1996 occurred around lambda 270.8deg, for instance, which might suggest a slightly later maximum time in 1998 of December 22, 20h UT. The Ursid radiant is circumpolar from most northern sites (thus fails to rise for most southern ones), though it culminates after daybreak, and is highest in the sky later in the night. The waxing crescent Moon will give dark skies for observations almost all night on December 22. Abbreviations ------------- alpha, delta: Coordinates for a shower's radiant position, usually at maximum; is right ascension, is declination. Radiants drift across the sky each day due to the Earth's own orbital motion around the Sun, and this must be allowed for using the details in Table 3 for nights away from the listed shower maxima. r : The population index, a term computed from each shower's meteor magnitude distribution. r = 2.0-2.5 is brighter than average, while r above 3.0 is fainter than average. lambda: Solar longitude, a precise measure of the Earth's position on its orbit which is not dependent on the vagaries of the calendar. All are given for the equinox J2000.0. V : Pre-atmospheric or entry velocity of the meteoroid given in km/s. Velocities range from about 11 km/s (very slow) to 72 km/s (very fast). 40 km/s is roughly medium speed. ZHR: Zenithal Hourly Rate, a calculated maximum number of meteors an ideal observer would see in perfectly clear skies with the shower radiant overhead. This figure is given in terms of meteors per hour. Where meteor activity persisted at a high level for less than an hour, or where observing circumstances were very poor, an estimated ZHR (EZHR) is used, which is less accurate than the normal ZHR. TFC and PFC: suggested telescopic and photographic field centers respectively. beta is the observer's latitude ("<" means "south of" and ">" means "north of"). Pairs of telescopic fields must be observed, alternating about every half hour, so that the positions of radiants can be defined. The exact choice of TFC or PFC depends on the observer's location and the elevation of the radiant. Note that the TFCs are also useful centres to use for video camera fields as well. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table 1: Lunar phases for 1997. New First Full Last Moon Quarter Moon Quarter January 5 January 12 January 20 January 28 February 3 February 11 February 19 February 26 March 5 March 13 March 21 March 28 April 3 April 11 April 19 April 26 May 3 May 11 May 19 May 25 June 2 June 10 June 17 June 24 July 1 July 9 July 16 July 23 July 31 August 8 August 14 August 22 August 30 September 6 September 13 September 20 September 28 October 5 October 12 October 20 October 28 November 4 November 11 November 19 November 27 December 3 December 10 December 18 December 26 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table 2: Working list of visual meteor showers. Details in this Table were correct according to the best information available in June 1997. Contact the IMO's Visual Commission for more information. Maximum dates in parentheses indicate reference dates for the radiant, not true maxima. Some showers have ZHRs that vary from year to year. The most recent reliable figure is given here, except for possibly periodic showers that are noted as "var." = variable. Activity Maximum Radiant Shower Period Date lambda alpha delta [deg] [deg] [deg] Quadrantids Jan 01-Jan 05 Jan 03 283.16 230 +49 delta-Cancrids Jan 01-Jan 24 Jan 17 297 130 +20 alpha-Centaurids Jan 28-Feb 21 Feb 07 318.7 210 -59 delta-Leonids Feb 15-Mar 10 Feb 24 336 168 +16 gamma-Normids Feb 25-Mar 22 Mar 13 353 249 -51 Virginids Jan 25-Apr 15 (Mar 24)(004) 195 -04 Lyrids Apr 16-Apr 25 Apr 22 032.1 271 +34 pi-Puppids Apr 15-Apr 28 Apr 23 033.5 110 -45 eta-Aquarids Apr 19-May 28 May 06 045.5 338 -01 Sagittarids Apr 15-Jul 15 (May 20)(059) 247 -22 Pegasids Jul 07-Jul 13 Jul 10 108 340 +15 July Phoenicids Jul 10-Jul 16 Jul 13 111 032 -48 Pisces Austrinids Jul 15-Aug 10 Jul 28 125 341 -30 Southern delta-Aquarids Jul 12-Aug 19 Jul 28 125 339 -16 alpha-Capricornids Jul 03-Aug 15 Jul 30 127 307 -10 Southern iota-Aquarids Jul 25-Aug 15 Aug 04 132 334 -15 Northern delta-Aquarids Jul 15-Aug 25 Aug 08 136 335 -05 Perseids Jul 17-Aug 24 Aug 12 140.0 046 +58 kappa-Cygnids Aug 03-Aug 25 Aug 18 145 286 +59 Northern iota-Aquarids Aug 11-Aug 31 Aug 20 147 327 -06 alpha-Aurigids Aug 25-Sep 05 Sep 01 158.6 084 +42 delta-Aurigids Sep 05-Oct 10 Sep 08 166 060 +47 Piscids Sep 01-Sep 30 Sep 20 177 005 -01 Draconids Oct 06-Oct 10 Oct 08 195.4 262 +54 epsilon-Geminids Oct 14-Oct 27 Oct 18 205 102 +27 Orionids Oct 02-Nov 07 Oct 21 208 095 +16 Southern Taurids Oct 01-Nov 25 Nov 05 223 052 +13 Northern Taurids Oct 01-Nov 25 Nov 12 230 058 +22 Leonids Nov 14-Nov 21 Nov 17 235.25 153 +22 alpha-Monocerotids Nov 15-Nov 25 Nov 21 239.32 117 +01 chi-Orionids Nov 26-Dec 15 Dec 02 250 082 +23 Phoenicids Nov 28-Dec 09 Dec 06 254.25 018 -53 Puppid-Velids Dec 01-Dec 15 (Dec 07)(255) 123 -45 Monocerotids (Dec) Nov 27-Dec 17 Dec 09 257 100 +08 sigma-Hydrids Dec 03-Dec 15 Dec 12 260 127 +02 Geminids Dec 07-Dec 17 Dec 14 262.0 112 +33 Coma Berenicids Dec 12-Jan 23 Dec 20 268 175 +25 Ursids Dec 17-Dec 26 Dec 22 270.7 217 +76 IMO Shower v r ZHR Code [km/s] Quadrantids 41 2.1 120 QUA delta-Cancrids 28 3.0 4 DCA alpha-Centaurids 56 2.0 6 ACE delta-Leonids 23 3.0 2 DLE gamma-Normids 56 2.4 8 GNO Virginids 30 3.0 5 VIR Lyrids 49 2.9 15 LYR pi-Puppids 18 2.0 var. PPU eta-Aquarids 66 2.7 60 ETA Sagittarids 30 2.5 5 SAG Pegasids 70 3.0 3 JPE July Phoenicids 47 3.0 var. PHE Pisces Austrinids 35 3.2 5 PAU Southern delta-Aquarids 41 3.2 20 SDA alpha-Capricornids 23 2.5 4 CAP Southern iota-Aquarids 34 2.9 2 SIA Northern delta-Aquarids 42 3.4 4 NDA Perseids 59 2.6 90 PER kappa-Cygnids 25 3.0 3 KCG Northern iota-Aquarids 31 3.2 3 NIA alpha-Aurigids 66 2.5 10 AUR delta-Aurigids 64 3.0 6 DAU Piscids 26 3.0 3 SPI Draconids 20 2.6 var. GIA epsilon-Geminids 70 3.0 2 EGE Orionids 66 2.9 20 ORI Southern Taurids 27 2.3 5 STA Northern Taurids 29 2.3 5 NTA Leonids 71 2.5 40+ LEO alpha-Monocerotids 65 2.4 var. AMO chi-Orionids 28 3.0 3 XOR Phoenicids 18 2.8 var. PHO Puppid-Velids 40 2.9 10 PUP Monocerotids (Dec) 42 3.0 3 MON sigma-Hydrids 58 3.0 2 HYD Geminids 35 2.6 120 GEM Coma Berenicids 65 3.0 5 COM Ursids 33 3.0 10 URS --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table 3: Radiant positions during the year in alpha and delta. COM DCA Jan 0 186 +20 112 +22 QUA Jan 5 190 +18 116 +22 231 +49 Jan 10 194 +17 121 +21 Jan 20 202 +13 130 +19 ACE VIR Jan 30 200 -57 157 +16 DLE Feb 10 214 -60 165 +10 155 +20 GNO Feb 20 225 -63 172 +6 164 +18 225 -53 Feb 28 178 +3 171 +15 234 -52 Mar 10 186 0 180 +12 245 -51 Mar 20 192 -3 256 -50 Mar 30 198 -5 Apr 10 SAG LYR PPU 203 -7 Apr 15 224 -17 263 +34 106 -44 ETA 205 -8 Apr 20 227 -18 269 +34 109 -45 323 -7 Apr 25 230 -19 274 +34 111 -45 328 -5 Apr 30 233 -19 332 -4 May 5 236 -20 337 -2 May 10 240 -21 341 0 May 20 247 -22 350 +5 May 30 256 -23 Jun 10 265 -23 Jun 15 270 -23 Jun 20 275 -23 Jun 25 280 -23 Jun 30 284 -23 CAP JPE Jul 5 289 -22 285 -16 SDA 338 +14 Jul 10 293 -22 PHE 289 -15 325 -19 NDA 341 +15 PER PAU Jul 15 298 -21 032 -48 294 -14 329 -19 316 -10 012 +51 330 -34 Jul 20 299 -12 333 -18 319 -9 SIA 018 +52 334 -33 Jul 25 303 -11 337 -17 323 -9 322 -17 023 +54 338 -31 Jul 30 KCG 308 -10 340 -16 327 -8 328 -16 029 +55 343 -29 Aug 5 283 +58 NIA 313 -8 345 -14 332 -6 334 -15 037 +57 348 -27 Aug 10 284 +58 317 -7 318 -6 349 -13 335 -5 339 -14 043 +58 352 -26 Aug 15 285 +59 322 -7 352 -12 339 -4 345 -13 050 +59 Aug 20 286 +59 327 -6 AUR 356 -11 343 -3 057 +59 Aug 25 288 +60 332 -5 076 +42 347 -2 065 +60 Aug 30 289 +60 337 -5 082 +42 DAU Sep 5 088 +42 055 +46 SPI Sep 10 060 +47 357 -5 Sep 15 066 +48 001 -3 Sep 20 071 +48 005 -1 Sep 25 NTA STA 077 +49 009 0 Sep 30 021 +11 023 +5 ORI 083 +49 013 +2 Oct 5 025 +12 027 +7 085 +14 089 +49 GIA Oct 10 029 +14 031 +8 088 +15 095 +49 262 +54 Oct 15 034 +16 035 +9 091 +15 EGE Oct 20 038 +17 039 +11 094 +16 099 +27 Oct 25 043 +18 043 +12 098 +16 104 +27 Oct 30 047 +20 047 +13 101 +16 109 +27 Nov 5 053 +21 052 +14 105 +17 Nov 10 058 +22 056 +15 LEO AMO Nov 15 062 +23 060 +16 150 +23 113 -5 Nov 20 067 +24 064 +16 XOR 153 +21 117 -6 Nov 25 072 +24 069 +17 075 +23 121 -7 MON PUP PHO Nov 30 080 +23 HYD 091 +8 120 -45 014 -52 Dec 5 COM GEM 085 +23 122 +3 096 +8 122 -45 018 -53 Dec 10 169 +27 108 +33 090 +23 126 +2 100 +8 125 -45 022 -53 Dec 15 173 +26 113 +33 094 +23 130 +1 URS 104 +8 128 -45 Dec 20 177 +24 118 +32 217 +75 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table 4: Working list of daytime radio meteor streams. The "Best Observed" columns give the approximate local mean times between which a four-element antenna at an elevation of 45deg receiving a signal from a 30-kW transmitter 1000 km away should record at least 85% of any suitably positioned radio-reflecting meteor trails for the appropriate latitudes. Note that this is often heavily dependent on the compass direction in which the antenna is pointing, however, and applies only to dates near the shower's maximum. Shower Activity Max lambda Radiant Best Observed Rate Date 2000.0 alp.del. 50 N 35 S Cap/Sagittarids Jan 13-Feb 04 Feb 02 312.5 299 -15 11h-14h 09h-14h medium chi-Capricornids Jan 29-Feb 28 Feb 14 324.7 315 -24 10h-13h 08h-15h low Piscids (Apr.) Apr 08-Apr 29 Apr 20 030.3 007 +7 07h-14h 08h-13h low delta-Piscids Apr 24-Apr 24 Apr 24 034.2 011 +12 07h-14h 08h-13h low epsilon-Arietids Apr 24-May 27 May 08 048.7 044 +21 08h-15h 10h-14h low Arietids (May) May 04-Jun 06 May 16 055.5 037 +18 08h-15h 09h-13h low o-Cetids May 05-Jun 02 May 19 059.3 028 -4 07h-13h 07h-13h medium Arietids May 22-Jul 02 Jun 07 076.7 044 +24 06h-14h 08h-12h high zeta-Perseids May 20-Jul 05 Jun 09 078.6 062 +23 07h-15h 09h-13h high beta-Taurids Jun 05-Jul 17 Jun 28 096.7 086 +19 08h-15h 09h-13h medium gamma-Leonids Aug 14-Sep 12 Aug 25 152.2 155 +20 08h-16h 10h-14h low Sextantids Sep 09-Oct 09 Sep 27 184.3 152 0 06h-12h 06h-13h medium --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Useful addresses ---------------- For more information on observing techniques, and when submitting results, please contact the appropriate IMO Commission Director: Fireball Data Center (FIDAC): Andre Knoefel, Saarbruecker Strasse 8, D-40476 Duesseldorf, Germany. e-mail: fidac@imo.net Photographic Commission: Marc de Lignie, Prins Hendrikplein 42, NL-2264 SN Leidschendam, the Netherlands. e-mail: photo@imo.net Radio Commission: Temporarily vacant. e-mail: radio@imo.net Telescopic Commission: Malcolm Currie, 25 Collett Way, Grove, Wantage, Oxon. OX12 0NT, UK. e-mail: tele@imo.net Visual Commission: Rainer Arlt, Berliner Strasse 41, D-14467 Potsdam, Germany. e-mail: visual@imo.net or contact IMO's Homepage in the World-Wide-Web: http://www.imo.net/ For further details on IMO membership, please write to: Ina Rendtel, IMO Treasurer, Gontardstrasse 11, D-14471 Potsdam, Germany. e-mail: treasurer@imo.net Please try to enclose return postage when writing to any IMO officials, either in the form of stamps (same country only) or as an International Reply Coupon (I.R.C.--available from main postal outlets). Thank you! (C) 1997 by International Meteor Organization ## CrossPoint v3.11 ## Date: Fri, 13 Jun 1997 16:59:58 +0200 From: Daniel Fischer Subject: "New Zealand hit by meteor or space debris" http://www.nando.net/newsroom/ntn/health/061397/health9_1732.html tells us: New Zealand hit by meteor or space debris ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright ) 1997 Nando.net Copyright ) 1997 The Associated Press AUCKLAND (June 13, 1997 10:44 a.m. EDT) -- A brightly burning object crashed into New Zealand's North Island Friday in what police and scientists believe was a shower of meteors or space debris. Astrid Burgess was driving home around dinner time when she saw a ball of fire streak across the sky and crash with a "boom" into hills north of Wellington, the capital. "It was green and red at the back with smoke trailing out the rear of it," said Burgess. "I thought, 'Oh my God, it's a plane going down. They're going to die."' Emergency crews, responding to numerous similar reports, searched the area but found nothing. Authorities planned to fly over the area Saturday morning. "It wasn't a plane crash," said Pat O'Neill, a police inspector. "It's more likely from the advice we've been given that this incident is linked to unusual atmospheric activity -- possibly meteors or space debris." A meteor is the streak of light -- often called a falling star -- that occurs when a meteoroid, a chunk of stony or metallic matter, enters the Earth's atmosphere from space. Friction with the air causes the meteoroid to heat up, creating a glow and leaving a trail of glowing gases. While hundreds of fireballs are recorded around the world each year, meteoroids rarely survive to hit the Earth's surface. Most disintegrate upon reaching the atmosphere. John Field, a spokesman at New Zealand's Carter Observatory, said he fielded a number of calls about the object. "I tend to believe ... it's just a bit of space debris because a greenish glow tends to mean it has oxygen in it," he said today. "It could be a part of one of the old space craft that had gone up, or a satellite." --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Is anyone reading this list 'down there' and able to get more details? Daniel Fischer Date: Mon, 16 Jun 1997 11:17:06 +0200 (MET DST) From: Sirko Molau Subject: WWW Meteor Shower Calendar Hello friends, the 1998 Meteor Shower Calendar of IMO is now also at our website available: http://www.imo.net/calendar/cal98.html It bases on the text version