Results of the IMO Video Meteor Network - January 2009
======================================================
The new year started as successful as the old one ended. At least in the
first half, January surprised the observers at many sites with unusually
good weather. For the Quadrantid maximum, which was moon-free and fell
almost into the European night time hours, the weather was in particular
co-operative. In total, 21 video system were in operation on January 2/3
and collected together 2,400 meteors in 177 hours of effective observing time.
The second half of the month was grown through, but the January total of
more than 2,400 observing hours and 9,200 meteors was still amazing, since it
more than doubled the figures of the previously best January.
Let's have a look at the observations in detail. At first I'd like to
present two outstanding recordings. On January 3, 01:47 UT, Klaas Jobse
managed to record a rare double meteor - in this case a double Quadrantid -
with his image-intensified camera BETSY2 (Figure 1). The angular separation
of both meteors was nearly one degree. At an height of 100 km and an altitude
of roughly 45 degrees, this translates into a spatial distance of 2..3 km
between the two meteoroids burning up in the atmosphere.
Figure 1: Double-Quadrantid, recorded by Klaas Jobse on January 3, 2009,
at 01:47 UT.
A few days later, on January 13 at 00:02 UT, Flavio Castellani captured a
bright fireball with BMH2 (Figure 2). The meteor could not be recorded in
a single image, because MetRec is not designed for such bright objects. Still,
the brightness curve of the bolide, that should have reached roughly full
moon brightness at maximum, is well visible.
Figure 2: Bright fireball on January 13, 2009, 00:02 UT, recorded by Flavio
Castellani.
With respect to meteor showers, there is just one significant source in
January. As mentioned before, the Quadrantids could be well observed this
year. The maximum was predicted for 13 UT on January 3. Since the Quadrantid
maximum is extremely short, we expected only some rise in activity in the
European morning hours, whereas the American observers were placed best.
The visual observations proved, however, that the maximum was early by
about two to three hours, such that also the European observers witnessed
zenithal hourly rates up to 100 at dawn. The rise in activity by about
a factor of three between midnight and dawn was blended by the raising
radiant, which made the increase in activity even more dramatic. This is
also well documented in the video data: The number of Quadrantids in the
last half hour before dawn was about 10 times as high as in the first half
hour after midnight.
The analysis of the 2009 video data was based on 978 Quadrantids and 303
sporadic meteors, recorded by 13 video cameras between 0 and 6 UT on
January 3. The Quadrantids were binned in 30 min intervals, corrected for
the radiant altitude as ususal, and averaged over all cameras. For
comparison, also the number of sporadic meteors per hour was plotted. The
activity graph (figure 3) shows an almost linear rise in activity in the
morning hours of January 3. The life ZHR graph from visual data of IMO,
which is plotted as a line, shows the same trend.
Unfortunately, the graph could not be continued until the maximum, because
there was just one active video camera in the US. Therefor, the individual
measurements from that time show significant scatter. On the other hand,
the European observers recorded a few nice long-lasting Quadrantids at the
first evening hour of January 3. Later that night, the rates went down
below a ZHR of ten again.
Figure 3: Activity profile of the Quadrantids on the morning of January 3,
2009. For comparison, the visual ZHR profile is shown as a line.
What do we learn about the Quadrantids from the complete video data analysis
of 2008? According to the IMO handbook for meteor observers, this shower is
active between January 1 and 10. The majority of 1330 video Quadrantids was
recorded within one solar longitude interval, which is why the radiant
position before and after the maximum is not well-defined (figure 4). Still,
the activity starts probably at December 28 and lasts until January 12.
Figure 4: Radiant position of the Quadrantids from data of the IMO Video
Meteor Database.
Figure 5 presents the long-term activity profile of the Quadrantids. It shows,
that the activity away from the maximum (which is smeared out over two values
because of the sliding intervals) is very low. For comparison, the blue dots
show the visual activity profile between 1988 and 2008, taken from the IMO
handbook. Interestingly, the rates right before and after the peak are much
higher in the visual data, i.e. the rise and fall of activity is less steep
there.
Figure 5: Long-term activity profile of the Quadrantids. Blue dots represent
the visual activity profile.
Since there are no other major showers beside the Quadrantids, and the
sporadic activity remains low, January is a good time to detect weak meteor
showers. The analysis from fall 2008 revealed a possible shower between
December 31 and January 11. Its radiant, which was derived from 160 shower
members, is located in the southern part of Hydra (figure 6).
Figure 6: Radiant position of an unknown meteor shower in Hydra.
The velocity of the shower is 45 km/s, but this values shows some scatter
because of the low meteor number. The activity profile (figure 7) is quite
flat, with traces of a weak maximum at January 7. In the full activity
interval, the ZHR stays below two, which is why this shower is close to
the limits for visual meteor observers.
