NAMN Notes is a monthly newsletter produced by the North American Meteor Network and is available both via email and on the NAMN website at: http://www.namnmeteors.org
1. Spring Brings the Lyrids...
2. Other April Showers...
3. International Astronomy Day...
4. Upcoming Meetings...
5. For more info...
April showers bring... the Lyrids! Spring has finally arrived!
The Lyrids (LYR) reach a peak on April 22nd this year (between 2h30m and 13h30m UT), and can be seen from about April 16th to 25th. These are average velocity meteors at about 49 km per second. The ZHR rate at the peak will be about 18 meteors per hour.
What is ZHR? ZHR refers to Zenithal Hourly Rate, and is the number of meteors that an observer would expect to see in an hour, on average, if they are observing under a dark country sky with no moon, and if the radiant, the area in the sky where the meteors seem to come from, is directly overhead at the 'zenith'. With a bright moon this year, rates will be lower.
Where is the radiant? Check out the map at http://www.imo.net/calendar/cal04.html#Lyrids
If you want to record data on this shower for the meteor researchers, check out our NAMN Observing Guide for information on what to record. Our Guide can be found at http://www.namnmeteors.org/guide.html. We record such info as the time a meteor occurred, its magnitude (brightness), the shower it belongs to, its speed, and other comments such as train left behind, or color. General information to record includes such things as how dark your perceived sky is (limiting magnitude), and comments on weather and cloud cover. For estimating the brightness of the meteors you see, we have a handy set of 4 star charts (set printer to 'landscape mode') at http://www.namnmeteors.org/charts.html. If you have any questions, drop a note to our NAMN Coordinator at meteors@comcast.net
Forms to record your observations can be found at http://www.namnmeteors.org/namn_form.html and http://www.namnmeteors.org/appendixC.html
The Virginids (VIR) started to become active about January 25th, and last until about April 15th. These are almost slow meteors, at about 30 km per second. ZHR rates are about 5 meteors per hour. Radiant positions are as follows:
Mar. 30 198 -5 ie. RA 13h 12m Dec -5 Apr. 10 203 -7 ie. RA 13h 31.8m Dec -7 Apr. 15 205 -8 ie. RA 13h 40.2m Dec -8
These positions are from the IMO 2005 Meteor Shower Calendar, available online at http://www.imo.net/calendar/cal05.html
The pi Puppids (PPU) reach a peak on April 23rd, and can be observed from about April 15th to 28th. These are slow meteors, at about 18 km per second. ZHR rates are variable. A map of the radiant can be found at http://www.imo.net/calendar/cal04.html#pi-Puppids
The eta Aquarids (ETA), although not reaching a maximum until May 5th, can be seen starting about April 19th. These are fast meteors, at about 66 km per second. ZHR rates at maximum will be about 60 meteors per hour, but rates in April will be lower. A map showing the movement of the radiant throughout April and May can be found at http://www.imo.net/calendar/cal05.html#eta-Aquarids
The Sagittarids (SAG) start to become active about April 15th, and will last through until about July 15th. These are almost slow meteors, at about 30 km per second. ZHR rates are about 5 meteors per hour. Coordinates for the radiant in April are as follows:
Apr. 15 224 -17 ie. RA 14h 55.8m Dec -17 Apr. 20 227 -18 ie. RA 15h 07.8m Dec -18 Apr. 25 230 -19 ie. RA 15h 19.8m Dec -19 Apr. 30 233 -19 ie. RA 15h 31.8m Dec -19
Besides April's main activity, and other minor showers, there is also sporadic meteor activity - about 7 meteors per hour, visible to the unaided eye. Some of these are random, and some belong to old untraceable meteor showers.
Planets at midmonth, and their magnitudes, for northern observers, are:
Jupiter -2.5 in Virgo Saturn 0.1 in Gemini Mars 0.8 in CapricornusFor a sky chart showing the positions of all the planets visible this month, go to http://www.heavens-above.com, select your country, then your city, and go to 'Whole Sky Chart'.
This month, the phases of the moon are as follows:
Sat. Apr. 2 last quarter Fri. Apr. 8 new moon Sat. Apr. 16 first quarter Sun. Apr. 24 full moonFor a great printout of moon phases for the month, check out http://stardate.org/nightsky/moon
What is Astronomy Day? Quoting from the Sky and Telescope website at http://skyandtelescope.com:
"Doug Berger, former president of the Astronomical Association of Northern California, founded this annual event in 1973 as a high-profile way of drawing public attention to the science and the hobby through exhibits and activities at urban centers... Hundreds of astronomy clubs, observatories, museums, colleges, and planetariums worldwide now host special family-oriented Astronomy Day events and festivities."
This year, 'International Astronomy Day' is Saturday April 16th - and 'Astronomy Week' from April 11th to 17th. Groups and individuals around the globe will be using this opportunity to help spread the word about astronomy - and about their particular interests in astronomy. The official Astronomy Day webpage is hosted by the Astronomical League, at http://www.astroleague.org/al/astroday/astroday.html
Meteor observers can also help out - and help educate the public about meteors! Here are some suggestions:
- If your local astronomy club is doing a special event for the public, tag along and help out... print off some of our NAMN handout material and take it with you... It is very rewarding to talk to the public about astronomy, and answer all kinds of amazing questions!
