American Meteor Society
Radiant Positions at 8pm Local Standard Time
Radiant Positions at Midnight Local Standard Time
Radiant positions at 4am Local Standard Time
During this period the moon reaches its last quarter phase on Friday November 14th. At this time the moon is located 90 degrees west of the sun and rises near 2300 (11pm) local standard time (LST) as seen from mid-northern latitudes. This weekend the waning gibbous moon will rise during the early evening hours and will effectively ruin any chances of watching meteor activity as the bright moon will obscure all but the brightest meteors. The estimated total hourly meteor rates for evening observers this week is near 3 as seen from the northern hemisphere and 2 as seen from southern tropical latitudes. For morning observers the estimated total hourly rates should be near 9 for observers located in mid-northern latitudes and 6 for south tropical observers. Rates are reduced during this period due to the bright moonlight. The actual rates will also depend on factors such as personal light and motion perception, local weather conditions, alertness and experience in watching meteor activity. Note that the hourly rates listed below are estimates as viewed from dark sky sites away from urban light sources. Observers viewing from urban areas will see less activity as only the brightest meteors will be visible from such locations.
The radiant (the area of the sky where meteors appear to shoot from) positions and rates listed below are exact for Saturday night/Sunday morning November 8/9. These positions do not change greatly day to day so the listed coordinates may be used during this entire period. Most star atlases (available at science stores and planetariums) will provide maps with grid lines of the celestial coordinates so that you may find out exactly where these positions are located in the sky. A planisphere or computer planetarium program is also useful in showing the sky at any time of night on any date of the year. Activity from each radiant is best seen when it is positioned highest in the sky, either due north or south along the meridian, depending on your latitude. It must be remembered that meteor activity is rarely seen at the radiant position. Rather they shoot outwards from the radiant so it is best to center your field of view so that the radiant lies at the edge and not the center. Viewing there will allow you to easily trace the path of each meteor back to the radiant (if it is a shower member) or in another direction if it is a sporadic. Meteor activity is not seen from radiants that are located below the horizon. The positions below are listed in a west to east manner in order of right ascension (celestial longitude). The positions listed first are located further west therefore are accessible earlier in the night while those listed further down the list rise later in the night.
These sources of meteoric activity are expected to be active this week. Detailed descriptions of each source will continue next week when the moonlight will be much more favorable for viewing meteor activity.
| SHOWER | DATE OF MAXIMUM ACTIVITY | CELESTIAL POSITION | ENTRY VELOCITY | CULMINATION | HOURLY RATE | CLASS |
| RA (RA in Deg.) DEC | Km/Sec | Local Standard Time | North-South | |||
| Andromedids (AND) | Nov 08 | 01:32 (023) +30 | 19 | 22:00 | <1 – <1 | III |
| Northern Taurids (NTA) | Nov 11 | 03:40 (055) +22 | 27 | 00:00 | 2 – 1 | II |
| Southern Taurids (STA) | Oct 10 | 03:40 (055) +15 | 29 | 00:00 | 1 – 1 | II |
| Orionids (ORI) | Oct 22 | 07:12 (108) +17 | 67 | 04:00 | <1 – <1 | I |
| Kappa Ursa Majorids (KUM) | Nov 05 | 09:52 (148) +43 | 62 | 07:00 | <1 – <1 | IV |
| Leonids (LEO) | Nov 18 | 09:54 (149) +25 | 70 | 07:00 | 1 – <1 | IV |
| Nov. Iota Draconids (NID) | Nov 21 | 12:00 (180) +75 | 41 | 09:00 | <1 – <1 | IV |
A little after 9pm CDT Saturday evening I heard and felt two booms inside my house. I did not see anything as it happened but thought there must have been two explosions somewhere nearby. Then my brother-in-law called a little bit later asking me if I knew of any meteors coming in. He heard what I did also and even called some of the guys in the fire dept in our area who also heard it. One said the police in Uvalde, Texas were talking about two meteo4rs on the police scanner our firemen carry. I thought it important to report this to you, so you can investigate what they saw. I have a brother who works 30 miles south of Uvalde in the country on an oil field gate. He has not responded yet to my text. I live 35 miles north of Uvalde. He should have seen this if it actually was two meteors exploding as they hit our atmosphere. If he saw them, I will send him this link to report to you what he saw. It shook me inside my home it was strong.