Figure 7: Long-term activity profile of an unknown meteor shower in Hydra.
1. Observers
============
Code Name Place Camera FOV LM Nights Time Meteors
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BENOR Benitez-S. Las-Palmas TIMES5 (0.95/50) 10 dg 3 mag 8 20.7 h 46
BRIBE Brinkmann Herne HERMINE (0.8/6) 55 dg 3 mag 20 129.4 h 437
CASFL Castellani Monte Baldo BMH1 (0.8/6) 55 dg 3 mag 5 36.5 h 180
BMH2 (0.8/6) 55 dg 3 mag 21 160.3 h 389
CRIST Crivello Valbrevenna STG38 (0.8/3.8) 80 dg 3 mag 1 11.6 h 45
Genova C3P8 (0.8/3.8) 80 dg 3 mag 23 163.9 h 697
ELTMA Eltri Venezia MET38 (0.8/3.8) 80 dg 3 mag 8 67.4 h 282
GONRU Goncalves Tomar TEMPLAR1 (0.8/6) 55 dg 3 mag 9 43.9 h 139
TEMPLAR2 (0.8/6) 55 dg 3 mag 12 65.7 h 188
HERCA Hergenroth. Tucson SALSA (1.2/4) 80 dg 3 mag 26 198.0 h 443
HINWO Hinz Brannenburg AKM2 (0.85/25) 32 dg 6 mag 14 100.8 h 288
JOBKL Jobse Oostkapelle BETSY2 (1.2/85) 25 dg 7 mag 9 71.0 h 667
KACJA Kac Kostanjevec METKA (0.8/8) 42 dg 4 mag 8 51.9 h 106
Kamnik REZIKA (0.8/6) 55 dg 3 mag 4 39,2 h 183
STEFKA (0.8/3.8) 80 dg 3 mag 4 28.8 h 62
Ljubljana ORION1 (0.8/8) 42 dg 4 mag 5 14.4 h 47
KOSDE Koschny Noordwijkerh. TEC1 (1.4/12) 30 dg 4 mag 12 59.5 h 124
LUNRO Lunsford Chula Vista BOCAM (1.4/50) 60 dg 6 mag 19 183.4 h 600
MOLSI Molau Seysdorf AVIS2 (1.4/50) 60 dg 6 mag 15 77.4 h 554
MINCAM1 (0.8/6) 55 dg 3 mag 18 116.8 h 317
Ketzuer REMO1 (0.8/3.8) 80 dg 3 mag 16 107.6 h 318
REMO2 (0.8/3.8) 80 dg 3 mag 17 95.9 h 335
OCHPA Ochner Albiano ALBIANO (1.2/4.5) 68 dg 3 mag 13 87.9 h 266
PRZDA Przewozny Berlin ARMEFA (0.8/6) 55 dg 3 mag 4 30.9 h 38
SLAST Slavec Ljubljana KAYAK1 (1.8/28) 50 dg 4 mag 5 10.1 h 17
STOEN Stomeo Scorze MIN38 (0.8/3.8) 80 dg 3 mag 12 86.9 h 369
STORO Stork Kunzak KUN1 (1.4/50) 55 dg 6 mag 2 7.3 h 289
Ondrejov OND1 (1.4/50) 55 dg 6 mag 2 9.5 h 419
STRJO Strunk Herford MINCAM2 (0.8/6) 55 dg 3 mag 15 79.5 h 261
MINCAM3 (0.8/8) 42 dg 4 mag 13 75.1 h 191
MINCAM5 (0.8/6) 55 dg 3 mag 15 123.3 h 480
YRJIL Yrjola Kuusankoski FINEXCAM (0.8/6) 55 dg 3 mag 12 99.6 h 445
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Overall 31 2454.2 h 9222
2. Observing Times (h)
======================
Jan 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BENOR 4.8 7.0 - 1.0 3.0 - - 0.4 - - - - - - -
BRIBE - - - - 10.6 4.2 - 9.8 8.5 4.2 7.8 - - - 7.2
CASFL 12.5 8.6 9.6 4.8 1.0 - - - - - - - - - -
8.5 9.1 10.1 5.2 - - - 11.4 11.1 8.4 11.4 12.4 - - 12.4
CRIST - - 11.6 - - - - - - - - - - - -
10.1 12.1 12.8 7.5 - - - 1.2 11.0 11.0 8.0 8.4 - 6.3 10.3
ELTMA - 5.4 12.3 10.8 - - - 9.1 8.4 3.3 8.5 9.6 - - -
GONRU - - - 7.7 1.2 - 7.2 6.0 - 7.0 1.5 - 4.4 - -
- - - 7.2 4.2 0.5 9.3 10.7 - 8.6 8.7 0.9 3.7 - -
HERCA 12.2 12.1 8.1 - - 3.0 7.1 8.1 6.6 9.0 7.1 7.0 12.0 8.0 9.0
HINWO - - - 6.6 - - - 10.5 5.4 4.1 7.0 8.8 3.7 - 5.4
JOBKL - 12.6 - - 9.5 1.0 - - - - - - - - -
KACJA - - 13.6 9.0 3.3 - - 10.8 7.0 1.1 - - - - -
