Possible new meteor shower due to peak in a week

Sorry there is not much information, and my source is email, but a comet (comet P/2009 WX51 CATALINA) which was previously thought to have been an asteroid, but was recently found by WISE to be a comet may cause a new meteor shower that would be visible around the 21-22 April.

So keep your eyes open around those dates, and there is a possibillity of seeing some meteors from this comet which has only just recently passed through space which Earth is about to pass through.

Details/orbit of the comet can be found here.

Obervers should be alert this year for another active meteor shower source apart from the Lyrids which is also due to peak at more or less the same time. These meteors will appear to be of medium-slow speed, Lryids will be a bit swifter. I will update if and when I get any more details.

Maybe that explains all of the meteors lately! Thanks for bringing this up, I will definitely watch the skies.

reply to post by Phlynx


It's technically possible that one or two may be in some way distantly related somehow, but research shows that most big fireballs that occur this time of year are unrelated to comets and therefore annual meteor showers.

The big fireballs are really small asteroids, and perhaps once in a while a larger chunk of comet comes along, but cometary material is usually very delicate and fragile compared to asteroidal material. It also tends to be higher velocity, so you tend to get bright meteors that explode almost imediately if they are sizable, and the angle of entry is steep.

In this case however, we are likely to passing through a freshly made trail of mostly fine cometary debris, and because it is fresh it has not had much time to spread out, so it is unlikely that it would have caused or been related to any of the recent events you have heard about on here.

Keep in mind that there are many sources for meteors, and the anual cometary showers, of which there are many that occur at all times throughout the year, and large asteroidal fireballs + random bits of cometary debris that belongs to once extinct showers are the main sources. Space is full of rocks, and earth is bombarded 24/7 by them, but the vast majority burn up high in the atmosphere.

Could i just say one thing here?
Why why why is there no warnings made to the public regarding meteor showers? Forgive me if im wrong but surely the population should be atleast warned. What do you all think? The current ash cloud from the volcano has grounded 17,000 flights( a bit over the top in my eyes as all i see is blue skies)
So why arent the public made aware?

reply to post by jazz10


jazz10,

Why should they be told when meteor showers are not dangerous?

Did you even read the post I made above?

Meteor showers are caused by comets leaving mainly small particles of dust behind them. Cometary material is simillar in consistency to cigarette ash. Meteor showers have never been connected with meteorite falls.

Its apples and oranges...

Asteroids are usually much harder material, and they can make it down to the ground (they usually explode at high altitude and rain down small rocks over a large area) when they are big enough, but even that is relitively rare, perhaps occuring once or twice a day somewhere in the world.

You might ask, why dont they tell us about these then? Well, because the chances of one big enough to do damage hitting somewhere where it will do damage are extremely low. Even big rocks are stopped by our atmosphere, which acts like a shield, and protects us from the constant bombardment we are experiencing all the time.

Luckily the big rocks that are big enough to do serious damage are VERY few and far between, and are relitively easy to spot. They can hit at any time in theory, but they are so few and far between, it's unlikely to happen any time soon although people are starting to look for them.

Thanks for the info, I would have never known. Hopefully this will make the Lyrids appear to be even more prominent in the sky this year, Now if only these darn clouds would go away....

reply to post by samureyed



You're welcome samureyed.

Unfortunately, I have an update, and the news is not great...

As I'm sure you all know here, meteors beloning to the same meteor shower appear to travel away (or "radiate") from a small area in the sky which is known as the "radiant".

For example, the Lyrid radiant is in the constellation Lyra, hence why Lyrids are known by that name.

In the case of the meteor shower produced by comet P/2009 WX51 CATALINA, the radiant will be in the constellation Triangulum, and at this time of year the Sun is not far away from this patch of sky.

The upshot of this is that, meteors belonging to this new shower would only be visible just before dawn, and the peak of the shower will occur during daylight, making visual observations impossible during the height of the shower.

However, if you are out observing Lyrids, there is a chance you can see these meteors in the last hours before dawn. The would probably be few and far between, but since the radiant is in the east, and on the horizon, meteors from this shower that are observed would be "earth-grazers", which meants they would be quite impressive to observe.

Earth grazers shoot upwards (in many cases) and away from the horizon, only skimming the upper atmosphere, and since they dont plunge into it, they tend to last longer, and travel further across the sky. They can be very impressive to see when they do this, so it's worth keeping an eye out for them in the hours before dawn.

I should also say, this year there will be heavy interfearence form moonlight, which will cut down the number of Lyrids that can be observed. The one saving grace this year, is that the last part of the night, just before dawn will be moonlight-free, so there should be good rates before dawn, and if you are lucky you might catch a few grazers from the new shower.

[edit on 18-4-2010 by C.H.U.D.]

cheerz for the heads up chud.
as always you are the man with the eyes on the sky.

daz

reply to post by jazz10


jazz10 --

There's no need for concern. There are over 40 meteor showers every year (several every month) and they are annual -- meaning the same shower occurs the same time every year. Some showers will produce many more meteors than others.

Meteor showers happen when the Earth passes though a part of its orbit around the Sun in which a comet had once passed -- perhaps years earlier -- leaving behind bits of dust and small debris. Every time the Earth passes though that part of space (exactly once a year for each debris field), those bits of dust and small debris enters our atmosphere and we see it as a meteor. Because there is a lot more dust and debris left behind by a comet, there are more meteors, hence a "shower".

Each meteor shower is annual, but the debris could have been laid down many years ago by the "parent" comet. For example, Halley's comet only comes around every 75 years or so, but the meteor shower associated with Halley's comet happens every year as we pass though the orbit of that comet. Even though the comet hasn't been in that location for 75 years, there is still dust and debris along that part of its orbit.


[edit on 4/19/2010 by Soylent Green Is People]

reply to post by Soylent Green Is People


Quite right SGIP, and perhaps I came off a little perterbed when I replied to jazz (sorry jazz) , but there really is nothing to worry about when it comes to meteor showers as you say...

The consistency of cometary material (your average meteor) is like cigarette ash on average, and when it comes to harder and bigger stuff like asteroids, our atmoshere can stop an asteroid the size of a medium size van/truck as if it was a balloon filled with water and thrown at a brick wall. The asteroid stands little chance.

My advice is to go out and enjoy the show - some of our annual meteor showers can be breathtakingly spectacular to watch


Edit to add:

Originally posted by Soylent Green Is People
Every time the Earth passes though that part of space (exactly once a year for each debris field), those bits of dust and small debris enters our atmosphere and we see it as a meteor.

Just one minor correction... since orbits are circular (or eliptical to use the correct term), and so are the debris feilds, we can actually come into contact with the same debris feild twice in one year.

The classic example is the Eta Aquarids/Orionids which are both showers caused by Halley's Comet.

The Eta Aquarid meteor shower is the first of two showers that occur each year as a result of Earth passing through dust released by Halley's Comet, with the second being the Orionids.

Source: meteorshowersonline.com

meteorshowersonline.com is a great site for info on meteor showers and meteor observing incidentally.



[edit on 19-4-2010 by C.H.U.D.]

The peak for the shower is the morning of the 21 and 22, after the moon sets, which I think is around 3AM.