Daniel Bush captured this fireball on 15 may 2019, at 06:41 Universal Time from Albany, Missouri, USA. Refer to IMO event: https://fireball.amsmeteors.org/members/imo_view/event/2019/2191 ©Daniel Bush

During this period the moon reaches its full phase on Tuesday November 12th. At this time the moon will be located opposite the sun and will lie above the horizon all night long. This weekend the waxing gibbous moon sets just before dawn allowing some observing before dawn to view under dark conditions. The estimated total hourly meteor rates for evening observers this week is near 4 for those viewing from the northern hemisphere and 3 for those located south of the equator. For morning observers the estimated total hourly rates should be near 15 as seen from mid-northern latitudes (45N) and 9 as seen from tropical southern locations (25S) . The actual rates will also depend on factors such as personal light and motion perception, local weather conditions, alertness and experience in watching meteor activity. Rates are reduced due to moonlight. Note that the hourly rates listed below are estimates as viewed from dark sky sites away from urban light sources. Observers viewing from urban areas will see less activity as only the brightest meteors will be visible from such locations.

The radiant (the area of the sky where meteors appear to shoot from) positions and rates listed below are exact for Saturday night/Sunday morning November 9/10. These positions do not change greatly day to day so the listed coordinates may be used during this entire period. Most star atlases (available at science stores and planetariums) will provide maps with grid lines of the celestial coordinates so that you may find out exactly where these positions are located in the sky. A planisphere or computer planetarium program is also useful in showing the sky at any time of night on any date of the year. Activity from each radiant is best seen when it is positioned highest in the sky, either due north or south along the meridian, depending on your latitude. It must be remembered that meteor activity is rarely seen at the radiant position. Rather they shoot outwards from the radiant so it is best to center your field of view so that the radiant lies at the edge and not the center. Viewing there will allow you to easily trace the path of each meteor back to the radiant (if it is a shower member) or in another direction if it is a sporadic. Meteor activity is not seen from radiants that are located below the horizon. The positions below are listed in a west to east manner in order of right ascension (celestial longitude). The positions listed first are located further west therefore are accessible earlier in the night while those listed further down the list rise later in the night.

 

Radiant Positions at 19:00 LST

Radiant Positions at 19:00 Local Standard Time

Radiant Positions at 00:00 LST

Radiant Positions at 00:00 Local Standard Time

Radiant Positions at 05:00 LST

Radiant Positions at 05:00 Local Standard Time

These sources of meteoric activity are expected to be active this week.

Details of each source will continue next week when viewing conditions are improved.

SHOWER DATE OF MAXIMUM ACTIVITY CELESTIAL POSITION ENTRY VELOCITY CULMINATION HOURLY RATE CLASS
RA (RA in Deg.) DEC Km/Sec Local Standard Time North-South
Andromedids (AND) Nov 06 01:47 (026) +30 17 22:00 1 – <1 IV
Northern Taurids (NTA) Nov 03 03:48 (057) +23 28 00:00 3 – 2 II
omicron Eridanids (OER) Nov 05 03:58 (060) -00 29 00:00 <1 – <1 IV
Southern Taurids (STA) Oct 10 03:59 (060) +16 27 00:00 1 – 1 II
chi Taurids (CTA) Nov 03 04:42 (071) +28 41 01:00 <1 – <1 IV
November Orionids (NOO) Nov 29 04:47 (072) +16 43 01:00 <1 – <1 IV
Orionids (ORI) Oct 22 07:42 (116) +15 67 04:00 2 – 1 I
nu Eridanids (NUE) Sep 24 08:07 (122) +15 67 05:00 <1 – <1 IV
rho Puppids (RPU) Nov 15 08:29 (127) -25 62 05:00 1 – <1 IV
Leonids (LEO) Nov 18 09:48 (147) +24 70 06:00 2 – 1 I
kappa Ursae Majorids (KUM) Nov 08 09:58 (150) +46 66 06:00 <1 – <1 IV

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *