Results of the IMO Video Meteor Network - January 2009
======================================================

The new year started as successful as the old one ended. At least in the 
first half, January surprised the observers at many sites with unusually 
good weather. For the Quadrantid maximum, which was moon-free and fell 
almost into the European night time hours, the weather was in particular 
co-operative. In total, 21 video system were in operation on January 2/3 
and collected together 2,400 meteors in 177 hours of effective observing time. 
The second half of the month was grown through, but the January total of 
more than 2,400 observing hours and 9,200 meteors was still amazing, since it 
more than doubled the figures of the previously best January.

Let's have a look at the observations in detail. At first I'd like to
present two outstanding recordings. On January 3, 01:47 UT, Klaas Jobse
managed to record a rare double meteor - in this case a double Quadrantid -
with his image-intensified camera BETSY2 (Figure 1). The angular separation
of both meteors was nearly one degree. At an height of 100 km and an altitude
of roughly 45 degrees, this translates into a spatial distance of 2..3 km
between the two meteoroids burning up in the atmosphere.


Figure 1: Double-Quadrantid, recorded by Klaas Jobse on January 3, 2009,
at 01:47 UT.

A few days later, on January 13 at 00:02 UT, Flavio Castellani captured a
bright fireball with BMH2 (Figure 2). The meteor could not be recorded in
a single image, because MetRec is not designed for such bright objects. Still,
the brightness curve of the bolide, that should have reached roughly full
moon brightness at maximum, is well visible.


Figure 2: Bright fireball on January 13, 2009, 00:02 UT, recorded by Flavio
Castellani.

With respect to meteor showers, there is just one significant source in
January. As mentioned before, the Quadrantids could be well observed this
year. The maximum was predicted for 13 UT on January 3. Since the Quadrantid
maximum is extremely short, we expected only some rise in activity in the
European morning hours, whereas the American observers were placed best.
The visual observations proved, however, that the maximum was early by
about two to three hours, such that also the European observers witnessed
zenithal hourly rates up to 100 at dawn. The rise in activity by about
a factor of three between midnight and dawn was blended by the raising
radiant, which made the increase in activity even more dramatic. This is
also well documented in the video data: The number of Quadrantids in the
last half hour before dawn was about 10 times as high as in the first half
hour after midnight.

The analysis of the 2009 video data was based on 978 Quadrantids and 303
sporadic meteors, recorded by 13 video cameras between 0 and 6 UT on
January 3. The Quadrantids were binned in 30 min intervals, corrected for
the radiant altitude as ususal, and averaged over all cameras. For
comparison, also the number of sporadic meteors per hour was plotted. The
activity graph (figure 3) shows an almost linear rise in activity in the
morning hours of January 3. The life ZHR graph from visual data of IMO,
which is plotted as a line, shows the same trend.
Unfortunately, the graph could not be continued until the maximum, because
there was just one active video camera in the US. Therefor, the individual
measurements from that time show significant scatter. On the other hand,
the European observers recorded a few nice long-lasting Quadrantids at the
first evening hour of January 3. Later that night, the rates went down
below a ZHR of ten again.


Figure 3: Activity profile of the Quadrantids on the morning of January 3,
2009. For comparison, the visual ZHR profile is shown as a line.

What do we learn about the Quadrantids from the complete video data analysis
of 2008? According to the IMO handbook for meteor observers, this shower is
active between January 1 and 10. The majority of 1330 video Quadrantids was
recorded within one solar longitude interval, which is why the radiant
position before and after the maximum is not well-defined (figure 4). Still,
the activity starts probably at December 28 and lasts until January 12.


Figure 4: Radiant position of the Quadrantids from data of the IMO Video
Meteor Database.

Figure 5 presents the long-term activity profile of the Quadrantids. It shows,
that the activity away from the maximum (which is smeared out over two values
because of the sliding intervals) is very low. For comparison, the blue dots
show the visual activity profile between 1988 and 2008, taken from the IMO
handbook. Interestingly, the rates right before and after the peak are much
higher in the visual data, i.e. the rise and fall of activity is less steep
there.


