2018 Leonids Peak Saturday Night, Nov. 17, to Pre-Dawn Sunday, Nov. 18

Summary: The 2018 Leonids peak Saturday night, Nov. 17, to pre-dawn Sunday, Nov. 18, as a major meteor display showering most of November annually.

Leonid shooting stars have an apparent point of origin, known as radiant, in Leo the Lion constellation’s Sickle asterism, or pattern of stars: Popular Science @PopSci, via Twitter Nov. 16, 2015

The American Meteor Society (AMS) notes that the 2018 Leonids peak Saturday night, Nov. 17, to pre-dawn Sunday, Nov. 18, as a major meteor shower that occurs annually in November.

The International Meteor Organization (IMO) gives an earlier date for 2018’s peak. The IMS dates 2018’s peak night to Friday night, Nov. 16, to pre-dawn Sunday, Nov. 17.

The moon interferes somewhat with visibility of the Leonid meteor shower’s peak. The moon’s first quarter phase begins Thursday, Nov. 15, with 49 percent surface visibility of the lunar disk. The waxing gibbous phase takes over Saturday, Nov. 17, claiming 68 percent surface visibility. Surface visibility bounds to 77 percent for Sunday, Nov. 18.

The Leonid meteor shower’s November activity occurs as an autumn display in the Northern Hemisphere and, oppositely, as a spring display in the Southern Hemisphere. American amateur astronomer Gary W. Kronk suggests that mid-northern latitude observers face Leo the Lion’s easterly placement above the horizon at around 2 a.m. local time. Mid-southern latitude observers find the Leonid radiant above the horizon in the northeast at around 3 a.m. local time.

The AMS predicts 2018 activity dates of Monday, Nov. 5, through Friday, Nov. 30. The IMS slightly delays the 2018 opening date. The IMO considers Tuesday, Nov. 6, as opening the year’s Leonid meteor showers but agrees on Friday, Nov. 30, as closing date.

Moonlight does not intrude upon the Leonid meteor shower’s opening dates. A waning crescent has been steadily decreasing in size since its appearance Friday, Nov. 2, with 30 percent surface visibility. Monday, Nov. 5, yields a waning crescent downsized to a skimpy 6 percent. The waning crescent Tuesday, Nov. 6, shrinks to 2 percent surface visibility.

The 2018 shower’s final days contend with the moon’s waning gibbous and last quarter phases. Sunday, Nov. 25, opens November 2018’s last week with a waning gibbous moon at 94 percent surface visibility. By Wednesday, Nov. 28, the waning gibbous moon shines at 68 percent visibility. The Friday, Nov. 30, last quarter phase offers 45 percent surface visibility.

The Leonid meteor shower’s name announces an apparent point of origin, known as the radiant, in Leo the Lion constellation. EarthSky website’s editor-in-chief, Deborah Byrd, explains that an Earthbound observer who traces Leonid activity backward in the sky arrives at an apparent starting point near Leo’s Gamma Leonis (γ Leonis; Gamma Leo, γ Leo).

Gamma Leonis comprises two gravitationally-bound stars, known as a binary star system. The orange-red, greenish-yellow system bears the traditional name of Algieba (Arabic: al-Jabhah, “the forehead”). Algieba numbers among six stars shaping Leo’s distinctive Sickle asterism, or pattern of stars. Appearing as a backward question mark, the Sickle seems to shoot Leonid meteors like fireworks far beyond the Lion’s celestial territory.

The American Meteor Society and the International Meteor Organization recognize the swift velocity of the Leonid meteor shower’s particles. Both organizations time Leonid velocity at 44 miles per second (71 kilometers per second).

The zenithal hourly rate (ZHR) idealizes a shower’s observable rates by considering optimal radiant and sky conditions. The Leonids claim a zenithal hourly rate of 15 shower members per hour.

The Leonids consist of debris shed by comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle. NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Solar System Dynamics website calculates Tempel-Tuttle’s orbital period at 33.24 years, or 12,141.56115249823 days. With an orbital period under 200 years, Tempel-Tuttle qualifies as a short-period comet.

Solar System Dynamics website’s JPL Small-Body Database Browser places the Leonid meteor shower’s parent body between Uranus and Neptune during the November 2018 peak. At 00:00 (midnight) Coordinated Universal Time, Sunday, Nov. 18 (7 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, Saturday, Nov. 17), comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle is traveling beyond Uranus the sideways planet’s orbit. Earth distance is 19.905 astronomical units (au). Sun distance measures 18.923 au.

One astronomical unit roughly equals the distance between Earth and the sun. The unit’s exact measurement is 149,597,870,700 meters (about 150 million kilometers; 93 million miles).

The takeaway for the 2018 Leonid peak Saturday night, Nov. 17, to pre-dawn Sunday, Nov. 18, is that the major meteor shower occurs in November as a spring display in the Southern Hemisphere and as an autumn meteoric event in the Northern Hemisphere.

orbital position of Leonid parent body, Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle, at 00:00 (midnight) Coordinated Universal Time, Sunday, Nov. 18 (7 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, Saturday, Nov. 17), during 2018 peak, Saturday night, Nov. 17, to pre-dawn Sunday, Nov. 18, 2018: JPL’s Solar System Dynamics, May be used for any purpose without prior permission, via NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Acknowledgment

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

Image credits:

Leonid shooting stars have an apparent point of origin, known as radiant, in Leo the Lion constellation’s Sickle asterism, or pattern of stars: Popular Science @PopSci, via Twitter Nov. 16, 2015, @ https://twitter.com/PopSci/status/666465838812151810

orbital position of Leonid parent body, Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle, at 00:00 (midnight) Coordinated Universal Time, Sunday, Nov. 18 (7 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, Saturday, Nov. 17), during 2018 peak, Saturday night, Nov. 17, to pre-dawn Sunday, Nov. 18, 2018: JPL’s Solar System Dynamics, May be used for any purpose without prior permission, via NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory @ https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?ID=c00002_0;old=0;orb=1;cov=0;log=0;cad=0#orb

For further information:

“55P/Tempel-Tuttle.” NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Solar System Dynamics > JPL Small-Body Database Browser.
Available @ https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?ID=c00055_0

American Meteor Society. “Leonids.” American Meteor Society > Meteor Showers > Meteor Shower Calendar.
Available @ https://www.amsmeteors.org/meteor-showers/meteor-shower-calendar/

Astronomy Now ‏@AstronomyNow. “Clear skies? Don't miss the Northern #Taurid meteor shower's peak today.” Twitter. Nov. 12, 2015.
Available @ https://twitter.com/AstronomyNow/status/664743001235804160

Byrd, Deborah. “November’s Leonid Meteor Shower.” EarthSky > Astronomy Essentials. Nov. 15, 2018.
Available @ http://earthsky.org/?p=29831

International Meteor Organization. “Leonids.” International Meteor Organization > Resources > Meteor Shower Calendar.
Available @ https://www.imo.net/resources/calendar/2018/

Jenniskens, Peter. Meteor Showers and Their Parent Comets. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 2006.

Kronk, Gary W. “Observing the Leonids.” Meteor Showers Online > Meteor Shower Calendar > November Radiants.
Available @ http://meteorshowersonline.com/showers/leonids.html

Lunsford, Robert. Meteors and How to Observe Them. Astronomers’ Observing Guides. New York NY: Springer Science+Business Media, 2009.

