Auriga - The Charioteer
Since the α-Aurigids meteor shower was discovered there have been times where this shower has been very active especially the first night two German astronomers discovered it in 1935. Most of the time the α-Aurigids produces very little activity and this year is no different. The α-Aurigids meteor shower is produced by debris following the comet Kiess and that debris usually enters Earth’s atmosphere at the end of August. This year the expected peak is September 1st, but don’t expect to see tons of meteors streaking through the skies, this is only a minor meteor shower that will normally produce a maximum of five to nine meteors per hour. Usually, on any given night or morning meteor gazers can expect to see about five meteors per hour without the presence of a meteor shower so this adds a little more to your viewing chances.
The α-Aurigids radiant is the constellation Auriga – The Charioteer located in the eastern sky above the constellation Orion and below Perseus so if you are going to see some extra meteors from this shower try looking east to the darkest part of the sky. There are also a few highlights in the eastern sky on September 1st Orion’s Betelgeuse, The Pleiades, Capella and the planet Mars.
Happy meteor gazing and star watching.
Bookmark the site, we have a few great meteor showers coming later this year. I will be making posts each week and answering questions and comments. In the meantime, keep your head up!
- Meteor Mark
Britslang.com – A cool site for British sayings, British slang and British words another Meteor Mark favorite.
on Sep 2nd, 2009 at 2:55 pm
Any word if the Sept Perseids will outburst again this year?
on Sep 2nd, 2009 at 3:04 pm
Dave,
My best guess is, no they will not, because I have no evidence to support a more positive outburst. It is hard to predict.
- Meteor Mark
on Sep 3rd, 2009 at 9:14 pm
Did anyone see what I am assuming was a meteor at approximately 9pm EST in the mid atlantic states? Very bright, very close…seemed to be something entering & burning up in the atmosphere.
on Sep 4th, 2009 at 11:39 pm
Brilliant Meteor occurred on Sept. 1, 2009 at 9:10 PM EDT. It was seen in all of Lower Michigan, eastern Upper Michigan, eastern Wisconsin, Ohio…one comment from eastern Iowa and Ontario. I am a TV meteorologist and I saw it myself. I’ve sat out to watch the Perseids and this one was the best I’ve ever seen.
on Sep 4th, 2009 at 11:43 pm
Mr. Steffen,
If that’s an actual picture, it must have been unbelievable! Thanks for plugging my site and keep your head up!
- Meteor Mark
on Sep 6th, 2009 at 1:33 am
Hey Mark, I saw a few small “streakers” but certainly nothing to write home about. Of course, we’ve had cloudy night skies here in NM in Sept. We had dark, clear skies in August.
The big shooter I saw was the night Ted Kennedy died (late Aug.) Wish I had seen the Monster of the upper Midwest. Hey, speaking of monsters, when will Saturn and rings be visible? I’ve had lots of fun with Jupiter and the “hide and seek” moons!! Hope you’re well. Did you mean you want an eBike? *** ZW
on Sep 6th, 2009 at 2:25 am
ZW,
The Saturn rings are visible now and pretty much usually are. That is a kind thought about honoring Kennedy with a meteor streak, I like that. I was referring to the meteor t shirt you’re wearing, I haven’t got one
Great meteor showers coming soon! Keep your head up and thanks for the kind post!
- Meteor Mark
on Sep 13th, 2009 at 5:12 pm
Iv,e just seen an orange moving object in the northern sky ,my location is in argyll western scotland.time was approx 21.15 utc
It was there for at least a couple of minutes,and was travelling in a westerly direction.It was,nt a shooting star type streak that is usually seen ,it was slow moveing and burning orange flame colour .Just wondering if anyone else has seen the same thing at the same time.