distributed some days ago, and includes HTML layout and maps for the radiant positions. Sirko Molau IMO Webmaster Date: Sat, 12 Jul 1997 19:00:26 +0200 (MET DST) From: Slaven Garaj Subject: Bright meteors flash detector? Dear friends, I need help in constructing flash detector for meteors brighter than, say -4m. As you already heard from Nikola Biliskov and Neven Grbac at IMC 1996, our group observe Very Low Frequency radio meteor emission. It is suspected that only very bright fireballs produce such VLF radiation. Since the probability of occurence of such bright fireballs is very low, we decided to construct automatic station for monitoring in the VLF. It is very frustating that from April 1995, till now, we recorded only 100% VLF event, in Leonids 1995. The flash detector is needed: - to give signal to the computer, which part of digitized VLF signal is connected with the occurence of the meteor, and have to be stored. - to determine very approximate magnitude of fireball - to record relative light curve Now, some questions: - Is it possible to construct such flash detector without photomultiplier tube? I have HAMAMATSU 1P28 tube, but is not very sensitive in red and IR region. Further, the construction is not so simple because very stabile high voltage source is needed. - I've heard that practically same sensitivity and excellent spectral sensitivity in red and IR, can be obtained using avalanche photodiodes-APD. Do you have some experience with this? Where can I find more informations in constructing circuits with APD? - My friend told me that the output from photomultiplier tube should go to the differentiator circuit with time constant of 0.01s, and then through the A/D converter to PC. Any suggestions? I would be very grateful for any sort of help. Thanks in advance, bye, till IMC 1997 in Petnica Goran Zgrablic write at: slaven@astro.visnjan.hr subject: for Goran Date: 13 Jul 1997 09:59:00 +0200 From: Andrew Yee Subject: (Fwd) Report puts meteorite streams into mainstream science Purdue University CONTACT: Lipschutz, (765) 494-5326; e-mail, rnapuml@vm.cc.purdue.edu Compiled by Amanda Siegfried, (765) 494-4709; e-mail, amanda_siegfried@uns.purdue.edu Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; e-mail, purduenews@uns.purdue.edu June 1997 Report puts meteorite streams into mainstream science WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- The road map for our solar system may be sprinkled with streams of meteoroids, says a Purdue University professor. Michael Lipschutz, professor of chemistry who headed the team that discovered the first evidence for a meteoroid stream in 1993, has found a second stream by analyzing a series of meteorites that have crashed to Earth between 1812 and 1992. "This new stream appears to have deposited meteorites on Earth over two different intervals," Lipschutz says. "Apparently, the Earth intersected the stream's orbit at these points in time, and some of the meteoroids that were traveling in the stream landed on Earth." He reported his findings in the April issue of the Journal of Geophysical Research-Planets. Meteorites are the fragments of small objects called meteoroids that survive passage through the atmosphere and fall on the Earth's surface. Theoretically, a meteoroid stream is made up of a group of rocky fragments that are derived from the breakup of a near-Earth object and then travel in space in the same general orbit, Lipschutz says. "Meteoroids traveling together would likely represent fragments of the same asteroid, thus they would have a similar chemical makeup," he says. Using this knowledge, Lipschutz was able to link 17 meteorites that fell to Earth in two separate arrays by analyzing the trace elements in the meteorites. Trace elements are chemical markers that are found in very tiny amounts, such as parts per million or parts per billion. He then compared the contents of the samples with a set of 33 meteorites of similar composition that fell to Earth at random between 1773 and 1970. The 17 meteorites proved to have a chemical makeup that was similar to each other and significantly different from the meteorites in the random falls. "Only meteorites from a single source could account for these differences," Lipschutz says. The 17 meteorites fell to Earth in over a period of time in two separate arrays, indicating that the Earth may have intersected two different parts of the stream, Lipschutz says. The first group of meteorites landed from 1812 through 1831, and a second group of meteorites landed from 1843 and 1992. The falls all occurred during the months of September and October. In addition, several samples from the stream have interesting histories, Lipschutz says. "The first meteorite fall, called Borodino, fell two days before the famous 1812 battle there, the ultimate result of which was the devastating retreat of Napoleon's army from Russia," he says, "although no mention appears in history treatises of the Napoleonic era." The most recent fall, which occurred on Oct. 9, 1992, in Peekskill, N.Y., hit a car and was observed and videotaped over a five-state area, Lipschutz says. The existence of meteoroid streams was first proposed by Lipschutz and colleagues in 1986 to explain chemical differences, such as concentrations of trace elements, between Antarctic and non-Antarctic meteorites. --- Andrew Yee ayee@nova.astro.utoronto.ca Date: Fri, 18 Jul 1997 10:25:54 +0200 (CET) From: Vladimir Lukic Subject: IMC During this week we will send official invitations to all the people who have annaunced participation at IMC (it is to those who have registered, made reservations for flights or asked me for visa papers). Information on IMC, together with list of participants, will be sent by Ministry of Foreign Affairs to Yugoslav diplomatic missions in your country. This should be enough to have a visa without any problems. Yugoslav visa can be obtained in any diplomatic mission, but one has to go there personally (thus you can't do it by post). It would be the best to check by phone if your name appears on the list before you visit the embassy (although invitation itself would be good enough). If you would like to be included in the first version of list, and you still haven't registered, please contact me by Email, as soon as possible. Of course, list will be updated and sent to embassies after we get new registrations. Hope to see you soon, Vladimir Lukic Date: Wed, 23 Jul 1997 17:37:14 +0200 From: Raul Fernandez Sayalero Subject: Pegasids On 4-5th July, I observed Pegasids activity. I was surprised by this thing, 'cause I read the activity began the 7th of July. I want to know if other observers have watched this event. My results are: 4 July Begin End Efect.Time LM Clouds Pegasids Sporadics 02:01 03:19 1.08h 6.0 5% 1 12 5 July Begin End