Aurigid meteor outburst

MeteorWayne · Aug 31, 2007

Just to refresh the memories, tonight is the morning of the possible Aurigid meteor shower outburst. The Aurigids are normally a weak annual shower (~ ZHR 7), but several times this century outbursts have occurred, and this morning is when Dr. Peter Jenniskens has predicted one. Here's his site The time is EXPECTED to be 4:33 AM PDT (7:33 EDT, after sunrise) +/- 1 hour so is best observed from the US west coast and Hawaii. On that site, if you select the Aurigids and date Aug31-Sept 1 , and your location (it doesn't have to be precise) you can see his predicted rates. However that is just a prediction, so timing could vary Since the waning gibbous moon is in the sky, the best location to look in the sky is probably towards the north, above Polaris; the Aurigids will then be travelling right to left from a radiant just below Capella, the brightest star in the northeast. The IMO also has an on the fly graph of reports here These are bright and fast meteors, and with the moon in the sky, sporadic meteor rates will be pretty low, so most of the meteors you see should be Aurigids. It's a once or twice a lifetime event, so if you can watch from 2-5AM in north america, it's probably worth the effort. Even though it will be too late (if the outburst occurs at the predicted time) here in NJ, I'll be out from 2 AM till dawn to record what I see. Good Luck!! Meteor Wayne <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id. I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function </div>

3488 · Aug 31, 2007

I hope you get to see something interesting MeteorWayne. Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before". Linda Morabito on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.http://www.launchphotography.com/ http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearthhttp://web.me.com/meridianijournal </div>

MeteorWayne · Aug 31, 2007

So do I. <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /> The good thing is the weather looks very good, cool and dry, which will help with the moon being so bright. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id. I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function </div>

docm · Aug 31, 2007

I'd put out a cam/tripod with a 28mm aimed straight up, but not without Spike (112 lbs) sleeping under it <img src="/images/icons/tongue.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

3488 · Aug 31, 2007

Of course in cool, dry air, less light scattering from the Moon. If there is anything of interest at the times of you observations, you'll see it. Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before". Linda Morabito on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.http://www.launchphotography.com/ http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearthhttp://web.me.com/meridianijournal </div>

Testing · Aug 31, 2007

I'm not gonna be able to see a thing. In Dallas for a few days and the cloud cover is pretty heavy. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

MeteorWayne · Sep 1, 2007

It appears a very short outburst did occur early this morning between 11 and 12 UT, perhaps a bit earlier than predicted. See the IMO Aurigids link in the original post above for the graph. As of the time of this post, peak ZHR was 106 +/- 27 at 11:18 UT (4:18 AM PDT); but plenty of more reports are expected to come in. I observed from 0509-0911 UT (1:09-5:11AM EDT) here in NJ, and only saw 4 Aurigids out of 20 meteors in 4 hours. With the 80% lit moon, the limiting magnitude was only +4.88, so those rates are not unexpected. I haven't calculated my equivilent ZHR yet. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id. I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function </div>

MeteorWayne · Sep 1, 2007

That's why the Meteor Wayne posts here, so you can know in advance <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id. I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function </div>

famw · Sep 1, 2007

Hello Wayne and everyone else. The last time I posted I only spoke to Wayne since I knew him a long time ago. This time I wish to say hello to all of you here. My name is Fred. I live in Blackwood NJ, down the road from Philadelphia PA on the way to Atlantic City. I have been watching the stars since I was in Boy Scouts and meteors since the Perseids storm in the 60s. I first got involved in observing when I got my first computer and got involved with NAMN. I was on the meteorobs list for a while but soon found it a little too much for me. I am not that well versed in astronomy and science. It's just a small hobby for me and I do not get that much of a chance to really get deeply involved, I know a lot of the sky, constellations and some stars from my days in the scouts and I took a college course when I went to school in Texas when I saw some stars and constellation that I may never see again. I remember some of the pointers through constellation to find other stars and star formations and other constellations. I am seriously thinking about joining the Rittenhouse Astronomical Society in Philadelphia to get a little more involved in the science. I went to the Franklin Institute for the first public viewing since they modernized the telescope there and it was a tremendous time. I went out this morning to count the Aurigids and did not go to my usual dark sky spot. Having to face more Easterly, there are too many tree where I go so I decided to go somewhere I've always wanted to try, Cape May Pointe which is the mostly Southern end of NJ. I found that they had built an observation deck with a handicapped walkway up to where there were benches and tables (Thank you very much) where I can take my wheelchair up. But the biggest problem is the Cape May lighthouse that shines its beacon every 10 seconds. But the moon did most of the damage. It was cool and windy and quite cloudy in the area of observation. The Pleiades were washed out.

3488 · Sep 6, 2007

Hi MeteorWayne, I thought that you might like this APOD. <img src="/images/icons/laugh.gif" /> Aurigids from 47,000 feet. Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before". Linda Morabito on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.http://www.launchphotography.com/ http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearthhttp://web.me.com/meridianijournal </div>

MeteorWayne · Sep 7, 2007

Indeed. There's quite a bit of info on Dr Jenniskens website here Including this one, which might be a future APOD <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id. I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function </div>

MeteorWayne · Sep 8, 2007

bump, with a repeat of the link to the IMO rate chart. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id. I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function </div>

3488 · Sep 8, 2007

Hi MeteorWayne. Quite an active shower by the looks of it. ZHR of 129 +/- 30, pretty high. I see your position & name showing on the world observer list. From here, it was too light & quite cloudy generally, although I did see a couple. Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before". Linda Morabito on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.http://www.launchphotography.com/ http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearthhttp://web.me.com/meridianijournal </div>

adrenalynn · Sep 11, 2007

My visual log is somewhere around here. But I did want to say it was allegedly an awesome spectacle. So said the observers I was with. Me? I didn't get to see more than a couple. I was putzing with the laptop, cameras, and radios... Of course, they have to remember it. I have a few of these: http://www.jlrdesigns.com/aurigid1.jpg <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> .bipartisan (bī-pär'tĭ-zən, -sən) [Adj.] Maintaining the ability to blame republications when your stimulus plan proves to be a devastating failure.IMPEACH OBAMA! </div>

adrenalynn · Sep 11, 2007

Sorry - I was being lazy. The meteor trail is between Hasseleh and 2Aurigae in the constellation Auriga. It was rendered with an unmodified Canon 20D, 45mm @ f/3.6, 30sec, ISO1600 from fixed tripod. The colors (on a calibrated monitor, anyway) are true to within a few degrees against the temps listed in Starry Night, so the white balance must have been dead-on. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> .bipartisan (bī-pär'tĭ-zən, -sən) [Adj.] Maintaining the ability to blame republications when your stimulus plan proves to be a devastating failure.IMPEACH OBAMA! </div>

MeteorWayne · Sep 11, 2007

Nice image. I'll have to calculate the radiant position, it looks a little low for the "main" Aurigid radiant, but may well halp define the "outburst" radiant, which would be in a slightly different position. You have defined why I don't do photos, laptops or cameras...it's too darn distracting. I have about 11 years of skill developed in visual meteor observation, so that's how I can be most useful. At the NJAA two other guys have put together a video camera system, which is great....especially since we've been able to calibrate it against my observations. If you have more Aurigid images, they could be useful for Dr Jenniskens who successfully predicted this outburst. I'm sure he would appreciate any additional data. I believe there's a request for data at the seti/aurigids link at the top of the thread. Please feel free to post any more (or link to any more since SDC is broken) that you have. I'd be very interested, as I am writing up articles for the NJAA's Astronotes and NAMN notes right now <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /> Meteor Wayne <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id. I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function </div>

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