Meteor Activity Outlook for May 8-14, 2010

The Meteor Activity Outlook is a weekly summary of expected meteor activity written by Robert Lunsford, Operations Manager of the American Meteor Society and contributor to this blog. The original unedited version of this week’s Meteor Activity Outlook can be found at the American Meteor Society’s site.

May is a fairly slow month for meteor activity. The Eta Aquariids are very active the first two weeks of the month then fade as the month progresses. The only other showers active this month are the weak Nu Cygnids, the Eta Lyrids, and the Antihelion radiant. These will add only 1-2 meteors per hour to the total count. Sporadic rates are low but steady as seen from the mid-northern hemisphere (45 N). Sporadic rates seen from the mid-southern hemisphere (45 S) continue to rise this month toward a maximum in July.

During this period the moon reaches its new phase on Friday May 14th . At this time the moon lies near the sun and cannot be seen at night. This weekend the waning crescent moon will rise during the early morning hours but will not interfere with meteor observing as long as the observer keeps it out of the field of their field of view. The estimated total hourly rates for evening observers this week is ~2 for those in the northern hemisphere and ~3 for those south of the equator. For morning observers the estimated total hourly rates should be ~12 from the northern hemisphere and ~20 as seen from the southern hemisphere. 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.

The radiant positions and rates listed below are exact for Saturday night/Sunday morning May 8/9. These positions do not change greatly day to day so the listed coordinates may be used during this entire period.

The following showers are expected to be active this week:

Antihelions (ANT)

The wide Antihelion (ANT) radiant is now centered at 16h:04m (241) -21. This area of the sky lies in northwestern Scorpius just one degree to the southwest of the third magnitude star Acrab (Beta Scorpii). This radiant is best placed near 0200 local daylight time (LDT) when it lies on the meridian and is located highest in the sky. Due to the large size of this radiant, any meteor radiating from eastern Libra, northern Lupus, southern Ophiuchus, or western Scorpius could be a candidate for this shower. Rates at this time should be near one per hour as seen from the northern hemisphere and two per hour as seen from south of the equator. With an entry velocity of 30 km/sec., the average Antihelion meteor would be of medium-slow speed.

Eta Lyrids (ELY)

The Eta Lyrids (ELY) are visible this week from a radiant located at 19h:24m (291) +43. This position lies in extreme eastern Lyra, four degrees southwest of the third magnitude star Delta Cygni. This shower is active from May 6 through the 13th, peaking on May 10. Rates at maximum activity are near two per hour as seen from the northern hemisphere. Unfortunately the Eta Lyrid radiant does not rise very high in the northern sky as seen from the southern hemisphere so rates seen from below the equator are minimal. Activity from this shower is best seen during the last hour before dawn when the radiant is situated highest in a dark sky. With an entry velocity of 43 km/sec., the average Eta Lyrid meteor would be of medium speed.

Eta Aquariids (ETA)

The Eta Aquariids (ETA) are particles from Halley’s Comet, produced in Earth-crossing orbits many centuries ago. We pass closest to these orbits from May 5 through the 9th. During this period the Eta Aquariids are at their best, capable of producing ZHR’s of sixty. The actual visible rates are most often less than half this figure due to the low altitude of the radiant at dawn. Observed hourly rates at maximum normally vary from zero at 60 degrees north latitude to 25 near the equator and back down to near zero again in Antarctica, where the radiant elevation is very low. Hourly rates this weekend are anywhere from zero to ten per hour depending on your latitude and observing conditions. Rates will slowly decrease as we move further away from the May 7 maximum. The radiant is currently located at 22h:40m (340) +00. This area of the sky is located in northeastern Aquarius, just one degree east of the fourth magnitude star Eta Aquarii. The best time to view this activity is just before the start of morning twilight, when the radiant lies highest in a dark sky. No matter your location these meteors will appear from the eastern sky and shoot in all directions. If the radiant has sufficient altitude Eta Aquariid meteors can also be seen shooting down toward the eastern horizon. With an entry velocity of 67 kilometers per second, a majority of these meteors will appear to move swiftly with a high percentage of the bright meteors leaving persistent trains. Surprisingly, this shower produces very few fireballs.

The list below presents a condensed version of the expected activity this week. Rates and positions are exact for Saturday night/Sunday morning.

Shower Name                RA     DEC   Vel     Rates
                                        km/s   NH    SH
ANT Antihelions          16h 04m  -21    30     1     2
ELY Eta Lyrids           19h 24m  +43    42     2    <1
ETA Eta Aquariids        22h 40m  +00    67     5     6

RA - Right Ascension
DEC - Declination
Vel - Velocity relative to Earth (in km per sec)
Rates - Rate of visible meteors per hour from a
        dark site
NH - Northern Hemisphere
SH - Southern Hemisphere