Figure 5: Long-term activity profile of the Quadrantids. Blue dots represent
the visual activity profile.

Since there are no other major showers beside the Quadrantids, and the
sporadic activity remains low, January is a good time to detect weak meteor
showers. The analysis from fall 2008 revealed a possible shower between
December 31 and January 11. Its radiant, which was derived from 160 shower
members, is located in the southern part of Hydra (figure 6).


Figure 6: Radiant position of an unknown meteor shower in Hydra.

The velocity of the shower is 45 km/s, but this values shows some scatter
because of the low meteor number. The activity profile (figure 7) is quite
flat, with traces of a weak maximum at January 7. In the full activity
interval, the ZHR stays below two, which is why this shower is close to
the limits for visual meteor observers.


Figure 7: Long-term activity profile of an unknown meteor shower in Hydra.


1. Observers
============

Code    Name        Place           Camera         FOV    LM Nights Time Meteors
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BENOR Benitez-S.  Las-Palmas    TIMES5 (0.95/50)  10 dg  3 mag  8   20.7 h    46
BRIBE Brinkmann   Herne         HERMINE (0.8/6)   55 dg  3 mag 20  129.4 h   437
CASFL Castellani  Monte Baldo   BMH1 (0.8/6)      55 dg  3 mag  5   36.5 h   180
                                BMH2 (0.8/6)      55 dg  3 mag 21  160.3 h   389
CRIST Crivello    Valbrevenna   STG38 (0.8/3.8)   80 dg  3 mag  1   11.6 h    45
                  Genova        C3P8 (0.8/3.8)    80 dg  3 mag 23  163.9 h   697
ELTMA Eltri       Venezia       MET38 (0.8/3.8)   80 dg  3 mag  8   67.4 h   282
GONRU Goncalves   Tomar         TEMPLAR1 (0.8/6)  55 dg  3 mag  9   43.9 h   139
                                TEMPLAR2 (0.8/6)  55 dg  3 mag 12   65.7 h   188
HERCA Hergenroth. Tucson        SALSA (1.2/4)     80 dg  3 mag 26  198.0 h   443
HINWO Hinz        Brannenburg   AKM2 (0.85/25)    32 dg  6 mag 14  100.8 h   288
JOBKL Jobse       Oostkapelle   BETSY2 (1.2/85)   25 dg  7 mag  9   71.0 h   667
KACJA Kac         Kostanjevec   METKA (0.8/8)     42 dg  4 mag  8   51.9 h   106
                  Kamnik        REZIKA (0.8/6)    55 dg  3 mag  4   39,2 h   183
                                STEFKA (0.8/3.8)  80 dg  3 mag  4   28.8 h    62
                  Ljubljana     ORION1 (0.8/8)    42 dg  4 mag  5   14.4 h    47
KOSDE Koschny     Noordwijkerh. TEC1 (1.4/12)     30 dg  4 mag 12   59.5 h   124
LUNRO Lunsford    Chula Vista   BOCAM (1.4/50)    60 dg  6 mag 19  183.4 h   600
MOLSI Molau       Seysdorf      AVIS2 (1.4/50)    60 dg  6 mag 15   77.4 h   554
                                MINCAM1 (0.8/6)   55 dg  3 mag 18  116.8 h   317
                  Ketzuer       REMO1 (0.8/3.8)   80 dg  3 mag 16  107.6 h   318
                                REMO2 (0.8/3.8)   80 dg  3 mag 17   95.9 h   335
OCHPA Ochner      Albiano       ALBIANO (1.2/4.5) 68 dg  3 mag 13   87.9 h   266
PRZDA Przewozny   Berlin        ARMEFA (0.8/6)    55 dg  3 mag  4   30.9 h    38
SLAST Slavec      Ljubljana     KAYAK1 (1.8/28)   50 dg  4 mag  5   10.1 h    17
STOEN Stomeo      Scorze        MIN38 (0.8/3.8)   80 dg  3 mag 12   86.9 h   369
STORO Stork       Kunzak        KUN1 (1.4/50)     55 dg  6 mag  2    7.3 h   289
                  Ondrejov      OND1 (1.4/50)     55 dg  6 mag  2    9.5 h   419
STRJO Strunk      Herford       MINCAM2 (0.8/6)   55 dg  3 mag 15   79.5 h   261
                                MINCAM3 (0.8/8)   42 dg  4 mag 13   75.1 h   191
                                MINCAM5 (0.8/6)   55 dg  3 mag 15  123.3 h   480
YRJIL Yrjola      Kuusankoski   FINEXCAM (0.8/6)  55 dg  3 mag 12   99.6 h   445
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Overall                                                        31 2454.2 h  9222


