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. Happy New Year!...
2. Quadrantids...
3. Other January Showers...
4. Cloudy Night Web Reading...
5. Index to 2005 Articles.......
6. Upcoming Meetings...
7. For more info...
Welcome to 2006! NAMN, our North American Meteor Network, wishes you all a 'Happy New Year'!
Our NAMN team - Mark Davis, Lew Gramer, Kevin Kilkenny and Cathy Hall - wish you all many clear nights and many meteors for the months ahead.
This coming year will also be a very special one for NAMN Notes. December 2006 will be our 100th issue. We hope to bring you a variety of interesting articles throughout the year - both for the seasoned observers and for all you beginning observers out there.
Your feedback and comments are always welcome - and all your observations are encouraged! It is through new observers that we expand and prosper. New observers are the future of our meteor community. Whether those observers concentrate on visual observations (such as those we concentrate on at NAMN), or whether those new observers branch out into more technical areas such as telescopic, photographic, video, or radio meteors, we need you all!
Your NAMN Coordinator, Mark Davis at meteors@comcast.net, is always available to answer any questions you may have, as are all the rest of us at NAMN.
Have a great year - and keep in touch!
The Quadrantids (QUA) are the highlight of the New Year celebration! They peak on January 3rd at about 18h 20m UT, Universal Time, which means 1.20 p.m. EST for observers in eastern North America. The duration of the shower is from January 1st to 5th. These are average velocity meteors, at about 41 km per second.
This shower has a sharp peak, so geographic location plays a key role in the rates that you will see at the maximum. Note that for eastern North American observers, the peak occurs just after lunch, ie. daytime. The favored locations for the peak will be eastern Asia and the far East. However - all observations are encouraged to monitor this shower for surprises. The telescopic meteors from this shower may peak up to 14 hours earlier, which would be about 11.20 p.m. EST on January 2nd - nighttime in North America. And - some years have produced a radio peak about 9-12 hours after the visual peak.
ZHR rates at the peak - and only for a handful of hours - are about 120 meteors per hour, but can vary from about 60 to 200 per hour. This is a hard shower to catch - but a real reward when you do. For new observers, what is ZHR? ZHR stands for Zenithal Hourly Rate, and is the number of meteors that an observer would expect to see, on the average, in an hour of observing, with the unaided eye, if they are out observing away from city lights, under a nice dark country sky, and if the radiant, the area in the sky where the meteors seem to come from, is directly overhead.
The radiant at the peak will be at 230 degrees, ie. RA 15h 19.8m, Dec. +49, which is northern Bootes. A map of the radiant can be found at http://www.imo.net/calendar/2006/winter
Note that most meteor observing is done using just the unaided eye. Information on specialized observing (such as telescopic, photographic, video and radio) can be found on the website of the IMO, the International Meteor Organization, at http://www.imo.net. Want to try something new for 2006? Check out some of these projects on the IMO website. The IMO also provides visual info, and the IMO 2006 Meteor Shower Calendar, the definitive source of meteor information for observers around the globe.
If you want to record visual data 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. If you have any questions, drop a note to our NAMN Coordinator at meteors@comcast.net
NAMN has some good star charts to mark your radiants on before you go out observing. These charts also show constellations for the whole sky, and give the brightness of a number of stars to use in judging the magnitude of the meteors you see. Our 4 printable charts can be found at http://www.namnmeteors.org/charts.html. Set your printer to 'landscape' mode.
Forms to record your observations can be found at
http://www.namnmeteors.org/namn_form.html and
http://www.namnmeteors.org/appendixC.html
The Coma Berenicids (COM), although having reached a peak back on December 19th, can still be seen until about January 23rd. These are fast meteors, at about 65 km per second. At their peak, ZHR rates were about 5 meteors per hour. Rates in January will be less. This shower is possibly associated with Comet Lowe, 1913 I, discovered by an amateur astronomer in south Australia. A map showing the radiant can be found at http://www.imo.net/calendar/2004/fall
The delta Cancrids (DCA) peak on January 17th, and can be seen from about the 1st to the 24th. These are slow meteors, at about 28 km per second. At the peak, ZHR rates will be about 4 meteors per hour. The radiant on the 17th will be at 130 degrees, ie. RA 8h 40.2m, Dec. +20, which is about the same location as the star cluster known as M44, the Beehive Cluster. This shower is considered to be 'probably an early part of the Virginid activity', according to the IMO, the International Meteor Organization. The IMO mentions that 'recent observations have suggested the peak may occur close to... January 11', so observers should be alert around both dates. A map of the radiant can be found at http://www.imo.net/calendar/2005/winter
The alpha Centaurids (ACE) start to become active about January 28th, but will not reach a maximum until February 8th. These are fast meteors, at about 56 km per second. ZHR rates are variable. At the peak, the rates are usually about 6 meteors per hour, but outbursts of 20 to 30 an hour have occurred. Rates in late January will be lower, but should be monitored. Many of these meteors are very bright, even fireballs. Note that this is a southern shower, with a radiant declination of about -59 degrees. A map of the radiant can be found at http://www.imo.net/calendar/2005/winter
Lastly, the Virginids (VIR) start to become active about January 25th, and will last until about April 15th. These are almost slow meteors, at about 30 km per second. ZHR rates are about 5 meteors per hour. On January 30th, the radiant will be at 157 degrees, ie. RA 10h 28.2m, Dec +16, which is about 6 degrees up to the left of Regulus in Leo on a star atlas.
For other minor showers not on the IMO, the International Meteor Organization, 'Working List of Visual Meteor Showers', and for a wealth of historical information on all showers, check out Gary Kronk's 'Comets and Meteor Showers' website at http://comets.amsmeteors.org
Besides January's main activity, and other minor showers, there is also sporadic meteor activity. This sporadic meteor activity is 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 -1.9 in Libra Mars -0.3 in Aries Saturn -0.1 in Cancer
For 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'.
The phases of the moon for January are as follows:
Fri. Jan. 6 first quarter Sat. Jan. 14 full moon Sun. Jan. 22 last quarter Sun. Jan. 29 new moon
For a great printout of moon phases for the month, check out http://stardate.org/nightsky/moon
For those cloudy nights or snowy nights or nights when you're all fogged in... here are some web links to some interesting meteor and impact reading and images. Enjoy!
Meteorite art on stamps and coins:
http://www.pibburns.com/catastro/metstamp.htm
Interview with a 'meteorite person':
http://www.meteoritetimes.com/Back_Links/2002/June/Meteorite_People.htm
Interview with the Curator of meteorites at the Vatican:
http://www.astrobio.net/news/article966.html
NEO's - Near Earth Objects, the facts:
http://www.arm.ac.uk/paseg/
NEO's - an educational animated presentation:
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/templates/flash/neo/neo.htm
The world of Jim Scotti - the Spacewatch program - and his comet art:
http://spacewatch.lpl.arizona.edu/news.html
http://pirlwww.lpl.arizona.edu/~jscotti/artwork.dir/son_hyak.html
http://pirlwww.lpl.arizona.edu/~jscotti/artwork.dir/beacons.html
http://pirlwww.lpl.arizona.edu/~jscotti/artwork.dir/morn_com.html
Photos of meteorite craters - pick a continent, then pick a crater:
http://www.unb.ca/passc/ImpactDatabase/CILocSort.html
Today's map of near-earth asteroids (feeling lucky today?):
http://szyzyg.arm.ac.uk/~spm/neo_map.html
and the Armagh Observatory team:
http://szyzyg.arm.ac.uk/~spm/armaged.html
and lastly,
A link list for meteors, comets and all your impact needs!
http://www.snark.org/sb.htm
The following is an index to articles that appeared in the 2005 issues of NAMN Notes. The issues can be found at http://www.namnmeteors.org/namnnotes.html
January 2005 Quadrantids, January's Highlight... Other January Activity... Index to 2004 Articles... February 2005 February Meteor Activity... Winter Comets to Check Out... March 2005 March Meteor Activity... Meteor Workshop at the IMC... Polar Comet in March... Reading for Snowy Nights... April 2005 Spring Brings the Lyrids... Other April Showers... International Astronomy Day... May 2005 Eta Aquarids - Halley's Debris... Other May Showers... June 2005 June Bootids - A Surprise?... Other June Showers... July 2005 Welcome to Summer!... Summer and the Aquarids... Other July Activity... August 2005 Perseids - Highlight of the Summer!... Meteors from Aquarius... Other August Showers... September 2005 Autumn's Aurigid Meteor Showers... More on Aries-Triangulid & September Taurid Meteors - by G.W. Gliba... Other September Showers... October 2005 Draconids - Any Surprises This Year?... Orionids - Debris from Halley's Comet... Watch for Taurid Fireballs... Other October Activity... November 2005 Leonids - Moonlight but Monitor... Taurids - Watch for Fireballs... Alpha Monocerotids - 10 Year Periodicity?... Other November Activity... December 2005 Geminids - the Winter Gem... Ursids, our Christmas Shower... Other December Activity... New Year's Alert for the Quadrantids...
June 8-14, 2006, Ostersund, Sweden...
The Workshop on Impact Craters as Indicators for Planetary Environmental
Evolution and Astrobiology will be held in Ostersund, Sweden. Sessions
include terrestrial craters, craters on other planetary bodies, the
influences of the impact on the target area, the target area on the fate of
the projectile, and the properties of the impactor on the cratering process,
other consequences (eg. tsunamis), environments created by the impact and
their importance for life, and astrobiological aspects of impact cratering.
There will be two study field trips to the Lockne Crater, and an excursion
to the GeoCenter-Lockne Impact Crater Museum. For information, check out
the website at http://www.geo.su.se/Lockne2006
and contact Dr. Jens Ormo of
the Planetary Geology Laboratory, CSIC/INTA, Madrid, Spain at ormo@inta.es
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
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Writer, NAMN Notes
Lew Gramer, dedalus@alum.mit.edu
Homestead, Florida, 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