Results of the IMO Video Meteor Network - March 2009
====================================================
In many aspects, March was similar to February. The weather was only slightly
better than in the month before, and we observed the same gradient between
poor weather in the North and better weather in the South, even though the
difference was less prominent this time. Once more, we managed to obtain
more than 2000 hours of effective observing time and 4000 meteors - more
than in the years before - mainly thanks to the automated cameras in Italy
and Portugal.
With respect to meteor showers, March marks the rock bottom of the year.
According to the IMO shower list, only the delta Leonids are active in the
first few days of the month. However, this shower was not detected in the
recent meteor shower search. The gamma Normids of the southern skies are a
similar case. Even though our video meteor database contains 15,000 meteors
recorded in the southern hemisphere (Australia), they were not present in
any of the recent analyses. In fact, even if we check the individual
radiants at different solar longitudes, there is no sign whatsoever of the
gamma Normids, which leaves serious doubts about the reality of this shower.
What does the 2008 analysis tell us about unknown showers in March? Two
possible meteor shower candidates in Hercules that are not yet listed in the
literature can be found in the first half of March. 80 meteors were assigned
to the first shower between March 1 and 9 (figure 1, red), whereby the first
position is rather uncertain. The average velocity of this shower is 44 km/s,
though there is some scatter from day to day because of the small meteor
number.
The second shower candidate (figure 1, green) consists of 161 meteors between
March 10 and 16, whereby the first and last position are rather uncertain.
The average velocity was constant 36 km/s and, thus, slightly smaller than
the velocity of the first shower.
Figure 1: Radiant positions of two possible meteor shower candidates in early
March.
The highest activity of the first shower candidate occurs on March 7 at a
solar longitude of 346 degrees (figure 2, red), when the radiant is located
at alpha=268°, delta=41°. The ZHR should reach a level of almost two.
The second shower reaches the highest ZHR of approximately one at a solar
longitude of 352 degrees, when the radiant lies at alpha=254°, delta=48°
(figure 2, green). The only shower in literature that lies close are the
March Herculids, that Sekanina extracted from radar observations in 1968-69.