- - 13.0 - 6.4 - - 10.3 7.1 2.4 - - - - -
- - 12.4 - - - - 7.8 8.6 - - - - - -
- 2.2 5.8 0.7 0.7 - - 5.0 - - - - - - -
KOSDE - 7.9 - - 6.4 2.2 - 4.6 6.0 - - - - - -
LUNRO 1.8 - - - 11.3 - 5.8 11.9 - 4.9 6.9 7.1 10.5 11.9 10.5
MOLSI - - - - - - 3.3 5.6 2.1 1.5 1.3 2.5 6.9 - 3.6
- 9.7 13.7 0.7 - - 6.1 9.6 7.6 4.3 7.8 9.5 4.4 - 5.9
- 14.0 - - 13.9 11.8 - 4.6 - 2.0 6.5 4.5 6.0 - -
- 7.4 - - 13.8 13.7 - 0.6 - 2.7 8.0 5.6 9.6 - -
OCHPA 7.2 9.4 11.4 6.1 1.0 - - 7.2 7.3 9.3 7.3 9.2 - - 3.1
PRZDA - 12.1 - - - - - - - - - 5.8 - - -
SLAST - - 2.8 1.3 2.1 - - 2.6 - - 1.3 - - - -
STOEN - 10.2 13.2 - - - - 10.2 9.7 8.2 9.4 10.2 - - 7.9
STORO - 2.5 4.8 - - - - - - - - - - - -
- 6.5 3.0 - - - - - - - - - - - -
STRJO - 7.5 - - 4.5 1.5 - 10.3 8.3 2.0 5.0 - - - 4.0
- 3.9 - - 9.0 3.0 - 5.3 7.0 6.3 7.9 - - - 3.5
- 9.2 - - 10.6 5.0 - 10.7 9.7 6.0 8.8 - - - 9.7
YRJIL 13.9 7.5 2.3 11.7 - 6.8 14.3 - 2.6 - - - - - 11.4
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sum 71.0176.9160.5 80.3112.5 52.7 53.1184.3134.0106.3130.2101.5 61.2 26.2103.9
Jan 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BENOR - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1.0 1.5 2.0
BRIBE 2.3 1.0 6.9 1.0 8.7 5.7 - - 1.5 12.7 8.7 - 7.5 10.5 10.1 0.5
CASFL - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
9.9 2.2 6.9 - - 12.3 10.3 4.8 - 0.5 - 0.3 6.2 0.2 6.7 -
CRIST - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
1.0 - 3.5 - 2.2 11.2 3.7 6.6 - 1.0 2.9 4.2 9.8 10.4 8.7 -
ELTMA - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
GONRU 5.9 - - - 3.0 - - - - - - - - - - -
3.5 - - - 7.6 - - - 0.8 - - - - - - -
HERCA 12.0 9.9 1.5 6.9 7.3 1.4 - - - 8.8 4.8 3.0 7.5 7.3 11.6 6.7
HINWO 2.4 7.6 - - - - 12.4 6.9 - 12.3 7.7 - - - - -
JOBKL - - 3.3 - - - - 2.6 9.5 - - - - 12.0 12.2 8.3
KACJA - 5.8 - - - - 1.3 - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
KOSDE - - - - - - - - 4.8 2.5 2.9 1.7 - 7.3 10.9 2.3
LUNRO 11.6 10.5 11.8 - 11.8 - - - - - - 11.6 9.9 11.6 11.3 10.7
MOLSI - 7.6 6.8 - - - - - 6.1 11.9 8.7 - - 8.8 - 0.7
- 3.8 6.1 - - - - 3.6 2.1 13.0 7.0 - - 1.9 - -
2.2 4.6 6.5 3.5 5.9 7.4 13.3 - - - - - - - - 0.9
4.5 1.6 5.5 1.5 2.4 4.5 13.3 - - 0.3 - - - - - 0.9
OCHPA 5.3 - 4.1 - - - - - - - - - - - - -
PRZDA - - - - - - 9.3 - - - - 3.7 - - - -
SLAST - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
STOEN - - - - - - 2.0 - - 1.2 - - 3.5 - 1.2 -
STORO - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
STRJO - - - - 7.9 5.4 - - - 8.8 - - 0.6 7.0 4.5 2.2
- - - - 4.0 4.4 - - - 7.6 - - - 5.7 7.5 -
- - - 0.9 12.2 5.5 - - - 11.5 - - 2.2 11.0 10.3 -
YRJIL 13.1 - - - - - - - - - - - - 1.4 13.3 1.3
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sum 73.7 54.6 62.9 13.8 73.0 57.8 65.6 24.5 24.8 92.1 42.7 24.5 47.2 96.1109.8 36.5
3. Results (Meteors)
====================