Marriner, Derdriu. “2015 Leonid Meteor Shower Peaks Before Dawn Between Nov. 17 and 18.” Earth and Space News. Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2015.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2015/11/2015-leonid-meteor-shower-peaks-before.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “November Nights: Orion Dodges Taurid Fireballs, Leonids Shower Jupiter.” Earth and Space News. Thursday, Nov. 5, 2015.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2015/11/november-nights-orion-dodges-taurid.html

McClure, Bruce; and Deborah Byrd. “EarthSky’s 2018 Meteor Shower Guide.” EarthSky > Astronomy Essentials. July 6, 2018.
Available @ http://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/earthskys-meteor-shower-guide

“Moon Phases November 2018.” Calendar-12.com > Moon Calendar > 2018.
Available @ https://www.calendar-12.com/moon_calendar/2018/november

Popular Science @PopSci. “Look to the skies at midnight (your local time) to see tonight’s Leonid meteor shower.” Twitter. Nov. 16, 2015.
Available @ https://twitter.com/PopSci/status/666465838812151810

Shekhtman, Lonnie; Elizabeth Landau; and Celeste Hoang. “55P/Tempel-Tuttle.” NASA Science Solar System Exploration > Small Bodies > Comets. Updated Dec. 5, 2017.
Available via NASA Science Solar System Exploration @ https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/small-bodies/comets/55p-tempel-tuttle/in-depth/

2018 Southern Taurids Peak Sunday Night, Oct. 28, to Pre-Dawn, Oct. 29

Summary: The 2018 Southern Taurids peak Sunday night, Oct. 28, to pre-dawn Monday, Oct. 29, as a long-lasting minor annual display from September to November.

Southern Taurids occur annually as a long-lasting minor shower that notably shoots colorful fireballs: Marty Coniglio @martyconiglio, via Twitter Nov. 4, 2014

The 2018 Southern Taurids peak Sunday night, Oct. 28, to pre-dawn Monday, Oct. 29, as a long-lasting minor shower that annually displays from mid-late September to mid-late November.

The American Meteor Society gives 2018 activity dates of Sunday, Sept. 23, to Monday, Nov. 19, for the long-lasting meteor shower. Several minor peaks occur in both October and November.

The American Meteor Society notes the Southern Taurid meteor shower’s reputation for fireballs. A meteor exceeding any planet or star in brightness qualifies as a fireball. A fireball’s magnitude is brighter than minus 4.

NASA’s Watch the Skies blog characterizes Taurid meteor size and trajectory. “Taurid meteors tend to be larger than the norm, which means they are bright, many being fireballs. They also penetrate deeper into Earth’s atmosphere than many other shower meteors. For example, Orionids typically burn up at altitudes of 58 miles, whereas Taurids make it down to 42 miles.”

The moon shines competitively during the Southern Taurid meteor shower’s peak. The waning gibbous phase displays 84 percent surface visibility of the lunar disk.

The 2018 Southern Taurid meteor shower’s nearly two months of activity open and close with the moon’s competitive waxing gibbous phase. The 2018 shower’s opening dates contend with the waxing gibbous moon’s 98 percent surface visibility for Sunday, Sept. 23. Full moon brightness takes over Tuesday, Sept. 25.

The waxing gibbous moon increases surface visibility in the 2018 Southern Taurid meteor shower’s closing days. Surface visibility reaches 77 percent for Sunday, Nov. 18. Visibility climbs to 85 percent for Monday, Nov. 19.

The American Meteor Society describes the Southern Taurids as a slow-velocity meteor shower. Meteors achieve a velocity of 17 miles per second (27 kilometers per second).

A meteor shower’s zenithal hourly rate (ZHR) defines the observable rate under optimal radiant and sky conditions. The American Meteor Society assigns a zenithal hourly rate of five shower members per hour for the Southern Taurids.

The Southern Taurids occur as an autumn meteor shower in the Northern Hemisphere. Visibility also includes the Southern Hemisphere, where September through November are experienced as spring months.

Two streams compose the Taurid meteors. The Southern Taurids’ partner stream is known as the Northern Taurid meteor shower.

The American Meteor Society gives 2018 activity dates of Friday, Oct. 19 to Monday, Dec. 10, for the Northern Taurids. The shower will peak between the night Saturday, Nov. 10, and pre-dawn Sunday, Nov. 11.