The meteor shower velocity of these fits reasonably, but their radiant at
alpha=261°, delta=31.8° lies more than 15 degrees south.
It remains thrilling, whether these showers can be confirmed by other
observers as well.
Figure 2: Long-term activity profile of two possible meteor shower candidates
in early March.
1. Observers
============
Code Name Place Camera FOV LM Nights Time Meteors
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BRIBE Brinkmann Herne HERMINE (0.8/6) 55 dg 3 mag 17 72.7 h 177
CASFL Castellani Monte Baldo BMH1 (0.8/6) 55 dg 3 mag 21 144.9 h 205
BMH2 (0.8/6) 55 dg 3 mag 21 149.7 h 197
CRIST Crivello Genova C3P8 (0.8/3.8) 80 dg 3 mag 21 140.6 h 372
ELTMA Eltri Venezia MET38 (0.8/3.8) 80 dg 3 mag 7 14.7 h 34
GONRU Goncalves Tomar TEMPLAR1 (0.8/6) 55 dg 3 mag 23 186.3 h 451
TEMPLAR2 (0.8/6) 55 dg 3 mag 25 175.0 h 262
HERCA Hergenroth. Tucson SALSA (1.2/4) 80 dg 3 mag 25 152.2 h 201
HINWO Hinz Brannenburg AKM2 (0.85/25) 32 dg 6 mag 6 18.7 h 34
KACJA Kac Kostanjevec METKA (0.8/8) 42 dg 4 mag 12 66.1 h 75
Kamnik REZIKA (0.8/6) 55 dg 3 mag 10 52.5 h 135
STEFKA (0.8/3.8) 80 dg 3 mag 3 15.7 h 20
Ljubljana ORION1 (0.8/8) 42 dg 4 mag 17 77.5 h 91
LUNRO Lunsford Chula Vista BOCAM (1.4/50) 60 dg 6 mag 12 85.4 h 177
MOLSI Molau Seysdorf AVIS2 (1.4/50) 60 dg 6 mag 8 35.8 h 282
MINCAM1 (0.8/6) 55 dg 3 mag 11 40.1 h 48
Ketzuer REMO1 (0.8/3.8) 80 dg 3 mag 20 50.7 h 112
REMO2 (0.8/3.8) 80 dg 3 mag 17 64.6 h 113
OCHPA Ochner Albiano ALBIANO (1.2/4.5) 68 dg 3 mag 21 137.6 h 260
PRZDA Przewozny Berlin ARMEFA (0.8/6) 55 dg 3 mag 15 60.2 h 130
SLAST Slavec Ljubljana KAYAK1 (1.8/28) 50 dg 4 mag 14 60.8 h 105
STOEN Stomeo Scorze MIN38 (0.8/3.8) 80 dg 3 mag 13 86.1 h 181
SCO38 (0.8/3.8) 80 dg 2 mag 8 49.2 h 202
STRJO Strunk Herford MINCAM2 (0.8/6) 55 dg 3 mag 16 36.6 h 58
MINCAM3 (0.8/8) 42 dg 4 mag 8 16.8 h 25
MINCAM5 (0.8/6) 55 dg 3 mag 11 49.1 h 106
YRJIL Yrjola Kuusankoski FINEXCAM (0.8/6) 55 dg 3 mag 12 78.5 h 133
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Overall 31 2126.8 h 4186
2. Observing Times (h)
======================
Mar 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BRIBE - 6.8 4.9 - - - - 1.2 - - 0.8 1.1 0.3 - -
CASFL - - 1.0 - - 10.7 10.8 7.7 10.7 5.2 10.6 5.7 10.4 3.1 7.3
- - 0.5 - - 7.8 6.8 10.7 6.7 7.6 7.6 10.5 6.4 5.9 7.3
CRIST - - 3.0 - - 8.9 9.7 4.9 6.6 9.9 9.3 2.0 5.1 4.4 8.1
ELTMA - - - - - - - - - - - - 4.3 - -
GONRU - - - - - - - 3.6 6.0 7.1 10.6 8.9 10.5 4.9 10.3
6.8 - - - - - - 5.8 3.5 5.1 10.6 9.0 10.5 6.0 5.4
HERCA 2.9 4.3 10.3 - - - 2.9 5.2 - - - 3.5 1.3 6.9 6.4
