Meteor Section Blog
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 May 11-17, 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
' ,'alpo@tomney.com' ,'Meteor' ,'None' ,'2024-05-10' ,'jim@tomney.com') GOThis 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 May 4-10, 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
' ,'alpo@tomney.com' ,'Meteor' ,'None' ,'2024-05-03' ,'jim@tomney.com') GOEta Aquariids in 2024 will peak on May 5th
The eta Aquariids are active from April 16 through May 27. The best rates occur from May 1-10 with an added bonus as rates are expected to be enhanced by debris perturbed by Jupiter in a direction closer to the Earth. This last occurred in 2013, when rates were significantly enhanced. We were expecting some enhancement last year but the full moon in early May spoiled efforts to verify this. There will not be any lunar interference this year as the waning crescent moon will not rise until the start of dawn for most locations. Most observers in the northern hemisphere usually see a maximum of 15-20 eta Aquariid meteors per hour under ideal conditions. Those rates could be doubled this year should the enhancement occur. If you plan to watch for this activity, observing sessions should be undertaken when the radiant lies just below the horizon until the start of civil twilight when the limiting magnitude becomes less than +5.0. This timing is roughly 2:00am local daylight-saving time to 5:00am for observers located at 35 degrees north latitude. The window of opportunity becomes smaller the further north you are located and larger if located further southward. This activity is not visible north of 60 degrees north latitude as the sky does not get sufficiently dark from high northern latitudes this time of year. Observers in the southern tropics have the best viewing opportunity as the nights are longer and the radiant lies higher in the sky prior to dawn. Locations further south will enjoy longer nights, but the radiant elevation actually decreases as one moves southward beyond the southern tropics. You may be surprised to hear that shower activity can be seen with the radiant located just below the horizon. At this elevation meteors can still skim the upper layers or the atmosphere and will appear as long “earthgrazers”. The condition continues at radiant rise and while the radiant lies low in the sky. As the radiant gains elevation, the meteors are able to penetrate deeper into the atmosphere creating shorter and quicker meteors. Eta Aquariid rates will be low in April, ranging from one per night on the 16th to perhaps 3 per hour on the 30th. Lunar interference will be significant during the last ten days of April as the moon does not reach its last quarter phase until May 1st. Lunar interference rapidly subsides in early May as the moon wanes from half-illuminated toward new. It would be a good idea during the first days of May to face toward the northeast in order to keep the moon out of your field of view. The strongest activity is expected on the morning of May 5th, but sub peaks on other mornings near this date are not unusual. As with all meteor showers, it is highly suggested to view from the darkest skies possible as most of the activity is faint. A gain of one magnitude in sky darkness can lead to a doubling of observed meteors. Try to use a lounge chair that allows you to view half-way up in the sky in comfort. Don’t look straight up and most of the activity will be seen in the lower half of the sky. Look high enough to avoid hills and trees that may obscure meteors. Most eta Aquariid meteors will be seen in the eastern half of the sky, which is shown in the chart below. Also note that some meteors will not shoot forth from the eta Aquariid radiant. In early May there is a weak source of activity from Scorpius (Anthelions) plus a half-dozen random meteors each hour not associated with any known shower. The potential increase in activity may also interest radio meteor scatter observers located in mid-northern latitudes as the radiant lies in a favorable zone in the sky for approximately six hours centered at 08:00. Note that this timing is entirely during daylight this time of year when the meteors cannot be seen visually. This zone is centered at an elevation of 45 degrees above the horizon. Radio rates at higher or lower elevations will be less than when the radiant is located near 45 degrees elevation. For more information on radio meteor scatter visit: https://www.imo.net/observations/methods/radio-observation/
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 27 – May 3, 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
' ,'alpo@tomney.com' ,'Meteor' ,'None' ,'2024-04-26' ,'jim@tomney.com') GOThis 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 20-26, 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
' ,'alpo@tomney.com' ,'Meteor' ,'None' ,'2024-04-21' ,'jim@tomney.com') GO