The meteor showers’ shared name, Taurid, reflects an apparent point of origin, known as the radiant, in Taurus the Bull Constellation. The southern stream’s name reflects its radiant’s placement south of the ecliptic, the sun’s apparent sky path. The northern stream’s radiant lies north of the ecliptic.

Both streams claim comet 2P/Encke as parent body. Comet Encke’s orbital period of 3.3 years, or 1,204.198131518449 days, qualifies the small comet as a short-period comet. Short-period comets exhibit orbital periods of less than 200 years.

Comet 2P/Encke’s orbit emphasizes the inner solar system. The small comet’s path does not extend beyond Jupiter.

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Solar System Dynamics website places Comet 2P/Encke between Mars and Jupiter on the Southern Taurid meteor shower’s peak date, Sunday night, Oct. 28. At 23:00 Coordinated Universal Time (7 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time), Encke’s Comet logs an Earth distance of 3.608 astronomical units (au) and a sun distance of 4.007 au. One astronomical unit roughly equals the distance from Earth to sun. The unit’s exact length is 149,597,870,700 meters (about 150 million kilometers; 93 million miles).

Thomas William Backhouse (Aug. 14, 1842-March 13, 1920) is credited with discovering the Southern Taurids. The Victorian amateur astronomer and meteorologist noted five meteors Nov. 6, 1869, from his residence at West Hendon House, Sunderland, North East England, where he maintained an observatory.

The takeaways for the 2018 Southern Taurid meteor shower’s peak Sunday night, Oct. 28, to pre-dawn, Oct. 29, are that the annual minor meteor shower endures for almost two months and that the long-lasting shower often lobs colorful fireballs across the nighttime sky.

orbital position of Southern Taurid meteor shower’s parent body, Comet 2P/Encke, at 23:00 (11 p.m.) Coordinated Universal Time (7 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time) during peak date, Sunday night, Oct. 28, to pre-dawn Monday, Oct. 29, 2018: JPL’s Solar System Dynamics, May be used for any purpose without prior permission, via NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Acknowledgment

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

Image credits:

Southern Taurids occur annually as a long-lasting minor shower that notably shoots colorful fireballs: Marty Coniglio @martyconiglio, via Twitter Nov. 4, 2014

orbital position of South Taurid meteor shower’s parent body, Comet 2P/Encke, at 23:00 (11 p.m.) Coordinated Universal Time (7 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time) during peak date, Sunday night, Oct. 28, to pre-dawn Monday, Oct. 29, 2018: JPL’s Solar System Dynamics, ay be used for any purpose without prior permission, via NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory @ https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?ID=c00002_0;old=0;orb=1;cov=0;log=0;cad=0#orb

For further information:

“2P/Encke.” NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Solar System Dynamics > JPL Small-Body Database Browser.
Available @ https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?ID=c00002_0

American Meteor Society. “Northern Taurids.” American Meteor Society > Meteor Showers > Meteor Shower Calendar.
Available @ https://www.amsmeteors.org/meteor-showers/meteor-shower-calendar/

American Meteor Society. “Southern Taurids.” American Meteor Society > Meteor Showers > Meteor Shower Calendar.
Available @ https://www.amsmeteors.org/meteor-showers/meteor-shower-calendar/

Bone, Neil M. “Visual Observations of the Taurid Meteor Shower 1981-1988.” Journal of the British Astronomical Association, vol. 101, no. 3: 145-152.
Available via Harvard ADSABS (NASA Astrophysics Data System Abstracts) @ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1991JBAA..101..145B

Daily Mail Online ‏@MailOnline. "The Taurid meteor shower will reach its peak tonight." Twitter. Nov. 5, 2015.
Available @ https://twitter.com/MailOnline/status/662273441186373633

Dave Curren ‏@DaveCurren. "The #Taurid meteor shower will send bright fireballs across our #NJ sky thru Nov 10th. Look east." Twitter. Nov. 3, 2015.
Available @ https://twitter.com/DaveCurren/status/661705857936269312

International Meteor Organization. “Southern Taurids.” International Meteor Organization > Resources > Meteor Shower Calendar.
Available @ https://www.imo.net/resources/calendar/2018/

Jenniskens, Peter. Meteor Showers and Their Parent Comets. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 2006.