2. Observing Times (h)
======================

Jan    01   02   03   04   05   06   07   08   09   10   11   12   13   14   15
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BENOR  4.8  7.0   -   1.0  3.0   -    -   0.4   -    -    -    -    -    -    -
BRIBE   -    -    -    -  10.6  4.2   -   9.8  8.5  4.2  7.8   -    -    -   7.2
CASFL 12.5  8.6  9.6  4.8  1.0   -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    - 
       8.5  9.1 10.1  5.2   -    -    -  11.4 11.1  8.4 11.4 12.4   -    -  12.4
CRIST   -    -  11.6   -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    - 
      10.1 12.1 12.8  7.5   -    -    -   1.2 11.0 11.0  8.0  8.4   -   6.3 10.3
ELTMA   -   5.4 12.3 10.8   -    -    -   9.1  8.4  3.3  8.5  9.6   -    -    -
GONRU   -    -    -   7.7  1.2   -   7.2  6.0   -   7.0  1.5   -   4.4   -    - 
        -    -    -   7.2  4.2  0.5  9.3 10.7   -   8.6  8.7  0.9  3.7   -    -
HERCA 12.2 12.1  8.1   -    -   3.0  7.1  8.1  6.6  9.0  7.1  7.0 12.0  8.0  9.0
HINWO   -    -    -   6.6   -    -    -  10.5  5.4  4.1  7.0  8.8  3.7   -   5.4
JOBKL   -  12.6   -    -   9.5  1.0   -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -
KACJA   -    -  13.6  9.0  3.3   -    -  10.8  7.0  1.1   -    -    -    -    - 
        -    -  13.0   -   6.4   -    -  10.3  7.1  2.4   -    -    -    -    - 
        -    -  12.4   -    -    -    -   7.8  8.6   -    -    -    -    -    - 
        -   2.2  5.8  0.7  0.7   -    -   5.0   -    -    -    -    -    -    -
KOSDE   -   7.9   -    -   6.4  2.2   -   4.6  6.0   -    -    -    -    -    -
LUNRO  1.8   -    -    -  11.3   -   5.8 11.9   -   4.9  6.9  7.1 10.5 11.9 10.5
MOLSI   -    -    -    -    -    -   3.3  5.6  2.1  1.5  1.3  2.5  6.9   -   3.6
        -   9.7 13.7  0.7   -    -   6.1  9.6  7.6  4.3  7.8  9.5  4.4   -   5.9
        -  14.0   -    -  13.9 11.8   -   4.6   -   2.0  6.5  4.5  6.0   -    - 
        -   7.4   -    -  13.8 13.7   -   0.6   -   2.7  8.0  5.6  9.6   -    -
OCHPA  7.2  9.4 11.4  6.1  1.0   -    -   7.2  7.3  9.3  7.3  9.2   -    -   3.1
PRZDA   -  12.1   -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -   5.8   -    -    -
SLAST   -    -   2.8  1.3  2.1   -    -   2.6   -    -   1.3   -    -    -    -
STOEN   -  10.2 13.2   -    -    -    -  10.2  9.7  8.2  9.4 10.2   -    -   7.9
STORO   -   2.5  4.8   -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    - 
        -   6.5  3.0   -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -
STRJO   -   7.5   -    -   4.5  1.5   -  10.3  8.3  2.0  5.0   -    -    -   4.0
        -   3.9   -    -   9.0  3.0   -   5.3  7.0  6.3  7.9   -    -    -   3.5
        -   9.2   -    -  10.6  5.0   -  10.7  9.7  6.0  8.8   -    -    -   9.7
YRJIL 13.9  7.5  2.3 11.7   -   6.8 14.3   -   2.6   -    -    -    -    -  11.4
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sum   71.0176.9160.5 80.3112.5 52.7 53.1184.3134.0106.3130.2101.5 61.2 26.2103.9