HINWO - - - - - - 4.5 - - - - - - 0.9 -
KACJA 2.5 - - - - - - - - - 5.5 - 8.2 2.5 3.5
- - - - - - - - 4.4 - 9.8 2.1 - 2.8 -
- - - - - 1.2 6.7 7.8 - - - - - - -
- - - - - 0.4 8.6 - 2.0 0.7 10.3 - 4.7 4.5 -
LUNRO 6.0 8.2 - 9.8 3.9 4.5 - - - - 10.3 - - - -
MOLSI - - - - - - - - - - - - - 0.8 -
- - - - - - 3.9 0.4 0.8 - - - 1.1 - -
4.2 - 3.6 6.0 - - 2.7 1.8 0.8 0.2 2.1 - 3.3 - -
- - 4.1 2.1 - - 0.9 - - - 1.6 - 4.0 0.5 -
OCHPA - - - - - 0.9 9.0 8.0 4.3 8.0 9.0 8.9 8.7 6.1 7.4
PRZDA - - 8.1 4.0 - - 2.3 - - 0.6 1.1 - 4.4 - -
SLAST - - - - - - 4.8 - - - - - - 3.2 1.3
STOEN - - - - - 9.0 - - 6.9 - 9.5 8.3 7.9 - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
STRJO - 1.5 2.7 0.5 - - - 2.0 - - - 1.1 0.5 - -
- - - - - - - 0.5 - - - - - - -
- 3.8 1.7 - - - - 2.2 - - - - - - -
YRJIL - - - - 4.5 - - 10.3 - - - - 5.8 - 2.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sum 22.4 24.6 39.9 22.4 8.4 43.4 73.6 72.1 52.7 44.4108.7 61.1 97.4 52.5 59.0
Mar 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BRIBE 0.8 6.4 4.8 7.8 5.8 3.5 - - 6.3 - - 1.3 - 4.8 7.0 9.1
CASFL 2.0 6.7 10.2 3.1 10.1 - 5.0 2.9 9.8 5.8 6.1 - - - - -
4.1 5.2 10.2 4.1 10.1 - 10.0 8.9 9.8 3.8 5.7 - - - - -
CRIST 8.2 7.0 4.0 7.0 4.0 9.4 6.6 - 9.8 7.7 - - - - 5.0 -
ELTMA - - - - 3.9 6.5 - - - - - - - - - -
GONRU 10.1 7.6 9.7 8.7 10.2 3.7 8.7 - 9.9 9.8 6.7 1.0 9.7 9.5 9.6 9.5
10.1 7.7 9.7 6.3 6.2 2.3 4.8 9.7 6.9 9.8 6.8 0.5 9.8 7.5 9.7 4.5
HERCA 3.4 8.5 7.3 10.3 2.1 8.9 2.9 7.7 9.5 6.0 10.0 5.0 5.7 9.0 5.3 6.9
HINWO 1.5 - 0.8 1.4 - 9.6 - - - - - - - - - -
KACJA 7.0 10.0 0.6 - - 10.3 8.7 - - - 6.6 0.7 - - - -
- 7.1 8.4 5.1 - - 10.0 1.9 - 0.9 - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
2.9 10.0 5.9 6.7 2.8 3.8 2.8 2.7 5.2 - 3.5 - - - - -
LUNRO - 6.1 10.0 1.8 - - - 5.0 9.9 9.9 - - - - - -
MOLSI - 4.6 1.1 7.2 8.6 6.6 - - - - - - - - 3.0 3.9
- 10.3 - 7.2 4.1 4.1 - - 3.3 - - - - - 3.5 1.4
- 6.1 1.5 3.0 1.6 0.9 - 0.7 5.6 - - 1.4 3.9 - 6.2 4.1
- 7.2 - 2.0 8.0 3.9 - 0.3 9.7 - 0.5 0.9 7.4 - 5.3 6.2
OCHPA 6.4 7.4 7.4 7.3 5.2 7.3 6.9 6.2 6.2 1.0 6.0 - - - - -
PRZDA - 9.2 0.3 2.6 3.0 - - 1.5 8.7 - - 3.9 6.1 - - 4.4
SLAST 4.3 7.7 5.0 2.2 1.2 10.0 6.4 4.2 4.5 2.0 4.0 - - - - -
STOEN 8.6 - 4.2 - 5.6 7.9 9.1 - - 3.0 3.1 - - - 3.0 -
- - - - 6.8 8.6 8.8 6.3 8.4 2.9 4.5 - - - 2.9 -
STRJO - 1.0 1.4 9.6 2.1 1.1 - 0.5 2.4 - - - - 4.4 2.9 2.9
- 1.0 - 2.5 2.0 1.0 - - 1.5 - - - - - 3.9 4.4
- 1.0 - 9.6 5.8 3.2 - - 1.5 - - - - 5.3 6.3 8.7
YRJIL - - - 8.9 - 2.5 7.0 - 8.5 7.7 8.2 7.5 - - - 5.6
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sum 69.4137.8102.5124.4109.2115.1 97.7 58.5137.4 70.3 71.7 22.2 42.6 40.5 73.6 71.6