Kronk, Gary W. “Observing the Taurids.” Meteor Showers Online > Meteor Shower Calendar > November Radiants.
Available @ http://meteorshowersonline.com/showers/taurids.html

Lunsford, Robert. Meteors and How to Observe Them. Astronomers’ Observing Guides. New York NY: Springer Science+Business Media, 2009.

Marriner, Derdriu. “2015 Taurid Meteor Showers Peak Before Dawn Nov. 5 and Nov. 12.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2015.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2015/11/2015-taurid-meteor-showers-peak-before.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “November Nights: Orion Dodges Taurid Fireballs, Leonids Shower Jupiter.” Earth and Space News. Thursday, Nov. 5, 2015.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2015/11/november-nights-orion-dodges-taurid.html

Marty Coniglio @martyconiglio. "Taurid meteor shower may produce a few fireballs (if we're lucky)." Twitter. Nov. 4, 2014.
Available @ https://twitter.com/martyconiglio/status/529658687380406272

McClure, Bruce. “South Taurid Meteors to Peak in October?” EarthSky > Astronomy Essentials. Oct. 9, 2018.
Available @ http://earthsky.org/?p=286099

McClure, Bruce; and Deborah Byrd. “Watch for Taurid Fireballs, Too.” EarthSky > Astronomy Essentials. Oct. 19, 2018.
Available @ http://earthsky.org/?p=223614

“Moon Phases October 2018.” Calendar-12.com > Moon Calendar > 2018.
Available @ https://www.calendar-12.com/moon_calendar/2018/october

Peat, Chris. “Comet 2P Encke.” Heavens Above > Astronomy > Comets.
Available @ https://www.heavens-above.com/comet.aspx?cid=2P&lat=0&lng=0&loc=D&alt=0&tz=CET

Rao, Joe. “’Old Faithful’ Comet Encke Makes Appearance in November Night Sky.” Space.com > Skywatching. Nov. 12, 2013.
Available @ https://www.space.com/23561-comet-encke-november-night-sky.html

Sekanina, Zdenek. “Encke, the Comet.” Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, vol. 85, no. 6 (December 1991): 324-376.
Available via Harvard ADSABS (NASA Astrophysics Data System Abstracts) @ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1991JRASC..85..324S

Shekhtman, Lonnie; Elizabeth Landau; and Celeste Hoang. “2P/Encke.” NASA Science Solar System Exploration > Small Bodies > Comets. Updated Dec. 8, 2017.
Available via NASA Science Solar System Exploration @ https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/small-bodies/comets/2p-encke/in-depth/

“Taurids Dust the November Sky.” NASA Blogs > Watch the Skies. Nov. 8, 2011.
Available @ https://blogs.nasa.gov/Watch_the_Skies/tag/taurid-meteor/

2018 October Delta Aurigids Peak Midnight to Pre-Dawn Thursday, Oct. 11

Summary: The 2018 October Delta Aurigids peak midnight to pre-dawn Thursday, Oct. 11, as a little-known, minor annual meteor shower.

The radiant, or apparent point of origin, for October Delta Aurigids lies in Auriga the Charioteer constellation, south of Delta (δ) Aurigae (top center): Sky & Telescope magazine (Roger Sinnott and Rick Fienberg), CC BY 4.0 International, via the International Astronomical Union

The 2018 October Delta Aurigids peak midnight to pre-dawn Thursday, Oct. 11, as a little-known minor annual meteor shower that was discovered and named in the late 20th century.

