Electronic Telegram No. 5014 Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams Mailing address: Hoffman Lab 209; Harvard University; 20 Oxford St.; Cambridge, MA 02138; U.S.A. e-mail: cbatiau@eps.harvard.edu (alternate cbat@iau.org) URL http://www.cbat.eps.harvard.edu/index.html Prepared using the Tamkin Foundation Computer Network KAPPA CYGNID METEORS 2021 P. Jenniskens, SETI Institute and Ames Research Center, NASA, reports that northern-hemisphere networks of the CAMS video-based meteoroid orbit survey are detecting strong activity of the kappa Cygnids (IAU shower number 12). In most years, the shower is absent, but it is known to return every seven years (cf., Koseki 2014, JIMO 42, 89) -- on average, every 7.063 +/- 0.019 years since its first sighting in 1879. The years 2020 and 2021 fit in that sequence. CAMS BeNeLux (C. Johannink) reports that 2021 activity is stronger than that of 2020. The shower was first detected in late June, the radiant gradually moving to higher declination. On the night of Aug. 8 (solar longitude 135.6 deg), the shower radiant was elongated in a north- south direction and located just east of Vega at R.A. = 282.9 deg, Decl. = +44.1 deg (equinox J2000.0), with shower meteors having geocentric velocities of 21.6 km/s (cf. website URL http://cams.seti.org/FDL/ for the date of 2021 Aug. 8). Median orbital elements are a = 4.13 +/- 1.46 AU, q = 0.960 +/- 0.010 AU, e = 0.764 +/- 0.055, i = 31.0 +/- 2.6 deg, Peri. = 209.0 +/- 3.1 deg, Node = 135.61 +/- 0.08 deg (equinox J2000.0). In past returns, the shower peaked on Aug. 13 (solar longitude 140.8), close to the peak of the Perseid meteor shower. The radiant then will be at R.A. = 285.6 deg, Decl. = +51.4 deg near kappa Cyg. The shower is known to produce occasional bright fireballs with multiple flares. NOTE: These 'Central Bureau Electronic Telegrams' are sometimes superseded by text appearing later in the printed IAU Circulars. (C) Copyright 2021 CBAT 2021 August 9 (CBET 5014) Daniel W. E. Green