[InHam] Fw: [BEACONS] Repeat Post: Geminds Meteor SHower

[Paul Webster]

Hi, 
I am forwarding this for it's scientific merit to the non hams & to the hams for it's impact on radio communications. 
I think that anything event like this that takes place in the heavens is COOL. 
Some of you are in the south & will see it better than the others. I will  watch for it here in NWI Indiana & give a listen on 10m. 
Have a good, safe, & blessed holiday season.  
73/75 de ka9jwx, Paul Lewis Webster
SKCC #5322
John 3:16
Proud member of the;
ARRL
NRA
Handihams
LiveFreeUSA
60 Plus (even tho I am younger then 60)
Long:-87.334L (-87*20'3"W)
Lat:41.4967N (41*29'48"N)
EN61HL
Merrillville, Indiana, 46410-3503, USA 
;-)


--- On Sun, 12/6/09, W. Keith Hibbert, WB2VUO <wb2vuo at verizon.net> wrote:

> From: W. Keith Hibbert, WB2VUO <wb2vuo at verizon.net>
> Subject: [BEACONS] Repeat Post: Geminds Meteor SHower
> To: hfbeacons at explore.plus.com
> Date: Sunday, December 6, 2009, 9:10 AM
> HM-m-m-m-m... It didn't go thru on
> the KC0TKS list, or at least I didn't see it come back to
> me...  Cross post, sorry  for the duplication:
> 
> ===============================================================
> 
>      
> 
> Hi, Keith here in Amherst, NY    
> 
> According the Spaceweather.com the annual Geminids shower
> is next week, peaking around the 13th & 14th this
> month.  This is a consistently strong meteor shower
> with little variation from year to year.
> 
> The radiant (the apparent 'source' of the meteors)  is
> near the constellation Gemini which rises here int he mid
> evening, this means that some of the shower members may be
> around from 1900 hours local up to and past sunrise the
> following mornings as Gemini travels across the sky.
> 
> At my latitude the constellation reaches an elevation of
> ~70 degrees, further south the constellation will appear
> higher.  The meteors basically will be traveling all
> over the sky int he middle of the night.
> 
> So, what's this going to do for 10 meters?  Depending
> on the amount of ionization from the meteors you could hear
> a signal rise out of the noise and then immediately fade (a
> 'ping') or come up to readable strength for several seconds
> or even have overlapping strong returns for a minute in
> duration.
> 
> 
> Here's some info on the Geminids from an observers page
> posted by am amateur astronomer, Wes Stone at:
> 
> http://skytour.homestead.com/met2009.html#anchor_13
> 
> ___________________________________
> 
> 
> GEMINIDS
> Predicted Maximum: December 14, ~5:00 UT (=Dec. 13, 9pm
> PST; =Dec. 14, 12am EST)
> Moon: New Moon (no interference)
> (radiant map from IMO)
> 
> WHEN TO WATCH: The Geminids have a fairly broad maximum, so
> viewing should be productive throughout the entire night of
> December 13/14 (late Sunday evening into Monday morning).
> New Moon this year allows coverage of the entire night.
> Sunday morning, December 13 and Monday evening, December 14
> could be worth watching as well.
> 
> The Geminids are accessible from the entire Northern
> Hemisphere and from many Southern Hemisphere locations as
> well. The radiant is highest in the sky at around 2am, but
> from mid-northern latitudes it is at a decent elevation from
> around 10pm until the beginning of morning twilight. The
> Geminids can produce observed rates of over 100/hour at
> maximum, and are reliable (for a meteor shower) as well as
> spectacular.
> 
> Geminids are medium-speed meteors.  Most of them don't
> leave glowing trains, but the brighter ones are often
> colored (yellow, green and blue are most common).
> 
> _____________________________
> 
> 
> I will be listening on 28.250 to see if any of the synced
> beacons pop in during the shower, work and sleep
> permitting.  It looks like a great time to run Argo or
> whatever to record the band.  There's more info in some
> of the older ARRL pubs, the VHF Manual comes to mind, now if
> I can just fine my copy here in the shack...
> 
> Sunspots it ain't but we can hear some beacons anyway!
> 
> 73, Keith, WB2VUO, TC - ARRL WNy Section
> Amherst, NY: Grid FN02ox
>      
> 
>