The International Meteor Organization’s 2018 Meteor Shower Calendar recommends peak date skywatching after local midnight for October Delta Aurigid observers. The calendar’s compiler, Dr. Jürgen Rendtel of northeastern Germany’s Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP), describes the October Delta Aurigids as “visible chiefly from the northern hemisphere.”

The 2018 October Delta Aurigids encounter no interference from the moon for visibility on the shower’s peak date. The moon rises and sets as a daytime moon. Also, the moon’s entrance into its new phase Tuesday, Oct. 9, would promise invisibility if the moon were a nighttime presence during the 2018 October Delta Aurigid peak.

A zenithal hourly rate of two shower members per hour is predicted for the 2018 October Delta Aurigids. The zenithal hourly rate (ZHR) references ideal observable rates under optimal conditions.

Robert Lunsford, American Meteor Society’s Meteor Activity Outlook weekly columnist, describes the October Delta Aurigid shower’s meteors as swift movers. He clocks their entry velocity as 64 kilometers per second (40 miles per second).

The incomplete profile for the newly discovered autumnal shower offers possible activity dates that generally fall within the first half of October. Since 2011, the International Meteor Organization’s meteor shower calendars have identified annual activity dates of Oct. 10 to Oct. 18. Dr. Bill Cooke, lead of NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office (MEO), gives activity dates of Sept. 20 through Oct. 16. American amateur astronomer Gary W. Kronke’s Meteor Showers Online website dates activity in the interval between Sept. 22 and Oct. 23.

The moon phases are mainly conducive for viewing the 2018 October Delta Aurigids, not only on peak date, but also for most of the shower’s October activity dates. The IMO’s range of Wednesday, Oct. 10 to Thursday, Oct. 18, finds day moons that set before prime viewing between local midnight and pre-dawn.

The 2018 opening activity date’s new moon transitions to the waxing crescent phase Thursday, Oct. 11. The first quarter phase takes over Tuesday, Oct. 16, with surface visibility of the lunar disk at 48 percent. The IMO-identified closing date, Thursday, Oct. 18, increases to 67 percent surface visibility as a waxing gibbous moon. And yet, the phase’s surface visibility does not matter because of the moon’s absence from the nighttime sky during the hours that are conducive to proper observation of the 2018 October Delta Aurigids.

Credit for discovery of the October Delta Aurigids goes to Jack D. Drummond of New Mexico State University, Robert K. Hill of National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Socorro, New Mexico, and Herbert A. Beebe of New Mexico State University. The 1979 discovery occurred during a review of 13 meteors that were doubly photographed between Oct. 25, 1976, and Dec. 13, 1977, at the NASA-NMSU Meteor Observatory in southern New Mexico. The trio noted two meteors, photographed Oct. 13, and Oct. 18, 1977, as a “matching pair” with similarities, such as retrograde orbits and respective velocities of 62.9 and 62.5 kilometers per second (39.08 and 38.8 miles per minute).

Drummond, Hill and Beebe pinpointed the apparent point of origin, known as the radiant, for the two similar meteors as near Delta Aurigae (δ Aur, δ Aurigae) in Auriga the Charioteer constellation. Its location south of Delta Aurigae places the radiant at maximum at 5 degrees northwest of Capella (Alpha Aurigae, α Aurigae; Alpha Aur, α Aur), according to American amateur astronomer Robert Lunsford. Capella’s star system of two binary pairs shines as the Charioteer’s brightest star, the Northern Celestial Hemisphere’s third brightest and the night sky’s sixth brightest star.

The October Delta Aurigids stream from an unknown parent body. Drummond hypothesizes an unknown comet with a short-period (115 years), retrograde orbit. Dr. Jürgen Rendtel of northeastern Germany’s Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP) suggests a similarity in eccentricity and inclination with the orbits of Kreutz-group comets. He notes that Kreutz-group cometary orbits are evaluated as “end-states of orbital evolution.”