Efect.Time LM Clouds Pegasids Sporadics 01:24 02:54 1.3h 6.3 0% 3 9 Andres Rafael Paños Moya ( Posete) P.S Please write soon Thank you -- *** *** Date: Wed, 23 Jul 1997 22:49:18 -0400 From: Mark Davis Subject: Re: Pegasids On 7/23/97 +0200, you wrote: >On 4-5th July, I observed Pegasids activity. I was surprised by this >thing, 'cause I read >the activity began the 7th of July. I want to know if other observers >have watched this event. Hello, I have received the following Pegasid observations: UT Date UT Time T F LM SAG JPE CAP SDA PER PAU NDA SPO Observer Jul 05/06 0501-0600 0.97 1.05 6.10 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 8 Hall 0600-0700 0.98 1.05 6.20 0 2 1 0 1 0 0 9 Hall 0700-0800 0.87 1.05 5.80 1 0 0 1 3 0 0 6 Hall Jul 06/07 0745-0845 0.93 1.00 6.45 3 0 1 / / / / 6 Lunsford 0845-0945 0.93 1.00 6.42 0 0 0 / / / / 11 Lunsford 0945-1045 0.92 1.00 6.54 0 1 0 / / / / 12 Lunsford 1045-1120 0.50 1.00 6.66 1 0 0 / / / / 11 Lunsford Jul 08/09 0800-0900 0.94 1.00 6.52 0 0 0 / 0 / / 10 Lunsford 0900-1000 0.95 1.00 6.49 0 0 0 / 0 / / 7 Lunsford 1000-1100 0.92 1.00 6.53 0 0 0 / 0 / / 11 Lunsford 1100-1130 0.44 1.00 6.38 0 0 0 / 0 / / 8 Lunsford Jul 10/11 0410-0600 1.55 1.11 5.46 0 0 0 0 / / / 10 Gramer 0430-0540 1.02 1.04 5.70 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 9 Hall 0540-0650 1.02 1.00 5.70 1 1 0 1 0 0 2 4 Hall 0650-0800 1.05 1.04 5.50 1 0 0 0 2 0 1 8 Hall Jul 13/14 0830-0930 0.87 1.00 6.42 0 0 1 / 0 / / 17 Lunsford 0930-1030 0.89 ---- 6.39 0 0 1 / 1 / / 13 Lunsford 1030-1130 0.92 ---- 6.33 0 0 0 / 0 / / 11 Lunsford The observers were Cathy Hall, Canada; Robert Lunsford and Lew Gramer, USA. Best wishes, Mark Davis MeteorObs@charleston.net Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, USA Coordinator, North American Meteor Network Assistant Coordinator, ALPO Meteors Section =================================================== Visit the NAMN home page at: http://medicine.wustl.edu/~kronkg/namn.html =================================================== Date: Sun, 03 Aug 1997 13:27:24 +0200 From: Raul Fernandez Sayalero Subject: Rotating shutter Hi. I will be very pleased if somebody tell me where get information about a photographic rotating shutter. Some electronic schemes, in order to control motor speed. Speed recomends, etc. I will wait for you information. Thank you. -- ********************************** * http://www.ctv.es/USERS/ferra * * mailto:ferra@ctv.es * ********************************** Date: Fri, 8 Aug 97 12:05:23 MESZ From: Juergen Rendtel Subject: Perseid maximum data Now we approach the central part of the Perseids. Enough was written about the predicted times of the `traditional' and the `recent' maxima, and I won't repeat this again. In order to get a first rough information about the activity level, and to know whether the `remains of the peak' still exist, we would like the observers to send their raw results of the period August 11 to 13 to visual@imo.net Unfortunately this is the last major shower not spoiled by bright moonlight for a longer period of time. So I wish you good luck with your observations! Juergen Rendtel Date: Thu, 07 Aug 1997 18:05:54 +0200 From: Casper ter Kuile Subject: August 5/6 and 6/7 data Koen Miskotte: his 25000th meteor... >> >>Below two night reports of Koen Miskotte, DMS team Delphinus, the Netherlands. Among them Koen's 25000th meteor since his first serious observations in the early eighties. >> >>-Marco >> >>-------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------- >> >>Observer: Koen Miskotte (MISKO - KMH) >>Location: Biddinghuizen, the Netherlands, 52d 29' N, 5d 41' E >> >> >>Night 5/6 August, 1997 >> >> >>UT Teff Lm Per d Aqr i Aqr Cap k Cyg Spo >> >>21:23 - 22:30 1.12 6.6 7 3 1 1 3 22 >>22:30 - 23:32 0.95 6.7 11 4 1 0 1 13 >>23:32 - 00:49 1.00 6.7 14 2 1 0 2 14 >>00:49 - 02:05 1.25 6.6 15 2 0 0 1 17 >> >>TOTAL 4.32 <6.6> 47 11 3 1 7 66 135 >> >> >> >>stream -4/ -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 >> >>Sporadics 0 0 0 1 0 6 19 23 13 4 >>Perseids 1 1 2 1 2 6 14 13 5 2 >>d Aquarids 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 4 3 0 >>i Aquarids 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 >>Capricornids 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 >>k Cygnids 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 3 2 0 >> >> >>Note: This night Koen saw the 25000th meteor of his career! It was a +3 sporadic in Lacerta. >> >>-------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------- >> >>Night 6/7 August 1997 >> >> >>UT Teff Lm Per d Aqr i Aqr Cap k Cyg Spo >> >>21:16 - 22:03 0.78 6.6 6 0 1 0 0 11 >>22:03 - 23:03 1.00 6.7 14 4 1 1 2 16 >>23:03 - 00:00 0.95 6.7 15 1 0 1 2 18 >>00:00 - 01:00 0.97 6.7 13 3 1 0 1 18 >>01:00 - 02:10 1.00 6.4 16 1 0 0 0 13 >> >>TOTAL 4.70 <6.6> 64 9 3 2 5 76 159 >> >> >> >>stream -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 >> >>Sporadics 0 0 0 5 17 35 17 2 >>Perseids 1 2 3 14 9 19 12 4 >>d Aquarids 0 0 0 1 3 3 2 0 >>i Aquarids 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 >>Capricornids 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 >>k Cygnids 1 0 0 1 1 2 0 0 >> >>-------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------- Leonids-'98? A once (twice?) in your lifetime appearance! You can't afford to miss it! Casper ter Kuile, Akker 145, NL-3732 XD, De Bilt, The Netherlands Phone: +31-30-2203170; Fax: +31-30-2202695; GSM: +31-6-54723974 E-mail1: pegasoft@cc.ruu.nl; E-mail2: casper.ter.kuile@rivm.nl WWW: http://www.pi.net/~terkuile/meteors/dms.htm Date: Sun, 10 Aug 1997 17:34:59 +0200 From: Casper ter Kuile Subject: Perseid data August 8/9 MISKO >Date: Sat, 09 Aug 1997 16:22:21 +0200 >To: Meteorobs, dms, meteor-news@imo.net >From: Casper ter Kuile >Subject: Perseid data August 8/9 MISKO >Cc: olga, rainer > > >Below Koen Miskottes data of last night. See my previous mail for an impression of this night. > >-Marco. > >--------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------- > >Observer: Koen Miskotte (MISKO - KMH) >Location: Biddinghuizen, the Netherlands, 52d 29' N, 5d 41' E > >Date: August 8/9, 1997 > >--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------- >UT Teff LM Per d Aqr i Aqr Cap k Cyg Spo > >21:35 - 22:36 0.95 6.6 7 3 2 1 3 12 >22:36 - 23:30 0.82 6.6 11 4 1 0 1 15 >23:30 - 00:30 1.00 6.8 27 5 1 1 2 14 >00:30 - 01:29 0.98 6.8 44 4 2 1 2 30 >01:29 - 02:17 0.80 6.4 32 4 1 0 0 16 > >TOTAL 4.55 <6.6> 121 20 7 3 8 87 246 >--------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------- > > >--------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ >Stream -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 > >Sporadics 0 0 0 0 1 10 20 36 15 5 >Perseids 1 1 2 2 5 15 32 37 19 7 >d Aquarids 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 8 7 1 >i Aquarids 