Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams
IAUC 6265: alpha MONOCEROTID METEORS 1995
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Circular No. 6265
Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams
INTERNATIONAL ASTRONOMICAL UNION
Postal Address: Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams
Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, MA 02138, U.S.A.
IAUSUBS@CFA.HARVARD.EDU or FAX 617-495-7231 (subscriptions)
BMARSDEN@CFA.HARVARD.EDU or DGREEN@CFA.HARVARD.EDU (science)
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alpha MONOCEROTID METEORS 1995
Numerous reports have been received, from several locations
in Europe, of an excellent display of this occasional, short-lived
meteor shower around Nov. 22.06 UT. Mentioned by Olivier (1936,
Pop. Astron. 44, 88) as perhaps having a 10-year periodicity, and
discussed at length by Kresak (1958, Bull. Astron. Inst. Czech.
9, 88), the shower was widely anticipated to recur in 1995,
Jenniskens (1995, WGN 23, No. 3, 84) predicting the brief maximum
as occurring some time during Nov. 22.00-22.25 UT. P. Spurny and
J. Borovicka, Ondrejov Observatory, report monitoring during
Nov. 21.96-22.11, Monocerotids first being detected at 22.050,
with more than six during each 2-min interval until 22.067 and some
continuing activity to 22.098; during one minute at 22.058 a maximum
of seven meteors was observed. A. Gomez, Instituto de Astrofisica
de Canarias, reports observations from Almeria by L. Bellot, A. Roman
and F. Reyes of as many as 70 Monocerotids during 22.055-22.071; the
limiting visual magnitude was about 6.2, and most of the meteors were
in the magnitude range 0-2. J. Rendtel, International Meteor
Organization, Potsdam, noted 34 shower meteors from a radiant of
R.A. = 113 deg, Decl. = -3 deg during 22.042-22.076 (limiting
magnitude 6.15), yielding an average ZHR (assuming a population
index of r = 2.5) of 90 (with an equivalent ZHR of up to 190
during 10 min centered on 22.062; on combining his results with
those of S. Molau in Chemnitz, he revised this to 220 +/- 50).
G. Forti, Arcetri Observatory, reports observations by R. Haver
and R. Gorelli from Frasso Sabino, indicating a radiant of
R.A. = 112.5 deg, Decl. = -3 deg and a peak within 5 min of 22.059,
there being a sharp rise and fall and no meteors observed 15 min
before or after the peak; the meteors were yellow and blue, and few
were brighter than mag 0. Z. A. Nagy, K. Sarenczky and I. Tepliczky,
observing from Vertes Mountain (Hungary), collectively recorded
Monocerotids during 22.045-22.087, counting 139 shower members during
22.049-22.072 (with maximum activity during 22.060-22.065), 90 percent
of them from a compact radiant at R.A. = 116 deg, Decl. = +4 deg,
and the others from a diffuse radiant between alpha CMi and delta Mon;
several meteors were around mag 0. J. Gerbos, P. Rapavy and
V. Hrusovsky, Rimavska Sobota (Slovakia), collectively registered
more than 600 Monocerotids during one hour beginning 22.049, the maximum
activity in 5 min being centered on 22.058. C. Steyaert reports
that M. De Meyere, monitoring in Deurle (Belgium) a 100-kW radio
station in Budapest, 1170 km away, at 66.51 MHz, detected a significant
(fourfold) enhancement in forward-scattering rates during the hour beginning
22.042, the number of meteor reflections lasting at least 0.027
second being 232.
1995 November 22 (6265) Brian G. Marsden
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