α-Centaurids Radiant
Besides the Quadrantids Meteor Shower the first quarter of the year is pretty slow for meteor showers. The next meteor shower starts January 28th and is not considered a major shower and is not particular a good meteor shower for viewers in the northern hemisphere.
If you reside in the southern hemisphere or plan to visit, the minor meteor shower α-Centaurids will be present in the sky. I wouldn’t recommend planning a trip to Australia just for this shower because it only has about 5 meteors per hour (ZHR = 5), but this shower has produced meteors for short burst of an equivalent of 25 meteors an hour (eZHR = 25+) and lately some fireballs.
What is ZHR?
ZHR is Zenith Hourly Rate. This is the amount of meteors that an onlooker would observe per hour if the shower’s radiant were at the zenith and it were dark enough.
What is Zenith?
Definition provided by dictionary.com
- The point on the celestial sphere that is directly above the observer.
- The upper region of the sky.
- The highest point above the observer’s horizon attained by a celestial body.
What is eZHR?
eZHR is the Equivalent Zenith Hourly Rate. This term is used for short outburst of meteor showers. For example in a 15-minute period one might see fifteen meteors so one meteor per minute or a eZHR of 60. However, over the course of the next 45 minutes one may observe 15 more meteors and this would translate to a 30 ZHR.
The moon always plays a major role in viewing meteors and this year during the peak of the α-Centaurids meteor shower on February 7th it will be in a waxing gibbous phase and almost fully illuminated in the sky, another dilemma considering the low ZHR of 5 during the peak. The radiant for this shower is located near the second brightest star, Hadar, in the constellation Centaurus the Centaur.
This shower is not a major shower, the moon will be bright and there isn’t a way to determine when an outburst will occur so this shower isn’t expected to produce breathtaking results, sorry. This shower is really a little treat for scientists or meteor geeks like me.
In the meantime, bookmark the site, check our glossary and some of the other post and most importantly, “Keep your head up!”
- Meteor Mark
on Jan 21st, 2009 at 7:04 pm
Observing circumstances for 2009 are much poorer, as the shower’s peak this time is due around 23h UT on February 7, with full Moon on February 9, so I’ve not highlighted it on the SPA site this time.
Very little has been established for the shower with any certainty, and it’s possible it may be a periodic source. The few attempts to observe its peak in recent years have generally found very low activity, and sometimes nothing obvious at all.
Information provided by Alastair McBeath
on Jan 28th, 2009 at 3:40 am
Hello Meteor Gazers,
Don’t confuse a meteor outburst with a meteor shower. Plenty of meteors enter the Earth’s atmosphere daily. A meteor shower is an annual event. Check the glossary on this site for more details. Thank you so much for the comments!
- Meteor Mark