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 3 2 0 >Capricornids 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 >k Cygnids 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 1 3 0 >--------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ > >Note: after 23:30 UT very clear sky! > > Leonids-'98? A once (twice?) in your lifetime appearance! You can't afford to miss it! Casper ter Kuile, Akker 145, NL-3732 XD, De Bilt, The Netherlands Phone: +31-30-2203170; Fax: +31-30-2202695; GSM: +31-6-54723974 E-mail1: pegasoft@cc.ruu.nl; E-mail2: casper.ter.kuile@rivm.nl WWW: http://www.pi.net/~terkuile/meteors/dms.htm Date: 14 Aug 97 16:55:19 EDT From: Rainer Arlt <100114.1361@compuserve.com> Subject: Perseid Circular 1997 ------------------------------------- I M O S h o w e r C i r c u l a r ------------------------------------- PERSEIDS 1997 The 1997 Perseid peak caused by the new filament of the Perseid stream was predicted for 8h or 9h UT on August 12. Enhanced activity was reported by several observers in North America, significantly above the pre-traditional maximum levels, but lower than in 1996. Highest rates occurred between 8h00 and 8h30 UT corresponding to a solar longitude of 139.70 deg (J2000). The traditional maximum may have peaked over Asian longitudes from where no data have been reported yet. Highest rates from Europe were observed around 0h UT on August 13, at a solar longi- tude of 140.57 deg being unusually late. Hence we may assume that the true traditional maximum occurred in between the American and European observing windows. ARLRA Rainer Arlt (Germany) GURPE Pete Gural (USA) HEELA Lars Trygve Heen (Norway) JOHCA Carl Johannink (Netherlands) KUSRA Ralf Kuschnik (Germany) LANMA Marco Langbroek (Netherlands) LUNRO Robert Lunsford (USA) MCLNO Norman McLeod (USA) MISKO Koen Miskotte (Netherlands) MOLSI Sirko Molau (Germany) PETLA Petersen Lars (Denmark) SOLMA Manuel Solano Riuz (Spain) STOWE Wes Stone (USA) UAA Umpqua Amateur Astronomers of Roseburg, OR (USA) WILBA Barbara Wilson (USA) ZAYGE George Zay (USA) ---------------------------- 1997 Aug UT #Obs #PER ZHR +- ---------------------------- 11 2100 5 132 60 24 11 2200 7 222 58 13 11 2300 6 258 62 19 12 0000 8 344 67 25 12 0130 7 347 74 17 12 0500 4 133 54 3 12 0700 4 121 70 7 12 0800 5 367 128 26 12 0900 7 631 116 47 12 1100 4 358 96 23 12 2130 7 178 66 10 12 2300 7 263 73 19 12 0000 5 256 101 24 12 0045 5 269 77 34 12 0130 5 230 83 27 12 1000 3 139 79 2 ---------------------------- ZHRs were calculated using a population index of r=2.0. The values given are non-weighted averages of '#Obs' observing periods. ZHR errors '+-' are the standard deviation of the average. Note that the ZHR bins are not equidistant. Many thanks to all observers who contributed so quickly to this first activity overview. If you have not yet sent your Perseid logs, we would be very grateful to receive your results. Rainer Arlt, 1997 August 14. --------------------------------- Visual Commission: visual@imo.net IMO Website: http://www.imo.net Date: Sun, 10 Aug 1997 15:15:25 From: c.f.johannink@home.cnt.antenna.nl Subject: life is even more mad then you can dream of Hi everebody, The story below happened a few days ago ... On Thursday evening August 7th., we were busy observing the Perseids on the roof of the Public Observatory Twente in Lattrop, the Netherlands. A journalist and a photographer were present too. They made an article about the Perseids for a regional newspaper. After making some pictures, the photographer left the building. One observer of our group, Rita Verhoef, went with him to close the door again. But at the door were two young people, a boy and a girl. "Could you tell me" asked the boy "the name of the bright star low in the sky there, isn't that Capella?". "You're right" said Rita. "There you are" he sais enthousiastic to the girl next to him, "now you have to sleep with me" (I use here the chasted versi- on, I cannot translate the Dutch slang ...). They left, discussing with each other. Rita closed the door. Giggling, she started observing again, and told us the story. Now we ask ourselves whether they did it 'a Capella' ... The next day these young people could read their story in the newspaper ... Lots of observations and fun for all of you! Carl Johannink -- - C.F.Johannink@home.cnt.antenna.NL - C.F.Johannink - Schiefestrasse 36 - 48599 Gronau Germany - Tel. + 49 2562 22345 -- Date: Thu, 14 Aug 1997 06:31:11 +0200 From: Umberto Mule' Stagno Subject: Perseids aftermath Report: Umberto Mule' Stagno - (MTAHLEB, MALTA) above Cliffs HI! Finally the weather cleared and only water vapour took over, actually improving our situation. Even before the Moon set roughly at 23:50 UT, the Milky Way in Cepheus and Cygnus could be very well made out. Observation started at 00:00 UT (02:00 am Malta Time), August 14th Very slow bright Capricornids made the observers wooo and photographic station jump with amazement and enthusiasm. Perseids were bright and surprisingly PLENTY!!! Limiting Magnitude conditions were constant throughout the 120min. session. The highest Meteor density observed was at 01:15 UT ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------- Observer: Umberto Mule' Stagno (MULUM) Location: MTAHLEB, MALTA 35d 54' N, 14d 24' E Date: August 13/14, 1997 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------- UT Teff Lm Per d Aqr i Aqr k Cyg Cap Spo 00:00-02:00 1.95 6.4 72 10 6 7 5 19 TOTAL 1.95 <6.4> 72 10 6 7 5 19 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------- Stream -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------- Perseids 3 1 5 4 6 9 10 15 17 1 1 Sporadics 0 0 2 1 3 3 1 2 3 1 1 d Aquarids 0 0 1 0 2 1 2 1 1 2 0 i Aquarids 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 2 0 1 k Cygnids 0 0 0 1 1 3 0 1 0 1 0 Capricornids 0 0 0 1 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------- Many regards & Clear Skies... Umberto Mule' Stagno Date: Fri, 15 Aug 1997 11:19:10 +0100 (BST) From: Neil Bone Subject: Perseids 1997 Another mediocre spell of weather in the southern UK for Perseid maximum, maintaining the dismal pattern of the 1990s so far; surely we're due a bit of better luck! Observations from Apuldram, West Sussex by Neil Bone 50o 49.8'N 0o48.3'W 1997 Aug Start End Teff AvLM F Sp Per Oth Comments 8-9 2200 2242 0.70 5.50 1.00 1 6 1 Ended by fog! 9-10 2155 2255 1.00 5.75 1.00 5 12 0 2255 2355 1.00 5.56 1.00 2 8 1 Hazy interlude. 