December 30, 2023-January 5, 2024

12/29/2023

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This post discusses the expected meteor activity and lunar conditions for the upcoming week. It is focused on North American latitudes but may be used in all locations. Sky charts displaying current radiant positions are provided for early evening hours, mid-night, and the hour prior to dawn. European readers may wish to use the charts in the same article at www.imo.net for better accuracy.

To access the meteor activity outlook, click on: Meteor Activity Outlook for December 30, 2023-January 5, 2024

We welcome hourly reports on meteor activity at: lunro.imo.usa@cox.net

Reports of individual fireballs should be filled out at: https://fireball.amsmeteors.org/members/imo/report_intro/

Meteor Activity Outlooks for observers in the southern hemisphere are available upon request at: lunro.imo.usa@cox.net

Clear Skies!

Robert Lunsford

ALPO Meteors Section Coordinator

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Viewing the 2024 Quadrantid Meteor Shower

12/29/2023

The illustration above displays the orbits of actual Quadrantid meteors captured on multiple video cameras. The angle of the view in this illustration can be altered by using your mouse pointer. Scroll to zoom. Courtesy Dr. Peter Jenniskens, the SETI Institute, California USA The Quadrantids can be one of the strongest displays of the year, yet they are difficult to observe. The main factor is that the display of strong activity only has a duration of about 6 hours. The reason the peak is so short is due to the shower's thin stream of particles and the fact that the Earth crosses the stream at a perpendicular angle. Therefore the Earth passes through the densest portion of the stream quite quickly. Meteors from this source can be seen for two weeks centered on January 4th, but hourly rates away from the date of maximum activity are very low. Unlike most meteor showers which originate from comets, the Quadrantids have been found to originate from an asteroid. Asteroid 2003 EH1 takes 5.52 years to orbit the sun. It is possible that 2003 EH1 is a "dead comet" or a new kind of object being discussed by astronomers sometimes called a "rock comet." These meteors were first noted in 1825 and appeared to radiate from the obsolete constellation of Quadrans Muralis (Mural Quadrant). Today, this area of the sky lies within the boundaries of the constellation of Boötes the herdsman. During early January nights as seen from the northern hemisphere, this area of the sky lies very low in the northwest in the evening sky. Very little activity is normally seen at this time. As the night progresses this area of the sky swings some 40 degrees beneath the northern celestial pole. From areas south of 40 degrees north latitude, it actually passes below the horizon. It then begins a slow rise into the northeastern sky where it obtains a useful altitude around 02:00 local standard time (depending on your latitude). It is between this time and dawn that you will have your best chance to view these meteors. If the peak occurs during this time you will be in for a treat as rates could exceed 100 per hour as seen from rural locations under a moonless sky. Unfortunately a half-illuminated moon will rise shortly after midnight this year and moonlight will tend to obscure the faintest meteors. While moonlight will be a nuisance, it is not nearly as bad when a full moon is present. Successful observations can be undertaken by facing northward away from the moon. Using a tree or building to block the moonlight will also help you view more activity.   The charts above depict the entire sky facing north during the evening, midnight, and morning hours as seen from 40 north latitude. The circle represents the position of the Quadrantid radiant on the night of January 3/4, 2024. The streaks represent Quadrantid meteors as seen throughout the night. Notice how the radiant lies on the horizon during the evening hours and slowly rises as the night progresses. It's easy to see why more meteors are visible during the morning hours when the radiant lies higher in the sky and the horizon blocks less of the activity! Also notice in the chart for 5:00 that the moon now is present in the sky in the constellation of Virgo near the bright star known as Spica. Predictions for the peak of the 2024 Quadrantids range from 9:00 to 15:00 Universal Time on January 4th. The earlier time favors North American observers while the later peak favors the eastern Pacific area including the Hawaiian Islands and Alaska. Those viewing from the southern hemisphere will not see much activity at all as the radiant does not rise very high in their sky before dawn intervenes. The best strategy to see the most activity is to face the northern half of the sky with the moon at your back from 2:00 onward. By facing this direction you be able to see meteors shoot out of the radiant in all directions. This will make it easy to differentiate between the Quadrantids and meteors from other sources. To provide a scientific useful observing session one needs to carefully note the starting and ending time of your session. If you are able to provide the time of each meteor, that would help tremendously in analyzing the strength of the shower. The type of meteor needs to be recorded as well as its magnitude. Other parameters that can be recorded are colors, velocity (degrees per second or verbal description) and whether the meteor left a persistent train. Fireballs should be noted and a separate online form filled out after the session. Serious observers should watch for at least an hour as numerous peaks and valleys of activity will occur. If you only few for a short time it may coincide with a lull of activity. Watching for at least an hour guarantees you will get to see the best this display has to offer. Besides sharing your data with the us, observers are also encouraged to fill out a visual observing form on the website of the International Meteor Organization . You must register with the IMO to use the form, but there is an option of registering for free if you do not wish to become a full-fledged member. Data is often scarce for this display, especially when the moon interferes. Therefore if your skies are clear please make an effort to view this display. If will be your last opportunity to view enhanced meteor activity until the eta Aquariids peak in May. The Quadrantids also offer those interested in observing meteor showers by radio a good opportunity to view strong activity. Meteors do not emit radio waves, but they act as mirrors and reflect radio waves from distant transmitters which aren’t heard otherwise. This is called forward scatter, opposed to backscatter where the transmitter and receiver are at the same place (radar). For practical reasons the frequency range 50 – 150 MHz (wavelength 6 m – 2 m) is used. This includes amongst others the FM band and TV transmitters which haven’t switched yet to digital. Most reflections are short (less than a second), but brighter meteors can cause reflections lasting minutes. The shortest radio reflections are caused by faint meteors, fainter than visual ones. Contrary to visual rates, the radio rates are not maximal when the radiant of a stream is in the zenith, but rather when it is 45 degrees high. For higher elevations, the rates decrease again. Radio reflections can be observed regardless of daylight, clouds, or moonlight, allowing more complete views of streams. The best timing to pick up Quadrantids would be near 04:00 and again near 13:00 (1pm) local standard time on January 4th. The Quadrantids activity is one of the best of the year, but lasts only one day. We look forward to seeing your results! Robert Lunsford & Christian Steyaert