The takeaway for the 2018 October Delta Aurigids’ midnight to pre-dawn peak Thursday, Oct. 11, is that the minor shower, recently discovered and named in the late 20th century, features swift movers from an unknown parent body.

Praja, or Prajapati (Delta Aurigae), nearest star to October Delta Aurigid radiant, perches at the apex of triangle formed with Auriga the Charioteer’s two brightest stars, Capella and Menkalinan: Petr Kocna, CC BY ND 3.0 Unported, via Univerzita Karlova 1. Lékařská Fakulta

Acknowledgment

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

Image credits:

The radiant, or apparent point of origin, for October Delta Aurigids lies in Auriga the Charioteer constellation, south of Delta (δ) Aurigae (top center): Sky & Telescope magazine (Roger Sinnott and Rick Fienberg), CC BY 4.0 International, via the International Astronomical Union @ https://www.iau.org/public/themes/constellations/

Praja, or Prajapati (Delta Aurigae), nearest star to October Delta Aurigid radiant, perches at the apex of triangle formed with Auriga the Charioteer’s two brightest stars, Capella and Menkalinan: Petr Kocna, CC BY ND 3.0 Unported, via Univerzita Karlova 1. Lékařská Fakulta @ http://www1.lf1.cuni.cz/~kocna/stars01.htm (image specific URL @ http://www1.lf1.cuni.cz/~kocna/ha118358.jpg)

For further information:

“00224 DAU October October delta Aurigids.” IAU (International Astronomical Union) Meteor Data Center > List of All Meteor Showers.
Available @ https://www.ta3.sk/IAUC22DB/MDC2007/Roje/pojedynczy_obiekt.php?kodstrumienia=00281&colecimy=0&kodmin=00001&kodmax=01032&sortowanie=0

amanda ta muito croata ‏@fcbarceIwna. “Auriga constellation lies in the northern hemisphere. Its name means the charioteer” in Latin. The constellation got this name because its major stars form a shape similar to that of the pointed helmet of a charioteer.” Twitter. March 19, 2018.
Available @ https://twitter.com/fcbarceIwna/status/975761964415832064

“Auriga (Charioteer).” Astronomy Online > The Night Sky -- 88 Constellations.
Available @ http://astronomyonline.org/ViewImage.asp?Cate=Observation&SubCate=MP07&SubCate2=MP0801&Img=%2FObservation%2FImages%2FConstellations%2FConstellationBig%2FAuriga%2Egif&Cpt=Constellations+-+Auriga+%28Charioteer%29

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Available @ http://www.constellation-guide.com/constellations-by-month/

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Available @ https://blogs.nasa.gov/Watch_the_Skies/2011/10/18/post_1318960826447/

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Available via Harvard ADSABS (NASA Astrophysics Data System Abstracts) @ http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-iarticle_query?2002JIMO...30..168D.pdf
Available via IMO @ https://www.imo.net/publications/wgn/

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Available @ http://www1.lf1.cuni.cz/~kocna/stars01.htm

Kronk, Gary W. “Observing Delta Aurigids.” Meteor Showers Online > Meteor Shower Calendar > October Radiants.
Available @ http://meteorshowersonline.com/showers/delta_aurigids.html

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Available @ https://www.imo.net/meteor-activity-outlook-for-september-19-25-2015/

Lunsford, Robert. “Meteor Activity Outlook for September 20-26, 2008.” International Meteor Organization. Sept. 19, 2008.
Available @ https://www.imo.net/meteor-activity-outlook-for-september-20-26-2008/

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Available @ https://www.imo.net/meteor-activity-outlook-for-september-20-26-2014/

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Available @ https://www.imo.net/meteor-activity-outlook-for-september-26-october-2-2015/

Lunsford, Robert. “Meteor Activity Outlook for September 27-October 3, 2008.” American Meteor Society. Sept. 27, 2008.
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