2355 0055 1.00 5.75 1.00 2 9 2 0055 0155 1.00 5.75 1.00 5 7 2 0155 0255 1.00 5.71 1.00 3 12 1 Dawn approaching 11-12 2255 2355 1.00 5.25 1.14 2 8 0 Patchy altocumulus 2355 0055 1.00 5.25 1.09 2 10 1 Patchy altocumulus 0055 0157 1.00 5.32 1.09 4 12 3 Patchy altocumulus 0157 0257 1.00 5.43 1.00 6 20 0 Dawn approaching 13-14 2255 2355 1.00 5.17 1.00 0 13 1 Moon! 2355 0055 1.00 5.88 1.00 3 23 1 MAGNITUDES SPOR -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 Tpot Aug 8-9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 9-10 0 0 0 0 0 3 5 7 2 0 17 11-12 0 0 0 0 3 3 2 3 3 0 14 13-14 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 3 PER -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 Tot Aug 8-9 0 0 0 2 0 1 2 0 1 0 6 9-10 0 0 3 4 2 11 12 7 8 1 48 11-12 1 0 2 1 4 11 13 13 5 0 50 13-14 0 0 2 1 3 8 8 9 4 1 36 TRAINS SPOR 3/35 = 8.6% PER 24/140 = 17.1% (Most of the 'Others' were Delta Aquarids and Alpha Capricornids). -"The Harepath", Mile End Lane, Apuldram, Chichester, West Sussex, PO20 7DZ, UK. ++44-1243-782679. bafb4@central.sussex.ac.uk 15th August 1997 From ferra@ctv.es Fri Aug 15 16:54:04 1997 Date: Fri, 15 Aug 1997 14:35:34 +0200 From: Raul Fernandez Sayalero To: imo-news@imo.net Subject: Perseids from Spain [The following text is in the "iso-8859-1" character set] [Your display is set for the "US-ASCII" character set] [Some characters may be displayed incorrectly] My preliminary results Inter. T.eff F Lm Pers Spo 22.19-23.19 0.78 1 5.4 10 3 23.19-00.34 0.9 1 6.3 13 8 00.38-01.10 0.35 1 6.3 8 3 01.25-02.25 0.53 1 6.3 16 12 02.25-03.25 0.85 1 6.3 17 11 03.25-03.57 0.91 1 6.0 11 4 I was observing at La Muela , Aras de Alpuente (Spain) . Longitude: 1º 7.7' W Latitude: 39º 55'4 N Bye Andres Paños ( Posete ) -- ********************************** * http://www.ctv.es/USERS/ferra * * mailto:ferra@ctv.es * ********************************** Date: Fri, 15 Aug 1997 14:35:34 +0200 From: Raul Fernandez Sayalero Subject: Perseids from Spain My preliminary results Inter. T.eff F Lm Pers Spo 22.19-23.19 0.78 1 5.4 10 3 23.19-00.34 0.9 1 6.3 13 8 00.38-01.10 0.35 1 6.3 8 3 01.25-02.25 0.53 1 6.3 16 12 02.25-03.25 0.85 1 6.3 17 11 03.25-03.57 0.91 1 6.0 11 4 I was observing at La Muela , Aras de Alpuente (Spain) . Longitude: 1º 7.7' W Latitude: 39º 55'4 N Bye Andres Paños ( Posete ) -- ********************************** * http://www.ctv.es/USERS/ferra * * mailto:ferra@ctv.es * ********************************** Date: Fri, 15 Aug 1997 14:33:32 +0200 From: Raul Fernandez Sayalero Subject: Perseids from Spain My preliminary results Inter. T.eff F Lm Pers Spo 23.43-00.43 0.9 1 6.4 22 3 00.40-01.40 0.9 1 6.4 37 12 01.40-02.40 0.9 1 6.4 29 11 02.43-03.38 0.8 1 6.3 31 3 I was observing at La Muela, Aras de Alpuente (Spain) . Longitude: 1º 7.7' W Latitude: 39º 55'4 N The sky was almost perfect, with an excelent limiting magnitude. Bye Raul Fernández (FERRA) -- ********************************** * http://www.ctv.es/USERS/ferra * * mailto:ferra@ctv.es * ********************************** Date: Fri, 15 Aug 1997 16:38:08 +0200 (MET DST) From: IMO-News Operator Subject: IMO-News Netiquette Dear meteor enthusiasts, August is one of the best times for meteor observers. The Perseids peak and observational activities reach their annual maximum. Likewise, we have more traffic via IMO-News than in other months. Even if this is the most exciting time of year, I would like you to pay attention to our list netiquette (to be found at http://www.imo.net/news/imo-news.html). It says that you are not expected to send raw counts of single observers from single nights. Just imagine what happens if all observers would do that. For the subscriber it is much more convinient if you condense your data. You could, for example, post the results of a whole group of observers for one night (possibly including preliminary ZHRs), or the data from a single observer covering a longer time period. It should also be avoided to send private or not meteor related messages to a mailing list with more than 200 subscribers. Finally I want to stress again, that this is not a list for IMO members only. Everybody is invited to send reports / data requests / results that are of interest to our subscribers. Best wishes, Sirko Molau IMO-News Operator Date: Fri, 01 Aug 1997 17:03:50 +0300 From: Moh'd Odeh Subject: Perseids report from Jordan Dear Readers, I'm Moh'd Odeh from the Jordanian Astronomical Society (JAS), our society held a camp between 10-13/8 to observe the Perseids meteor shower. Attached is my reports, and later we will send the official report and the other observer's reports. Kind Regards ***************************************************************** Mohammad Odeh Jordanian Astronomical Society (JAS) odehjas@geocities.com http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/1092/index.html ***************************************************************** ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ International Meteor Organization (IMO) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Visual Observing Form - Summary Report ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day:10-11 Month:08 Year:97_ Begin: 20_h46_m End:01__h40_m Location: long. 37x06'35"E latit. 31x43'05"N h=550 m Site: Al-Azraq _________________________________ Country: JORDAN Observer: Mohammad Odeh________________________ IMO code:odemo__ Showers considered: ------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Shw |alpha|delta| Shw |alpha|delta| Shw |alpha|delta| Shw |alpha|delta| |-------------------------------------------------------------------------| |Per |43 |58 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Period |Field |Teff| F | lm |Per | | ___| ___| ___| ___| ___| ___|Spor| | (UT) |RA Dec| h | | m |M| N|M| N|M| N|M| N|M| N|M| N|M| N|M| N|M| N| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- |2046-2218| | |1.52| 1 |6.05|c|21| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |c|31| |---------|---|---|----|---|----|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--| |2218-0024| | |1.93| 1 |6.53|c|23| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |c|36| |---------|---|---|----|---|----|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--| |0024-0140| | |1.25| 1 |6.10|c|22| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |c|22| |---------|---|---|----|---|----|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Magnitude data: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Shower |Period|-7|-6|-5|-4|-3| -2| -1| 0 | +1 | +2 | +3 | +4 | +5 |+6 |+7|Total| |-------|------|--|--|--|--|--|---|---|---|----|----|----|----|----|---|--|----- | |per | 1 | | | | | | |1 |2 |2 |5 |4 |5 |2 | | | 21 | |-------|------|--|--|--|--|--|---|---|---|----|----|----|----|----|---|--|----- | |per | 2 | | | | |1 | |1 | | |3 |6 |8 |3 | | | 23 | |-------|------|--|--|--|--|--|---|---|---|----|----|----|----|----|---|--|----- | |per | 3 | | | | |1 | | |1 |4 |5 |7 |4 | | | | 22 | |-------|------|--|--|--|--|--|---|---|---|----|----|----|----|----|---|--|----- | |spor | all | | | | 1| |1 | | | |9 |29 |28 |17 | | | 89 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ============================================================================= ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ International Meteor Organization (IMO) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Visual Observing Form - Summary Report ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day:11-12 Month:08 Year:97_ Begin: 20_h21_m End:01__h35_m Location: long. 37x06'35"E latit. 