3. Results (Meteors)
====================
Mar 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BRIBE - 18 13 - - - - 3 - - 4 6 1 - -
CASFL - - 2 - - 15 20 9 12 12 11 7 13 8 12
- - 1 - - 12 7 14 10 9 11 11 5 11 11
CRIST - - 5 - - 17 32 13 15 17 33 2 7 13 17
ELTMA - - - - - - - - - - - - 7 - -
GONRU - - - - - - - 12 12 15 20 22 31 9 25
2 - - - - - - 11 5 12 12 13 14 7 7
HERCA 14 4 19 - - - 3 5 - - - 3 3 8 5
HINWO - - - - - - 7 - - - - - - 1 -
KACJA 2 - - - - - - - - - 5 - 9 2 7
- - - - - - - - 21 - 19 2 - 4 -
- - - - - 1 9 10 - - - - - - -
- - - - - 1 15 - 2 1 11 - 6 4 -
LUNRO 18 17 - 24 10 6 - - - - 14 - - - -
MOLSI - - - - - - - - - - - - - 2 -
- - - - - - 7 1 1 - - - 2 - -
3 - 6 8 - - 6 2 3 1 3 - 7 - -
- - 4 3 - - 2 - - - 3 - 4 2 -
OCHPA - - - - - 3 14 19 10 16 19 15 11 14 11
PRZDA - - 17 12 - - 4 - - 1 1 - 7 - -
SLAST - - - - - - 5 - - - - - - 3 3
STOEN - - - - - 26 - - 13 - 27 14 13 - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
STRJO - 4 4 1 - - - 4 - - - 3 1 - -
- - - - - - - 1 - - - - - - -
- 10 3 - - - - 5 - - - - - - -
YRJIL - - - - 4 - - 9 - - - - 5 - 3
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sum 39 53 74 48 14 81 131 118 104 84 193 98 146 88 101
Mar 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BRIBE 3 12 16 17 16 8 - - 8 - - 2 - 17 17 16
CASFL 3 8 13 5 16 - 7 5 14 5 8 - - - - -
6 7 15 6 11 - 17 9 13 4 7 - - - - -
CRIST 39 15 8 20 11 38 11 - 31 16 - - - - 12 -
ELTMA - - - - 13 14 - - - - - - - - - -
GONRU 23 23 30 21 25 3 14 - 27 24 15 2 28 21 24 25
18 10 15 9 8 3 7 17 15 18 9 1 17 11 16 5
HERCA 7 13 12 16 3 12 2 8 14 9 10 5 6 9 6 5
HINWO 4 - 1 4 - 17 - - - - - - - - - -
KACJA 8 13 1 - - 15 7 - - - 5 1 - - - -
- 24 19 26 - - 16 2 - 2 - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
5 9 8 9 2 4 2 4 5 - 3 - - - - -
LUNRO - 18 27 1 - - - 20 11 11 - - - - - -
MOLSI - 57 4 55 78 38 - - - - - - - - 24 24
- 9 - 8 3 5 - - 7 - - - - - 3 2
- 17 3 5 3 1 - 1 10 - - 3 5 - 13 12
- 20 - 6 8 6 - 1 16 - 3 2 15 - 5 13
OCHPA 14 11 13 10 9 14 13 11 23 1 9 - - - - -
PRZDA - 25 1 9 5 - - 2 22 - - 6 8 - - 10
SLAST 11 14 8 6 2 15 11 7 8 2 10 - - - - -
STOEN 16 - 8 - 13 19 13 - - 3 10 - - - 6 -
- - - - 40 47 27 19 46 7 9 - - - 7 -
STRJO - 1 4 11 6 1 - 1 3 - - - - 6 4 4
- 1 - 4 3 1 - - 2 - - - - - 7 6
- 2 - 19 9 5 - - 2 - - - - 20 17 14
YRJIL - - - 17 - 3 12 - 22 18 14 13 - - - 13
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Sum 157 309 206 284 284 269 159 107 299 120 112 35 79 84 161 149
Sirko Molau, 2009/04/29