Jan    16   17   18   19   20   21   22   23   24   25   26   27   28   29   30   31
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BENOR   -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -   1.0  1.5  2.0
BRIBE  2.3  1.0  6.9  1.0  8.7  5.7   -    -   1.5 12.7  8.7   -   7.5 10.5 10.1  0.5
CASFL   -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    - 
       9.9  2.2  6.9   -    -  12.3 10.3  4.8   -   0.5   -   0.3  6.2  0.2  6.7   -
CRIST   -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    - 
       1.0   -   3.5   -   2.2 11.2  3.7  6.6   -   1.0  2.9  4.2  9.8 10.4  8.7   -
ELTMA   -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -
GONRU  5.9   -    -    -   3.0   -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    - 
       3.5   -    -    -   7.6   -    -    -   0.8   -    -    -    -    -    -    -
HERCA 12.0  9.9  1.5  6.9  7.3  1.4   -    -    -   8.8  4.8  3.0  7.5  7.3 11.6  6.7
HINWO  2.4  7.6   -    -    -    -  12.4  6.9   -  12.3  7.7   -    -    -    -    -
JOBKL   -    -   3.3   -    -    -    -   2.6  9.5   -    -    -    -  12.0 12.2  8.3
KACJA   -   5.8   -    -    -    -   1.3   -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    - 
        -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    - 
        -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    - 
        -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -
KOSDE   -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -   4.8  2.5  2.9  1.7   -   7.3 10.9  2.3
LUNRO 11.6 10.5 11.8   -  11.8   -    -    -    -    -    -  11.6  9.9 11.6 11.3 10.7
MOLSI   -   7.6  6.8   -    -    -    -    -   6.1 11.9  8.7   -    -   8.8   -   0.7
        -   3.8  6.1   -    -    -    -   3.6  2.1 13.0  7.0   -    -   1.9   -    - 
       2.2  4.6  6.5  3.5  5.9  7.4 13.3   -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -   0.9
       4.5  1.6  5.5  1.5  2.4  4.5 13.3   -    -   0.3   -    -    -    -    -   0.9
OCHPA  5.3   -   4.1   -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -
PRZDA   -    -    -    -    -    -   9.3   -    -    -    -   3.7   -    -    -    -
SLAST   -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -
STOEN   -    -    -    -    -    -   2.0   -    -   1.2   -    -   3.5   -   1.2   -
STORO   -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    - 
        -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -
STRJO   -    -    -    -   7.9  5.4   -    -    -   8.8   -    -   0.6  7.0  4.5  2.2
        -    -    -    -   4.0  4.4   -    -    -   7.6   -    -    -   5.7  7.5   - 
        -    -    -   0.9 12.2  5.5   -    -    -  11.5   -    -   2.2 11.0 10.3   -
YRJIL 13.1   -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -   1.4 13.3  1.3
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sum   73.7 54.6 62.9 13.8 73.0 57.8 65.6 24.5 24.8 92.1 42.7 24.5 47.2 96.1109.8 36.5