31x43'05"N h=550 m Site: Al-Azraq _________________________________ Country: JORDAN Observer: Mohammad Odeh________________________ IMO code:odemo__ Showers considered: ------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Shw |alpha|delta| Shw |alpha|delta| Shw |alpha|delta| Shw |alpha|delta| |-------------------------------------------------------------------------| |Per |44.8 |57.2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Period |Field |Teff| F | lm |Per | | ___| ___| ___| ___| ___| ___|Spor| | (UT) |RA Dec| h | | m |M| N|M| N|M| N|M| N|M| N|M| N|M| N|M| N|M| N| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- |2021-2219| | |1.92| 1 |6.20|c|26| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |c|47| |---------|---|---|----|---|----|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--| |2219-2305| | |0.77| 1 |6.10|c|27| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |c|48| |---------|---|---|----|---|----|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--| |2305-2356| | |0.85| 1 |6.10|c|27| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |c|34| |---------|---|---|----|---|----|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--| |2356-0038| | |0.70| 1 |6.15|c|27| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |c|50| |---------|---|---|----|---|----|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--| |0038-0135| | |0.95| 1 |6.20|c|27| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |c|47| |---------|---|---|----|---|----|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Magnitude data: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Shower |Period|-7|-6|-5|-4|-3| -2| -1| 0 | +1 | +2 | +3 | +4 | +5 |+6 |+7|Total| |-------|------|--|--|--|--|--|---|---|---|----|----|----|----|----|---|--|----- | |per | 1 | | | | |1 | | | |4 |4 |13 |3 |1 | | | 26 | |-------|------|--|--|--|--|--|---|---|---|----|----|----|----|----|---|--|----- | |per | 2 | | | | | | |1 |2 |2 |7 |7 |5 |2 |1 | | 27 | |-------|------|--|--|--|--|--|---|---|---|----|----|----|----|----|---|--|----- | |per | 3 | | | | | |1 |1 | |5 |7 |5 |6 |2 | | | 27 | |-------|------|--|--|--|--|--|---|---|---|----|----|----|----|----|---|--|----- | |per | 4 | | | |1 |1 |1 | |2 |5 |4 |5 |4 |3 |1 | | 27 | |-------|------|--|--|--|--|--|---|---|---|----|----|----|----|----|---|--|----- | |per | 5 | | | | | | | |2 |1 |5 |5 |11 |3 | | | 27 | |-------|------|--|--|--|--|--|---|---|---|----|----|----|----|----|---|--|----- | |spor | all | | | | 1| | | |1 |2 |4 |22 |37 |23 |3 | | 92 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- =============================================================================== ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ International Meteor Organization (IMO) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Visual Observing Form - Summary Report ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day:12-13 Month:08 Year:97_ Begin: 18_h46_m End:01__h36_m Location: long. 37x06'35"E latit. 31x43'05"N h=550 m Site: Al-Azraq _________________________________ Country: JORDAN Observer: Mohammad Odeh________________________ IMO code:odemo__ Showers considered: ------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Shw |alpha|delta| Shw |alpha|delta| Shw |alpha|delta| Shw |alpha|delta| |-------------------------------------------------------------------------| |Per |47.6 |57.58| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Period |Field |Teff| F | lm |Per | | ___| ___| ___| ___| ___| ___|Spor| | (UT) |RA Dec| h | | m |M| N|M| N|M| N|M| N|M| N|M| N|M| N|M| N|M| N| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- |1846-2118| | |2.52| 1 |5.45|c|27| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |c|21| |---------|---|---|----|---|----|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--| |2118-2216| | |0.93| 1 |6.20|c|32| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |c|26| |---------|---|---|----|---|----|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--| |2219-2257| | |0.63| 1 |6.15|c|30| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |c|12| |---------|---|---|----|---|----|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--| |2257-2342| | |0.72| 1 |6.15|c|30| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |c|14| |---------|---|---|----|---|----|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--| |2342-0008| | |0.43| 1 |6.15|c|30| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |c|11| |---------|---|---|----|---|----|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--| |0008-0040| | |0.52| 1 |6.15|c|24| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |c|07| |---------|---|---|----|---|----|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--| |0040-0102| | |0.37| 1 |6.15|c|23| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |c|07| |---------|---|---|----|---|----|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--|-|--| |0102-0136| | |0.57| 1 |6.15|c|31| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |c|10| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Magnitude data: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Shower |Period|-7|-6|-5|-4|-3| -2| -1| 0 | +1 | +2 | +3 | +4 | +5 |+6 |+7|Total| |-------|------|--|--|--|--|--|---|---|---|----|----|----|----|----|---|--|----- | |per | 1 | | | | | | | | 3 |5 |6 |11 |2 | | | | 27 | |-------|------|--|--|--|--|--|---|---|---|----|----|----|----|----|---|--|----- | |per | 2 | | | | | | |1 |4 |3 |8 |4 |8 |4 | | | 32 | |-------|------|--|--|--|--|--|---|---|---|----|----|----|----|----|---|--|----- | |per | 3 | | | | | | |1 |3 |2 |7 |7 |8 |2 | | | 30 | |-------|------|--|--|--|--|--|---|---|---|----|----|----|----|----|---|--|----- | |per | 4 | | | | | |1 | | |9 |1 |2 |10 |6 |1 | | 30 | |-------|------|--|--|--|--|--|---|---|---|----|----|----|----|----|---|--|----- | |per | 5 | | | | | | | | |6 |4 |6 |10 |4 | | | 30 | |-------|------|--|--|--|--|--|---|---|---|----|----|----|----|----|---|--|----- | |per | 6 | | | | | | | |1 |3 |1 |12 |5 |2 | | | 24 | |-------|------|--|--|--|--|--|---|---|---|----|----|----|----|----|---|--|----- | |per | 7 | | | | |1 | | |1 |4 |5 |8 |2 |2 | | | 23 | |-------|------|--|--|--|--|--|---|---|---|----|----|----|----|----|---|--|----- | |per | 8 | | | | | | |1 |1 |2 |5 |11 |10 |1 | | | 31 | |-------|------|--|--|--|--|--|---|---|---|----|----|----|----|----|---|--|----- | |spor | all | | | | |1 | |1 | |3 |16 |36 |32 |18 |1 | | 108 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ***************************************************************** Mohammad Odeh Jordanian Astronomical Society (JAS) odehjas@geocities.com http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/1092/index.html ***************************************************************** Date: Tue, 12 Aug 97 11:25:41 +0200 From: Zoltan Hevesi Subject: P-97. PERSEID OBSERVATIONS IN HUNGARY Local groups' observations of Hungarian Astronomical Association Meteor Section (HAA/MS) 1997. August 11/12. ************************************************************* Observing site: Kaposszentjakab Hungary - 46d 21' N, 17d 51' E, 170 m Observers: HEVESI Zoltan Kaposvar Hungary - HEVZO HEVESI Monika Kaposvar Hungary - HEVMO MIKLOS Terez Kaposvar Hungary - MIKTE Limiting magnitude: Time (UT) 20:00 22:00 00:00 02:00 ------------------------------------------ HEVZO 52 60 62 61 HEVMO 53 62 64 62 MIKTE 50 60 Number of Perseid meteors and sporadics by a person (Per/spo.): Interval (UT) HEVZO HEVMO MIKTE 20:00-20:15 2 / - 2 / - 2 / - 20:15-20:30 1 / - - / - 1 / - 20:30-20:45 - / - - / 3 - / 2 20:45-21:00 1 / - 1 / 1 1 / 1 21:00-21:15 1 / 1 - / 1 - / 1 21:15-21:30 - / - - / 1 - / 1 21:30-21:45 1 / - - / - 1 / - 21:45-22:00 2 / - 2 / 1 2 / 1 22:00-22:15 5 / 1 3 / 2 22:15-22:30 2 / - 3 / - 22:30-22:45 1 / 3 3 / 3 22:45-23:00 5 / 2 4 / 3 23:00-23:15 2 / 2 1 / 3 23:15-23:30 5 / 1 6 / 3 23:30-23:45 2 / - 3 / - 23:45-00:00 7 / 1 6 / 1 00:00-00:15 2 / 2 4 / 3 00:15-00:30 7 / - 10 / 1 00:30-00:45 7 / 2 9 / 1 00:45-01:00 6 / - 5 / 1 01:00-01:15 7 / 3 11 / 2 01:15-01:30 4 / - 4 / 1 01:30-01:45 8 / 1 7 / 2 01:45-02:00 7 / 3 9 / 2 Magnitude distribution: HEVZO: 20:00-23:00 -3 -2 -1 0 +1 +2 +3 +4 Total ~~~~~ --------------------------------------------- - 1 2 1 2 10 3 2 21 HEVZO: 23:00-02:00 -3 -2 -1 0 +1 +2 +3 +4 Total ~~~~~ --------------------------------------------- 1 1 9 7 10 20 14 2 65 HEVMO: 20:00-23:00 -3 -2 -1 0 +1 +2 +3 +4 Total ~~~~~ --------------------------------------------- - 1 3 2 1 8 3 - 18 HEVMO: 23:00-02:00 -3 -2 -1 0 +1 +2 +3 +4 Total ~~~~~ --------------------------------------------- 1 - 7 9 21 24 12 1 75 MIKTE: 20:00-22:00 -3 -2 -1 0 +1 +2 +3 +4 Total ~~~~~ --------------------------------------------- - 1 2 1 1 2 7 (Hevesi Zoltan) hev@meteor.zpok.hu Date: 16 Aug 1997 09:57:11 +0900 From: Koseki Masahiro Subject: Perseids 1997 in Japan Mr.Takanashi posted summary report of 1997 Perseids to the NMS-Mailing List ----------Forwarded message From:97/ 8/15 22:32 Masaaki Takanashi Title: [nms 3882] 08/15 Perseids To: nms@iijnet.or.jp --- Weather condition was poor in Japan but some meteor enthusiasts observed Perseids on high mountains, such as Mt.Fuji, or at places where weather forecast suggested. Following results from 24 observers were based on data from limited district, because many observers tended to concentrate in small area. Results indicate that the peak occurred at Aug.12(14h UT) and coincide with Arlt's estimation (IMO-News, Aug.15). Japanese results show smooth connection with IMO's on following graph though each population index is different(IMO;2.0, NMS;1.6). See more details showing at: http://www2j.meshnet.or.jp/~mton/ Data used here are: Received till Aug.15(15 o'clock, JST) Rejected observations: cloudiness>=40%, Teff<30min. Calculation basis: Population index of r=1.6 Zenithal correction coefficient has only two significant figures. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- DATE&TIME DATE&TIME #Obs T.eff #Per AVERAGE S.D. ( Max. : Median: Min. ) (JST) (UT) (min) ZHR ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10/11d 00h 10d 15h 3 118 20 22.9 12.8 ( 37.6 : 16.9 : 14.1) 10/11d 01h 10d 16h 3 214 57 29.8 14.3 ( 42.7 : 32.4 : 14.4) 11/12d 22h 11d 13h 1 33 2 24.6 - ( 24.6 : 24.6 : 24.6) 11/12d 23h 11d 14h 4 236 59 49.6 32.0 ( 93.8 : 41.8 : 21.0) 11/12d 00h 11d 15h 1 50 11 32.7 - ( 32.7 : 32.7 : 32.7) 11/12d 01h 11d 16h 2 120 25 38.0 14.0 ( 47.9 : 38.0 : 28.1) 11/12d 02h 11d 17h 7 360 122 42.4 19.8 ( 65.3 : 32.8 : 18.1) 11/12d 03h 11d 18h 9 411 186 43.1 18.9 ( 85.8 : 37.4 : 24.0) 12/13d 20h 12d 11h 1 64 1 17.9 - ( 17.9 : 17.9 : 17.9) 12/13d 21h 12d 12h 4 212 37 119.2 103.2 (257.4 : 102.9 : 13.5) 12/13d 22h 12d 13h 7 354 112 122.4 100.9 (282.5 : 118.4 : 9.4) 12/13d 23h 12d 14h 9 495 301 134.7 72.9 (271.0 : 142.8 : 47.0) 12/13d 00h 12d 15h 11 560 393 116.2 52.0 (242.6 : 115.2 : 32.2) 12/13d 01h 12d 16h 11 599 518 102.2 56.1 (216.5 : 103.0 : 4.7) 12/13d 02h 12d 17h 12 696 698 104.2 37.9 (177.8 : 99.9 : 21.9) 12/13d 03h 12d 18h 1 40 19 68.4 - ( 68.4 : 68.4 : 68.4) 13/14d 21h 13d 12h 1 75 9 85.8 - ( 85.8 : 85.8 : 85.8) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Observer : K.Osada,T.Hashimoto,M.Oka,K.Izumi,H.Nose,K.Mameta,Hiramatsu, (24observers) Morioka,Ohnishi,K.Satou,D.Itou,M.Suzuki,F.Hayashi,Tomari, H.Takiguchi,S.Nakayama,N.Fukuda,N.Ishiwatari,W.Murakami, M.Toda,Ma.Takanashi,Mi.Takanashi,T.Satomi,S.Yoshida Total T.eff : 4637min. (=77.28h) #Perseids : 2570 TIME(UT) NMS-ML IMONews 0 50 100 150 200 ------- ---*--- ---o--- +---------+---------+---------+---------+ 11d 13h 25 | * 11d 14h 50 | * 11d 15h 33 | * 11d 16h 38 | * 11d 17h 42 | * 11d 18h 43 | * 11d 19h | 11d 20h | 11d 21h 60 | o 11d 22h 58 | o 11d 23h 62 | o 12d 00h 67 | o 12d 01h 74 | o 12d 02h | 12d 03h | 12d 04h | 12d 05h 54 | o 12d 06h | 12d 07h 70 | o 12d 08h 128 | o 12d 09h 116 | o 12d 10h | 12d 11h 18 96 | * o 12d 12h 119 | * 12d 13h 122 | * 12d 14h 135 | * 12d 15h 116 | * 12d 16h 102 | * 12d 17h 104 | * 12d 18h 68 | * 12d 19h | 12d 20h | 12d 21h 66 | o 12d 22h | 12d 23h 73 | o 13d 00h 89 | o 13d 01h 83 | o 13d 02h | 13d 03h | 13d 04h | 13d 05h | 13d 06h | 13d 07h | 13d 08h | 13d 09h | 13d 10h 79 | o 13d 11h | 13d 12h 86 | * *==-- *==-- *==-- *==-- Masaaki Takanashi (NMS, Japan) *==-- --==* --==* --==* --==* QGA00120@niftyserve.or.jp / XTJ97731@biglobe.ne.jp Date: Sat, 16 Aug 97 22:46:00 +0200 From: tepi@mcse.zpok.hu Subject: Hungarian Perseid Results (1) PERSEID OBSERVATIONS IN HUNGARY (1.) Hungarian Astronomical Association Meteor Section (HAA/MS) 1997. August 11/12. ************************************************************* Observing site: D\'ag, Hungary - 47d 40' N, 18d 43' E Observers: Wieszt, Kriszti\'an (D\'ag, Hungary) - WIEKR Farkas, Erzs\'ebet (Esztergom, Hungary) - FARER Kov\'acs, Zsolt (Vecs\'es, Hungary) - KOVZS Nagy, Zolt\'an A. (Budapest, Hungary) - NAGZO Kereszturi, \'Akos (Budapest, Hungary) - KERAK Majnik, Szabolcs (Kaposv\'ar, Hungary) - MAJSZ S\'arneczky, Kriszti\'an (Budapest, Hungary) - SARKR T\'oth, Tam\'as (Budapest, Hungary) - TOTTA Kudor, Gy\:ongyv\'er (Budapest, Hungary) - KUDGY Fodor, Tam\'as (Budapest, Hungary) - FODTO Tepliczky, Istv\'an (Tata, Hungary) - TEPIS (recorder) Limiting magnitude: Time (UT) 22:00 00:00 02:00 ------------------