Dave Lawrence.
Today, November 8 2014 at about 8:45 my husband and I were traveling West on FM 725 from New Braunfels, Texas and we both saw the whole sky light up. We have not idea why. It is a clear sky with no clouds, no rain and only a very bright moon however the sky completely lite up. About a minute later my daughter sent me text asking me if I saw the weird flashes of light in the sky. Her and her boyfriend were traveling on highway 35 North in the city of San Antonio and said they saw two flashes of light, one right after the other. My friend on the East side of San Antonio said she saw the flashes of light also. Do you know what the flashes of light were?
The flashes of light were most likely fireballs, which are meteors that are larger than normal. These objects are seen year round but November seems to be one of the best months to spot these objects. This may be due to the fact that the Taurid meteor shower, a known fireball producer, peaks in early November.
Robert Lunsford
American Meteor Society
Saw a really cool meteor tonight around 9:30 . Apparently it landed in Mexico.
My wife and I saw a large greenish streak of light in the northwest part of San Antonio. We were heading west on loop 410 when we saw it streaking from left to right for about 2 to 3 seconds and then turned off. The streak look large and bright it lit up the sky.
My wife and I saw a large greenish streak of light in the northwest part of San Antonio. We were heading west on loop 410 when we saw it streaking from left to right for about 2 to 3 seconds and then turned off. The streak look large and bright it lit up the sky.
We saw it last night Saturday, about 8:45 PM, Nov. 8, 2014
Saw two meteors Sat. night Nov. 8.. I was driving north toward San Antonio. I was just a bit short of Pleasanton. First I saw an exceptionally huge, bright (white light not green to visible sight) meteorite with a very visible tail ahead and to the right of I-37 (N and E of me). I’ve never seen one so close. I was talking with my grandson Paeton on my cell phone and just as we were about to hang up, I was started and exclaimed “Wow!” and told him what I had just seen. No more than five minutes later and even larger, brighter, closer to me and the ground, meteorite flashed to my immediate left. I had to turn to see it, but it was so bright, I couldn’t have missed it. Impossible to judge the distance. I could have sworn it was no more than a very few miles away, but later learned that one or both of these were seen as far away as Laredo and was/were clearly visible in San Antonio. But I could not have been as close as it appeared, because I did hear anything or detect any earth tremor. Evidently both a sonic boom and and earth tremor were reported and would have occurred. I was actually expecting one or both given how dramatic the scene was, but did not hear or feel anything. What a privilege to have witnessed these. Had I not been in the car, I never would have seen these. The night was not as deep black that early in the evening as it appears in the clip. Dark but hazy with light from San Antonio. By the way my call was clocked by ATT as 8:29 PM for two minutes. Since this was near the end of the call, the first sighting would have been at 8:31 or very close. The other probably around 8:35 pm, give or take a few minutes. Perhaps there were more than the two meterorites and others were not in my line of s sight. Maverick Co. sheriff’s dept. (2 hrs and 100+ miles west of San Antonio) reported ground-shaking due to metorite sometime around 8:45 PM. Either the time is a bit off or there were more than just the two that I spotted (though several reports reported two sightings, booms, or earth tremors). Though the second one I witnessed could possibly have been that much later than the first. I am guessing at the time interval.
My wife and I were driving west on I-10 around Katy, Texas when we saw a bright green streak shortly after 8:30 PM CST. I thought it was some kind of fireworks. We saw the second meteor about 8:45 PM as we were approaching Sealy, Texas. It was also bright green. Both appeared to “burn out” above the horizon. The second meteor was captured on a dash cam video that was broadcast on San Antonio’s KSAT (ABC) 10 PM news on Saturday.
I was in Artesia wells when I saw the first one at about 815 pm. At 845 I was in dilley on Hwy 85 west bound when the second one came down. It appeared to me that it fell about 7 miles west of dilley. My friend was in beeville and he saw it also. All I know is that it was huge. The head portion was bright white like an l.e.d. light and the tail was emitting orange balls of fire (kind of like from a sparkler).
Hello
I’m in Uk around 12.18am (UK time) the sky light up with a white flash for around one second
I heard this meteor landed in Mexico near Piedres Negras will you be getting any pictures or more information that you can share with us? I did not see it but did hear the sonic boom and our windows rattled. Would love to hear more informatio and/or see pictures.