Electronic Telegram No. 1501
Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams
INTERNATIONAL ASTRONOMICAL UNION
M.S. 18, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, MA 02138, U.S.A.
IAUSUBS@CFA.HARVARD.EDU or FAX 617-495-7231 (subscriptions)
CBAT@CFA.HARVARD.EDU (science)
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SEPTEMBER PERSEID METEORS 2008
     P. Jenniskens, SETI Institute, reports that the September Perseid shower
had an outburst of mostly bright (magnitude +4 to -8) meteors on Sept.
9d08h20m +/- 20m UT over a period of four hours.  J. Brower (Kelowna, BC,
Canada) recorded eleven September Perseids of magnitude +1 and brighter with
a wide-field, low-light-level video camera between 7h26m and 9h21m UT (and
only two other meteors in the period 3h00m-13h30m).  P. Martsching (Ames, IA,
U.S.A.) visually observed no unusual activity from 5h to 6h UT -- but then
increasing rates, many meteors having negative magnitude (to -8) and nearly
all leaving a brief train.  The outburst is confirmed by several "Radio
Forward Meteor Scatter" observers, including E. Lyytinen (Helsinki, Finland),
who observed increased rates from 7h18m to 10h05m, and D. Entwistle
(Goosnargh, UK).  W. J. Cooke, Meteor Environments Office, Marshall
Spaceflight Center, NASA, reports -- from single-station, all-sky video
observations -- a significant outburst of bright meteors between Sept.
9d06h20m and 10h30m UT.  In total, some 25 meteors of apparent magnitude
greater than -2 were detected from a single radiant during this 4-hr interval.
An approximate apparent radiant is found to be at R.A. = 49.5 deg, Decl. =
+43.0 deg -- close to the radiant of the September Perseid shower at R.A. =
50 deg., Decl. = +39 deg, nominally thought to peak during Sept. 10-12
(Jenniskens 2006, Meteor Showers and Their Parent Comets, Cambridge Univ.
Press).  No previous outbursts of this shower are known.


NOTE: These 'Central Bureau Electronic Telegrams' are sometimes
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                         (C) Copyright 2008 CBAT
2008 September 9                 (CBET 1501)              Daniel W. E. Green