Jan 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BENOR 4 24 - 2 10 - - 1 - - - - - - -
BRIBE - - - - 46 8 - 30 36 13 23 - - - 17
CASFL 34 86 49 10 1 - - - - - - - - - -
22 84 37 7 - - - 18 24 16 25 29 - - 24
CRIST - - 45 - - - - - - - - - - - -
41 168 65 22 - - - 5 27 37 42 30 - 8 52
ELTMA - 77 60 30 - - - 30 34 4 19 28 - - -
GONRU - - - 19 3 - 44 28 - 18 2 - 6 - -
- - - 15 20 2 38 38 - 30 24 1 3 - -
HERCA 27 28 107 - - 10 16 18 13 17 7 14 14 12 19
HINWO - - - 12 - - - 30 20 7 19 27 3 - 8
JOBKL - 300 - - 120 4 - - - - - - - - -
KACJA - - 31 26 7 - - 21 10 1 - - - - -
- - 88 - 12 - - 44 39 - - - - - -
- - 31 - - - - 13 16 2 - - - - -
- 26 11 1 2 - - 7 - - - - - - -
KOSDE - 41 - - 14 5 - 6 11 - - - - - -
LUNRO 1 - - - 51 - 40 26 - 28 28 34 32 28 35
MOLSI - - - - - - 23 31 10 6 5 4 17 - 29
- 109 19 1 - - 17 23 23 4 21 23 3 - 11
- 110 - - 47 12 - 9 - 5 25 5 15 - -
- 137 - - 30 25 - 1 - 2 10 10 35 - -
OCHPA 16 70 31 7 1 - - 18 11 22 24 28 - - 11
PRZDA - 19 - - - - - - - - - 5 - - -
SLAST - - 6 2 2 - - 6 - - 1 - - - -
STOEN - 123 67 - - - - 34 39 13 23 36 - - 23
STORO - 234 55 - - - - - - - - - - - -
- 389 30 - - - - - - - - - - - -
STRJO - 76 - - 12 3 - 20 17 4 10 - - - 7
- 28 - - 20 8 - 25 25 16 17 - - - 9
- 140 - - 54 12 - 39 31 12 25 - - - 23
YRJIL 60 117 11 50 - 37 49 - 12 - - - - - 36
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sum 205 2386 743 204 452 126 227 521 398 257 350 274 128 48 304
Jan 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BENOR - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1 2 2
BRIBE 12 2 17 4 29 31 - - 7 37 28 - 29 36 29 3
CASFL - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
16 2 14 - - 21 20 9 - 1 - 2 11 1 6 -
CRIST - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
2 - 5 - 3 46 12 15 - 2 5 6 48 35 21 -
ELTMA - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
GONRU 11 - - - 8 - - - - - - - - - - -
4 - - - 12 - - - 1 - - - - - - -
HERCA 19 10 2 12 13 2 - - - 12 4 5 15 15 18 14
HINWO 6 22 - - - - 40 35 - 41 18 - - - - -
JOBKL - - 9 - - - - 7 30 - - - - 73 70 54
KACJA - 9 - - - - 1 - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
KOSDE - - - - - - - - 11 3 2 3 - 9 14 5
LUNRO 38 39 27 - 27 - - - - - - 32 26 33 33 42
MOLSI - 55 128 - - - - - 37 117 32 - - 58 - 2
- 6 17 - - - - 5 2 24 6 - - 3 - -
4 7 11 4 10 24 28 - - - - - - - - 2
9 2 24 2 6 11 28 - - 1 - - - - - 2
OCHPA 15 - 12 - - - - - - - - - - - - -
PRZDA - - - - - - 10 - - - - 4 - - - -
SLAST - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
STOEN - - - - - - 4 - - 1 - - 5 - 1 -
STORO - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
STRJO - - - - 34 23 - - - 17 - - 1 18 10 9
- - - - 4 7 - - - 15 - - - 7 10 -
- - - 2 39 25 - - 32 - - 3 24 19 -
YRJIL 40 - - - - - - - - - - - - 3 28 2
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sum 176 154 266 24 185 190 143 71 88 303 95 52 138 316 261 137
Sirko Molau, 2009/02/25