Geminids 2004
Posted: Mon Dec 06, 2004 9:36 am
The Geminid meteor shower will be visible next week. This shower originates from the asteroid (possibly extinct comet) 3200 Phaeton. Sky & Telescope have a special item on this year's Geminids at http://skyandtelescope.com/observing/ob ... _802_1.asp.
The gist is that the meteors shold be visible from about 22:00 LT, they will seem to emanate from Gemini (more specifically, from near Castor), and the peak activity on the night of 13-14 December should produce a Zenithal Hourly Rate of about 75. This means a meteor every less than one minute in a ~60-degree wide part of the sky. The Geminids show a yellowish color, so they should be brighter in CONCAM magnitudes than with the naked eye. Also, the meteors that will be visible after the peak, although their number per hour will be smaller, are expected to be brighter (larger bits of junk following the main peak).
Perhaps it might be worthwhile changing the cadence of the image collection.
Cheers,
Noah Brosch
The gist is that the meteors shold be visible from about 22:00 LT, they will seem to emanate from Gemini (more specifically, from near Castor), and the peak activity on the night of 13-14 December should produce a Zenithal Hourly Rate of about 75. This means a meteor every less than one minute in a ~60-degree wide part of the sky. The Geminids show a yellowish color, so they should be brighter in CONCAM magnitudes than with the naked eye. Also, the meteors that will be visible after the peak, although their number per hour will be smaller, are expected to be brighter (larger bits of junk following the main peak).
Perhaps it might be worthwhile changing the cadence of the image collection.
Cheers,
Noah Brosch