Meteor Outlook for Week of Apr. 28

4/28/2023

This post discusses the expected meteor activity and lunar conditions for the upcoming week. It is focused on North American latitudes but may be used in all locations. Sky charts displaying current radiant positions are provided for early evening hours, mid-night, and the hour prior to dawn. European readers may wish to use the charts in the same article at www.imo.net for better accuracy.

To access the meteor activity outlook, click on: Meteor Activity Outlook for April 29 – May 5, 2023

We welcome hourly reports on meteor activity at: lunro.imo.usa@cox.net

Reports of individual fireballs should be filled out at: https://fireball.amsmeteors.org/members/imo/report_intro/

Meteor Activity Outlooks for observers in the southern hemisphere are available upon request at: lunro.imo.usa@cox.net

Clear Skies!

Robert Lunsford

ALPO Meteors Section Coordinator

Meteor Outlook for Week of Apr. 21

4/21/2023

This post discusses the expected meteor activity and lunar conditions for the upcoming week. It is focused on North American latitudes but may be used in all locations. Sky charts displaying current radiant positions are provided for early evening hours, mid-night, and the hour prior to dawn. European readers may wish to use the charts in the same article at www.imo.net for better accuracy.

To access the meteor activity outlook, click on:  Meteor Activity Outlook for April 22-28, 2023

We welcome hourly reports on meteor activity at: lunro.imo.usa@cox.net

Reports of individual fireballs should be filled out at: https://fireball.amsmeteors.org/members/imo/report_intro/

Meteor Activity Outlooks for observers in the southern hemisphere are available upon request at: lunro.imo.usa@cox.net

Clear Skies!

Robert Lunsford

ALPO Meteors Section Coordinator

  

  

The Lyrids are particles shed from comet 1861 G1 Thatcher, which last passed through the inner solar system in 1861. Don’t expect this comet to return anytime soon as its orbit has been calculated to be near 415 years!

Two years after the last passage of the comet through the inner solar system, an impressive display of Lyrid meteors was observed. This helped link the relationship between this comet and the Lyrids. It was also noted that another impressive display of the Lyrids had occurred in 1803, 60 years prior. Despite these facts, no one was looking for enhanced rates from the Lyrids in the early 1920’s. Yet in 1922, another strong Lyrid display occurred. You would have thought by now that astronomers would be eagerly anticipating the early 1980’s for more enhanced Lyrid activity. But unfortunately, meteor studies tend to fall off the grid, even with the tremendous Leonid display of 1966. So again in 1982, meteor watchers were caught off guard when another Lyrid outburst occurred. I can only hope that during the early 2040’s that we will be on guard for another grand meteor display from the Lyrids!

So, what is one to expect from Lyrid displays between these outbursts? Probably not much. There have been unverified reports of lesser outbursts which have led us to think that there may be debris from this comet trapped in shorter orbits with a 12- or 20-year return period. Therefore, we suggest that potential observers observe the Lyrids at every opportunity just in case something unusual occurs.

The normal Lyrid display, seen under moonless conditions, usually offers a peak of around 10 meteors per hour in addition to the normal random meteor rate of about 5 per hour. In 2023, the peak is predicted to occur near 01:00 Universal Time on April 23rd.* This corresponds to 9pm EDT and 6pm PDT on the evening of April 22nd. The peak is sharp, only a few hours long, so don’t be surprised if you see far less than 10 Lyrids per hour. Yet when compared to the normal low activity seen during the late winter and early spring nights, the nights around April 23rd offer a nice bit of entertainment to help one stay awake. On April 23rd, the Lyrid radiant actually lies among the stars of eastern Hercules. There are no bright stars to pinpoint the radiant, yet the brilliant zero magnitude star known as Vega only lies 8 degrees to the northeast.The best strategy to see these meteors is to view from the darkest site possible. The more stars you see, the more meteors will be visible. View as late as possible (4-5am local daylight time is best) when the radiant is located highest in the sky. If you are limited to more civilized hours, then start around 10pm. At that time the radiant lies low in the northeastern sky and a majority of the activity will be blocked by the horizon. If you are lucky, you may still see a couple of these meteors shoot upward from the radiant.

*Rendtel, Jürgen, IMO 2023 Meteor Shower Calendar, Page 7 https://www.imo.net/files/meteor-shower/cal2023.pdf

Between midnight and dawn, Lyrid meteors can be seen in all parts of the sky. If you face away from the radiant it is difficult to tell if the meteors you see belong to the Lyrid shower. Therefore, it is suggested that you face in the general direction of the Lyrid radiant, which will lie high in the northeastern sky as seen from mid-northern latitudes. That way you can easily trace the path of each meteor back to the radiant to see if it was a Lyrid or not. You don’t need to stare directly at the radiant as Lyrid meteors seen there will be short and often missed. Meteors seen further from their radiant are longer and easier to see.

Compared to other meteor showers, the Lyrids tend to produce bright meteors and an occasional fireball. This makes them easier to see and photograph. While the average Lyrid is fairly bright, this shower is not photogenic unless you take time exposures during maximum activity. The brightest meteors will show up well in prints but most of the captured meteors will only appear as faint streaks. Attaching your camera to a driven mount is highly recommended as this will keep the stars as pinpoints and the meteors as streaks.

The moon often interferes with viewing meteor showers as bright moonlight can obscure all but the brighter meteors. Such was the case in 2021 and 2022 with the Lyrids. This year however, on April 23rd, the moon is a waxing crescent phase and will set during the late evening hours. This is long before the Lyrid radiant rises high into the sky.

Should the morning of maximum activity be cloudy, the next night will usually see a falloff of approximately 50 percent. This is also true for the Lyrids with maximum hourly rates of only 2-3 on the morning of the 24th. Rates fall with each successive night until activity gradually disappears by the end of the month.

To provide a scientific useful observing session one needs to carefully note the starting and ending time of your session and the time each meteor appears. The type of meteor needs to be recorded as well as its magnitude. Other parameters that can be recorded are colors, velocity (degrees per second or verbal description) and whether the meteor left a persistent train. Fireballs should be noted, and a separate online form filled out after the session here.

Serious observers should watch for at least an hour as numerous peaks and valleys of activity will occur. If you only view for a short time it may coincide with a lull of activity. Watching for at least an hour guarantees you will get to see the best this display has to offer. The serious observer is also encouraged to fill out a visual observing form on the website of the International Meteor Organization. You must register to use the form, but this is free. The registration site is located here: Good luck with your observing attempts!

Meteor Outlook for Week of Apr. 14

4/14/2023

This post discusses the expected meteor activity and lunar conditions for the upcoming week. It is focused on North American latitudes but may be used in all locations. Sky charts displaying current radiant positions are provided for early evening hours, mid-night, and the hour prior to dawn. European readers may wish to use the charts in the same article at www.imo.net for better accuracy.

To access the meteor activity outlook, click on: Meteor Activity Outlook for April 15-21, 2023 

We welcome hourly reports on meteor activity at: lunro.imo.usa@cox.net

Reports of individual fireballs should be filled out at: https://fireball.amsmeteors.org/members/imo/report_intro/

Meteor Activity Outlooks for observers in the southern hemisphere are available upon request at: lunro.imo.usa@cox.net

Clear Skies!

Robert Lunsford

ALPO Meteors Section Coordinator