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.
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
October 23, 2020
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.
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
October 16, 2020
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.
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
Each October the Earth passes through the inbound debris of Halley’s Comet to produce the Orionid Meteor Shower. Activity is usually low until mid-month, when we pass closer to the core of these orbits.
This year the maximum activity is predicted to occur on the morning of October 21st, when up to 20 swift Orionid meteors should be visible per hour from rural locations away from city lights. Orionid meteors are not visible until after 22:00 (10pm) local daylight saving time as the source of these meteors does not rise above the eastern horizon until then. The best time to see these meteors is from 01:00 to dawn, when the Orionid radiant lies in excess of 30 degrees above the horizon. At the time of maximum activity the source of these meteors lies just east of the faint club of Orion. This position also lies about 10 degrees northeast of the bright orange star known as Betelgeuse (alpha Orionis). 10 degrees is equal to one’s fist with your arm held straight out.
The bright moon often interferes with viewing meteor activity by obscuring the fainter meteors. We will not encounter any such problems this year as the waxing crescent moon sets just as the Orionid rises in the opposite side of the sky. With the moon out of the way the only things that would stop you from seeing the show would be clouds and bright city lights. There is not much can do about cloud cover other than checking at later times during the morning. If the entire night is lost to clouds you can try again on the next night as Orionid activity will be almost as strong on the night of October 21/22. As for bright city lights, it is highly recommended that you find a safe rural observing spot away from city lights as the more stars you can see, the more meteors you will count.
The best way to see these meteors is to lie in a comfortable lounge chair with the back angled so that you are looking about half-way up in the sky. You can look straight up if your sky near the horizon is brightly lit, but more meteors are seen in the lower half of the sky than straight up as you are looking through a much thicker column of the atmosphere. I would recommend facing due south so that you can also distinguish minor meteor activity that is coming from Taurus, Gemini, and Leo Minor. Taurid meteors would be slower than the Orionids while those from Gemini and Leo Minor would also be swift, like the Orionids. These minor showers usually only produce about 2 meteors per hour at best. There are also random meteors that do not belong to any recognizable source. On October mornings these random meteors normally usually number about 10 per hour.
Composite of the 2009 Orionids – Image credit: NASA/MSFC (special thanks to NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office, Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.)
We wish you good luck and look forward to seeing your viewing results!
October 9, 2020
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.
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
Each year around October 8th the Earth passes close to the orbit of comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner. In most years only a few meteors are seen from the “head” of Draco during this time. This year though may produce a bit more activity as Jérémie Vaubaillon (IMCCE – Institute for Celestial Mechanics and Computation of Ephemerides, Paris) has predicted the Earth will pass close to two comet trails produced by 21P/Giacobini-Zinner in 1704 and 1711. Peter Jenniskens (SETI Institute – NASA Ames Research Center) predicted times of these passages are on October 7 at 01:25 UT for the 1704 passage and 01:57 UT for the 1711 passage. While the radiant will lie above the horizon for a large area of the Earth stretching from western Asia to North America, these timings favor the east coast of North America where the radiant will be located high in the sky at the time of the predicted passages. These meteors can also be seen from tropical areas of the southern hemisphere, but at a reduced rate due to the lower radiant altitude.
To best see these meteors, especially from North America, be ready to observe as soon as it becomes dark on Tuesday evening October 6. The radiant will lie high in the northern sky about 30 degrees higher up in the sky than Polaris, the north star. The four stars called the “Lozenge”, with represents the head of Draco, make the radiant easy to locate as it lies just west of this star pattern. Three of the four stars marking the Lozenge easily visible to the naked eye. All meteors from this source will have their paths trace back to the radiant. Unlike most meteor showers, meteors from the Draconids are slow and will often last a full second or two.
All potential observers with clear skies are encouraged to view the sky for potential Draconid activity around October 7. These meteors are often faint so it would help to observe from rural areas where interfering lights are less of a problem. The more stars you can see, the more meteors you will witness. The waning gibbous moon will not rise until late in the evening so there is an opportunity to view under dark conditions for several hours between dusk and moon rise. While observing it is advisable to be as comfortable as possible by using a loungechair. Don’t forget a blanket as October evenings can be cool.
The International Meteor Organization offers tips on holding a visual meteor sessions. Observers are also encouraged to share their observations by filling out an online meteor form. Note that the online form is only available to registered members of the International Meteor Organization. One can register for free on the IMO Website.
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.
