February Mu Virginids Shower Earth’s Skies February to Early March

Summary: The February mu Virginids shower Earth’s skies February to early March, with peak activity expected around Feb. 25 to Feb. 26.

The February mu Virginid meteor shower appears to radiate from an area near Mu Virginis in southeastern Virgo the Virgin constellation; Hercules (HER) constellation map credit: IAU and Sky & Telescope (Roger Sinnott and Rick Fienberg; constellation patterns by Alan MacRoberts), CC BY 3.0, via IAU (International Astronomical Union)

The recently detected February mu Virginids shower Earth’s skies February to early March, the meteor shower’s annual activity dates, with an expected peak around Feb. 25 or Feb. 26.

The announcement of the discovery of the February mu Virginids as one of eight new showers appeared in the June 2013 issue of WGN, the Journal of the International Meteor Organization. The eight new showers emerged from radiant analyses of 133,653 orbits culled from Croatian Meteor Network catalogues for 2007 to 2010 and Japan’s SonotaCo Network catalogues from 2007 to 2011. The Croatian Meteor Network’s report credited the February mu Virginids with 21 known orbits.

The discoverers of the February mu Virginids described the shower as weak “with moderate duration.” They initially assigned activity dates of Feb. 7 to Feb. 27. The February mu Virginids were identified as active between solar longitudes 318 and 338.

Robert Lunsford, the American Meteor Society’s Meteor Activity Outlook weekly columnist, placed annual activity dates from Feb. 16 to March 4 for 2018. He expanded the 2017 and 2016 activity dates by one day, with the shower beginning Feb. 15 and ending March 4.

Lunsford’s predicted peak date for the 2018 February mu Virginids was Feb. 25. Peak activity in 2017 and 2016 was predicted to occur Feb. 26.

Lunsford describes the February mu Virginids as producing “mostly swift meteors.” He places entry into Earth’s atmosphere at a velocity of 62 kilometers per second (38.52 miles per second). The Croatian Meteor Network’s report valued the entry velocity of the February mu Virginid members at 66.9 kilometers per second (41.56 miles per second), with a standard deviation of plus or minus 0.7.

Lunsford predicts rates of less than one February mu Virginid meteor per hour at all viewing locations. He recommends around 5 a.m. local standard time for best viewing, with the shower’s apparent point of origin, known as radiant, appearing high above the horizon.

The February mu Virginids appear to radiate from the vicinity of Mu Virginis (μ Virginis; mu Vir, μ Vir) in southeastern Virgo the Virgin constellation, near Virgo’s border with northwestern Libra the Scales constellation. The fourth magnitude star lies in the Southern Celestial Hemisphere, less than six degrees south of the celestial equator, astronomy’s projection of Earth’s equator onto space’s imaginary sphere.

Virgo the Virgin’s straddling of the celestial equator qualifies the sky’s second largest constellation as an equatorial constellation. Virgo’s visibility stretches from 80 degrees north latitude to 80 degrees south latitude.

The Croatian Meteor Network’s discovery report of the February mu Virginids approximates the shower’s daily motion for right ascension (RA; similar to geographical longitude) at 0.8 degrees per day. Declination (DEC; similar to geographical latitude) has a rough value of minus 0.4 degrees per day. The superposition of the shower’s members with Earth’s movements determines the shower’s radiant drift.

For the 2016 February mu Virginids, Lunsford tracked radiant drift from constellation Virgo to Ophiuchus the Serpent Bearer constellation. The radiant Saturday, Feb. 13, to Sunday, Feb. 14, favored southeastern Virgo, five degrees east of dim, fourth magnitude star Iota Virginis (ι Virginis; Iota Vir, ι Vir). The radiant Saturday, Feb. 27, to Sunday, Feb. 28, associated with southern Ophiuchus, near the fourth magnitude, triple star system of Lambda Ophiuchi (λ Ophiuchi; Lambda Oph, λ Oph).

The parent body of the February mu Virginids is unknown. The Croatian Meteor Network report stated: “Note that geocentric velocity is very well defined for this shower, which may indicate a relatively young shower.”

Damir Šegon of Croatia’s Astronomical Society Istra Pula and Višnjan Science and Education Center and five other members of the Croatian Meteor Network are credited with discovery of the February mu Virginids. Šegon shares the discovery with Željko Andreić of the University of Zagreb; Korado Korlević of Višnjan Science and Education Center; Filip Novoselnik, Denis Vida and Ivica Skokić of Astronomical Society “Anonymus” and University of Osijek.

As chair of the IAU (International Astronomical Union) Commission 22’s Task Group on Meteor Shower Nomenclature, Dutch and American astronomer Peter Jenniskens reported the recognition of the February mu Virginids as a new meteor shower via IAU’s Central Bureau Electronic Telegram no. 3707, Nov. 12, 2013. The IAU designates the new shower as 00516 FMV.

The takeaways for the February mu Virginids, which shower Earth’s skies annually from February to early March, are that peak activity by the shower’s swiftly moving meteors happens around Feb. 24 to Feb. 25, the shower’s parent body is unknown and the shower’s discovery was reported in June 2013.

Mu (μ) Virginis, namesake of February mu Virginid meteor shower, represents the right foot in Virgo the Virgin constellation; Alexander Jamieson, A Celestial Atlas, Plate XVIII: Public Domain, via U.S. Naval Observatory Library

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

The February mu Virginid meteor shower appears to radiate from an area near Mu Virginis in southeastern Virgo the Virgin constellation; Virgo (VIR) constellation map credit: IAU and Sky & Telescope (Roger Sinnott and Rick Fienberg; constellation patterns by Alan MacRoberts), CC BY 3.0, via IAU (International Astronomical Union) @ https://www.iau.org/public/themes/constellations/#com

Mu (μ) Virginis, namesake of February mu Virginid meteor shower, represents the right foot in Virgo the Virgin constellation; Alexander Jamieson, A Celestial Atlas, Plate XVIII: Public Domain, via U.S. Naval Observatory Library @ http://aa.usno.navy.mil/library/artwork/jamieson.htm

For further information:

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Available @ https://www.ta3.sk/IAUC22DB/MDC2007/Roje/pojedynczy_obiekt.php?kodstrumienia=00516&colecimy=0&kodmin=00001&kodmax=01032&sortowanie=0

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