American Meteor Society
Geminid Fireball over Mount Balang © Alvin Wu – Dec. 2014
During this period the moon reaches its full phase on Wednesday July 1st. At this time the moon will be located opposite the sun and will lie above the horizon most of the night for observers located in mid-northern latitudes. This weekend the waxing gibbous moon will set during the early morning hours, only allowing a small length of time to view under dark skies between moon set and dawn. The estimated total hourly meteor rates for evening observers this week is near 2 for observers situated at mid-northern latitudes and 3 for observers viewing from the southern tropics (latitude 25 S.). For morning observers the estimated total hourly rates should be near 10 for observers situated at mid-northern latitudes and 15 for observers viewing from the southern tropics. Rates are reduced this week due to 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 June 27/28 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. Details on each source will be available again next week when the moon will not be such a nuisance.
| SHOWER | DATE OF MAXIMUM ACTIVITY | CELESTIAL POSITION | ENTRY VELOCITY | CULMINATION | HOURLY RATE | CLASS |
| RA (RA in Deg.) DEC | Km/Sec | Local Daylight Saving Time | North-South | |||
| June Bootids (JBO) | Jun 24 | 14:58 (224) +47 | 18 | 22:00 | <1 – <1 | III |
| f Ophiuchids (FOP) | Jun 30 | 17:28 (262) +04 | 17 | 23:00 | <1 – <1 | IV |
| Anthelions (ANT) | – | 19:16 (289) -22 | 30 | 01:00 | 1 – 2 | II |
| Sigma Capricornids (SCA) | Jun 27 | 20:28 (307) -07 | 42 | 03:00 | <1 – <1 | IV |
| July Pegasids (JPE) | Jul 10 | 22:32 (338) +09 | 68 | 05:00 | <1 – <1 | IV |
| Pi Piscids (PPS) | Jul 02 | 00:24 (006) +20 | 68 | 07:00 | <1 – <1 | IV |
| c-Andromedids (CAN) | Jul 12 | 01:04 (016) +43 | 60 | 08:00 | <1 – <1 | IV |
I live in Southwestern Virginia and tonight between approximately 1:28 and 1:35 AM my fiancée and I saw the strangest thing we have ever saw in the sky. It looked similar to a meteor in that the front of it resembled a ball of fire but the strange part was it appeared to almost have a clear tail behind it that looked like sparkler sparks fading out not too far behind it. It was strange too because it seemed to have appeared from nowhere and we watched as the sparkler looking sparks and tail fades and the small ball of fire continued through the sky until we couldn’t see it past the trees. I have saw meteor shower before and this was nothing like this!! Can someone please contact me and let me know if there was any known meteor type activity in this area at that time. I’d really like to know what it was!!! 6/29/15
Shannon and All,
What you witnessed was the re-entry of a man-made object, possibly a Russian rocket that launched Cosmos 606 Missile Early Warning Satellite. This is reason that there was fragmentation and a longer than normal duration when compared to a natural fireball.
Robert Lunsford
American Meteor Society
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/mystery-object-lights-sky-metro-atlanta/nmnYx/
Dear Sirs:
My name is Jeff Bauman. Tonight I was walking at 11:29 PM central time and was SHOCKED and AMAZED to see a long, lasting almost a fireball looking with a long tail in the NE sky. I am 63 (almost) years old and have NEVER seen anything so Long lasting and so large and bright in the sky before !!!!! It scared the “bejesus” out of me !!!!!!
By the time I thought about taking a picture with my phone, it was MUCH TOO LATE !!!! I was walking out a out and back route walking North and the bright Moon was in the South West Sky as I headed North on my route. So the Moon was behind me on my left and to the Southwest and the Meteorite was on my right ahead in the Northeast Sky.
Did Anybody else report this or see this ???? Please let me know if you are able !!!!!
Thank You for Your time,
Jeff Bauman
Jeff and All,
If you check out our fireball reports table for 2015, you will see an entry for this object at: http://www.amsmeteors.org/members/imo_view/event/2015/1420
So far there are over 125 other witnesses who shared their experience with the American Meteor Society.
Robert Lunsford
American Meteor Society
At 12:30 central time last night I saw a large fire ball with many smaller fireballs. My first thought was it was a passenger jet on fire coming down. I was in Leesburg, al which is located in northeast alabama. Was that possibly a meteor?
Leslie and All,
This was not a meteor, rather it was most likely the re-entry of a man-made object, possibly a Russian rocket that launched Cosmos 606 Missile Early Warning Satellite.
Robert Lunsford
American Meteor Society
I witnessed something slightly different but most likely related to this re-entry. I saw 2 different sized lights (one bigger, one smaller) hovering not too high above the horizon for about one hour until they moved down and disappeared behind the tree line. I felt like they were slightly moving in a perfect synchrony a little bit to the left, up, down, to the right – then they stood still again. When I started thinking that I just imagined that they are moving, they slowly moved downwards and disappeared behind the trees. So, very different to all the other reports of something moving very quickly – but when I looked at the videos it reminded me of the two light that I saw. Maybe I watched them flying towards me, which made it look like they were standing still……
At 10:30 pm in the East Los Angeles area I saw a bright flash in the sky.
Last night around midnight in Virginia, small white lights were seen, they ap p eared to be falling into our front yard. Our 12 year old woke us up to see.
Is there any expectation for 0 meteor activity or for no any observations during the nights from July 7th till July 17th 2015.
I’m also interested if this have already occurred during the past 3 days (from 6th to 9th of July 2015)
Naguib and All,
There is never any expectation of zero activity unless your sky is totally overcast. Even during the weakest months of meteor activity a couple of meteors per hour should appear in the sky. Actual rates depends on your sky conditions. If you view from an urban location with many nearby lights then you will only see the brightest meteors. This could result in seeing no activity especially during the evening hours.
I hope this helps!
Robert Lunsford
American Meteor Society
Thanks Robert
Another question, Was there any zero activity at any day in the year during the last 100 years. could this happen?
Naguib and All,
There have been many reports received by the AMS of no meteor activity during a visual session, especially during the months of February and March, when activity as seen from the northern hemisphere is low. This does not mean that there was absolutely no activity just that the observer did not witness any. A variety of factors could have caused meteors to be missed including fatigue, poor viewing conditions, and just bad luck as one may have blinked or turned away at the wrong moment and missed a meteor.
I hope this helps…
Robert Lunsford
American Meteor Society
I just saw a beautiful, sparkling one @ 12:20 am near Irvine, Ca. It
Was so close to the horizon.thanks for sharing all the information!
Hi there.
I was camping in Vermont on Friday night and Saturday Night [July 24, 25] and both nights I saw orangey fireballs, 1 the first night 2 the second night one above the other, and they had no tails. They grew faded and faded and faded and disappeared. I have no clue what it was at all but it definitely looked like some kind of ball of orange fire.
Any ideas?
Melissa and All,
These objects sound more like sky lanterns than fireballs. They sound as if they lasted awhile. True fireballs usually last only a matter of seconds.
I hope this helps!
Robert Lunsford
American Meteor Society