3. Results (Meteors)
====================

Jan    01   02   03   04   05   06   07   08   09   10   11   12   13   14   15
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BENOR   4   24    -    2   10    -    -    1    -    -    -    -    -    -    -
BRIBE   -    -    -    -   46    8    -   30   36   13   23    -    -    -   17
CASFL  34   86   49   10    1    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    - 
       22   84   37    7    -    -    -   18   24   16   25   29    -    -   24
CRIST   -    -   45    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    - 
       41  168   65   22    -    -    -    5   27   37   42   30    -    8   52
ELTMA   -   77   60   30    -    -    -   30   34    4   19   28    -    -    -
GONRU   -    -    -   19    3    -   44   28    -   18    2    -    6    -    - 
        -    -    -   15   20    2   38   38    -   30   24    1    3    -    -
HERCA  27   28  107    -    -   10   16   18   13   17    7   14   14   12   19
HINWO   -    -    -   12    -    -    -   30   20    7   19   27    3    -    8
JOBKL   -  300    -    -  120    4    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -
KACJA   -    -   31   26    7    -    -   21   10    1    -    -    -    -    - 
        -    -   88    -   12    -    -   44   39    -    -    -    -    -    - 
        -    -   31    -    -    -    -   13   16    2    -    -    -    -    - 
        -   26   11    1    2    -    -    7    -    -    -    -    -    -    -
KOSDE   -   41    -    -   14    5    -    6   11    -    -    -    -    -    -
LUNRO   1    -    -    -   51    -   40   26    -   28   28   34   32   28   35
MOLSI   -    -    -    -    -    -   23   31   10    6    5    4   17    -   29 
        -  109   19    1    -    -   17   23   23    4   21   23    3    -   11
        -  110    -    -   47   12    -    9    -    5   25    5   15    -    - 
        -  137    -    -   30   25    -    1    -    2   10   10   35    -    -
OCHPA  16   70   31    7    1    -    -   18   11   22   24   28    -    -   11
PRZDA   -   19    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    5    -    -    -
SLAST   -    -    6    2    2    -    -    6    -    -    1    -    -    -    -
STOEN   -  123   67    -    -    -    -   34   39   13   23   36    -    -   23
STORO   -  234   55    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    - 
        -  389   30    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -
STRJO   -   76    -    -   12    3    -   20   17    4   10    -    -    -    7 
        -   28    -    -   20    8    -   25   25   16   17    -    -    -    9 
        -  140    -    -   54   12    -   39   31   12   25    -    -    -   23
YRJIL  60  117   11   50    -   37   49    -   12    -    -    -    -    -   36
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sum   205 2386  743  204  452  126  227  521  398  257  350  274  128   48  304

Jan    16   17   18   19   20   21   22   23   24   25   26   27   28   29   30   31
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BENOR   -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    1    2    2
BRIBE  12    2   17    4   29   31    -    -    7   37   28    -   29   36   29    3
CASFL   -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -
       16    2   14    -    -   21   20    9    -    1    -    2   11    1    6    -
CRIST   -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    - 
        2    -    5    -    3   46   12   15    -    2    5    6   48   35   21    -
ELTMA   -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -
GONRU  11    -    -    -    8    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    - 
        4    -    -    -   12    -    -    -    1    -    -    -    -    -    -    -
HERCA  19   10    2   12   13    2    -    -    -   12    4    5   15   15   18   14
HINWO   6   22    -    -    -    -   40   35    -   41   18    -    -    -    -    -
JOBKL   -    -    9    -    -    -    -    7   30    -    -    -    -   73   70   54
KACJA   -    9    -    -    -    -    1    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -
        -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    - 
        -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    - 
        -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -
KOSDE   -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -   11    3    2    3    -    9   14    5
LUNRO  38   39   27    -   27    -    -    -    -    -    -   32   26   33   33   42
MOLSI   -   55  128    -    -    -    -    -   37  117   32    -    -   58    -    2 
        -    6   17    -    -    -    -    5    2   24    6    -    -    3    -    - 
        4    7   11    4   10   24   28    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    2
        9    2   24    2    6   11   28    -    -    1    -    -    -    -    -    2
OCHPA  15    -   12    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -
PRZDA   -    -    -    -    -    -   10    -    -    -    -    4    -    -    -    -
SLAST   -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -
STOEN   -    -    -    -    -    -    4    -    -    1    -    -    5    -    1    -
STORO   -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    - 
        -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -
STRJO   -    -    -    -   34   23    -    -    -   17    -    -    1   18   10    9 
        -    -    -    -    4    7    -    -    -   15    -    -    -    7   10    - 
        -    -    -    2   39   25         -    -   32    -    -    3   24   19    -
YRJIL  40    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    3   28    2
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sum   176  154  266   24  185  190  143   71   88  303   95   52  138  316  261  137

Sirko Molau, 2009/02/25