- Offer to give a short talk on meteors or meteorites to a local school class, or a local scout group... kids love this stuff... take handout material on meteors with you... and also print off some star charts for the kids...
- Contact a local library or bookstore, and offer to help them set up a special display for International Astronomy Day...
- If you are not available to help out in person... offer some handout material on meteors to a group that is putting on a display for the public...
What handout material is available for International Astronomy Day?
NAMN has the following handout sheets that we can email you to print off:
"How to Observe Shooting Stars"... our tri-fold, 2-sided brochure
"What are Meteors?"... a summary 1-page version of the brochure
"Surf the Astro Web!"... a list of recommended astro websites
"What's Up Tonight?"... what is visible in the sky on a given night
&
"What is a Meteor?"... a French info sheet, with many thanks to Pierre
Martin for the translation.
These resource sheets are available in electronic form at no charge - just email Mark Davis at meteors@comcast.net. They are in Word format, and you can print off as many as you need.
Heavens-Above, the website that brings you information on satellites and the times you can see the ISS, the International Space Station, go over your home, also has some great printable star maps: Go to http://www.heavens-above.com, 'Select' your location, then go down the page to 'Whole Sky Chart'. Pick a night and time, change to 'black on white', and print yourself off a batch of star charts to hand out to the public.
The International Dark Sky Association has great handout sheets on how to use better lighting for your home... and preserve the Milky Way for your kids! A good one to print off for Astronomy Day is: "Light Pollution: The Problem, The Solutions" by D.L. Crawford: http://www.darksky.org/infoshts/is134.html
International Astronomy Day is a great opportunity to help spread the word about meteor observing - and how amateur astronomers can help out with real science! Get out, get involved - and have fun!
April 16, 2005, Britain...
The Meteor Section of the BAA, the British Astronomical Association, will
hold a meeting at the South Downs Planetarium in Chichester, West Sussex.
It will be an all day session, with a series of talks on meteors - from
Leonid results to 2005 Perseids and beyond. Confirmed speakers to date
include Dr. John Mason, Alex Pratt, Steve Evans, and Neil Bone. For more
information, contact Neil Bone, Director BAA Meteor Section at
neil@bone2.freeserve.co.uk
August 7-12, 2005, Brazil...
ACM 2005, the IAU Symposium 229: Asteroids, Comets, Meteors, will be held
in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The main topics of the conference will be space
missions, internal structure of asteroids and comets, connections between
asteroids, cometary nuclei and Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNO's), connections
between asteroids and meteorites, connections between comets, meteor showers
and interplanetary dust, minor body dynamics, collisions and impacts,
Near-Earth Objects (NEO's), origin and evolution of our Solar System and
extra-solar planetary systems. The website for the conference is at
http://www.on.br/acm2005. For more information, contact Daniela Lazzaro or Fernando Roig at acm2005@on.br
September 10-14, 2005, Belgium...
'Radio Meteor School 2005' will be held in Oostmalle, Belgium. This will be
a five day tutorial on the physical and mathematical theory of radio meteor
observations, given by Dr. Oleg Belkovich of Russia. This workshop is for
serious radio meteor observers. The cost for the workshop is about 150
Euros. You must register before July 1st. For more information, check out
the IMO website at
http://www.imo.net/imc2005/radioschool.php and contact
the organizers at imc2005@imo.net
September 15-18, 2005, Belgium...
The 2005 IMC, International Meteor Conference of the IMO, the International
Meteor Organization, will be held in Oostmalle, Belgium. Oostmalle is about
70 km north of Brussels, and about 30 km northeast of Antwerp. The
conference is being organized by Urania, the public observatory of Antwerp.
Accommodation will be at the Provinciaal Vormingscentrum Malle, with an
excursion to the city of Lier. This is a great opportunity to meet and
chat with meteor observers from all around the globe - so mark it on your
calendar now, and plan to attend! The participation fee is 120 EUR, and
includes all accommodation, all meals, and the conference registration. For
information, check out the conference website at http://www.imo.net/imc2005.
For questions, contact Jan Verbert at imc2005@imo.net
For information on upcoming astronomy meetings, see: "International Astronomy Meetings List" at http://cadcwww.hia.nrc.ca/meetings
NAMN email: namn@namnmeteors.org
NAMN website: http://www.namnmeteors.org
Mark Davis, meteors@comcast.net
Goose Creek, South Carolina, USA
Coordinator, North American Meteor Network
Cathy Hall, chall@cyberus.ca
Metcalfe, Ontario, Canada
Writer, NAMN Notes
Lew Gramer, dedalus@alum.mit.edu
Medford, Massachusetts, USA
Coordinator, Public Outreach
Owner/Moderator, 'MeteorObs'
Kevin Kilkenny, namnfireball@earthlink.net
Staten Island, New York, USA
Coordinator, Fireballs and Meteorites
Back issues of NAMN Notes can be found on-line at the NAMN website
and in the MeteorObs archives at:
http://www.meteorobs.org
by selecting 'Browse Archive by Month'
To subscribe to the meteor email list or
to find out information on our weekly chat sessions:
Contact Lew Gramer at:
dedalus@alum.mit.edu