Results of the AKM Video Meteor Network - May 2001
==================================================

After there was one negative record after the other in the previous months, 
the observers were finally awarded with better weather in May. In Germany 
we had stable high pressure systems both in the first and second part of the 
month resulting in blue skies and summer-like tempatures. Thus, active
observers easily finished with more than 10 observing nights. Using also small
cloud gaps I even managed to have only one break in the whole second part of
May. What's missing is the night that we partly spend together with Rob
McNaught in a Pizzeria in Darmstadt. However, that night was overcasted,
anyway. :-)

Steven Evans of England now started with "real observations", even though
he could collect only a limited number of meteor records due to the short
nights. Ilkka Yrjola observed his last meteor before the summer break at his
high northern latitude, and our colleagues at the Canary islands observed
up to 40 meteors a night thanks to the longer night time. There were an
overall of more than 850 meteors recorded in Europe, which is far more than
what we recorded that month in the last two years together.

Rob McNaught spent most of the month in the US and Europe, but still managed
to collect more than 20 observing nights. How's that possible? His colleague
Steven Qirks operated the camera down under at that time! With the increasing
duration of southern night the number of meteor records from Australia is
still growing amazingly. Meanwhile this camera records more than the European 
systems during the Perseid maximum, and the tendency is still upward. It has 
to be noted, however, that the figures are still preliminary and might get 
down a little after another inspection of the data. In addition, the effective 
observing time of SSO1 contains also hours with overcasted skies.

In the first part of May there was probably a minor shower active, which did
not made it yet into the IMO meteor shower working list. The eta-Lyrids are
currently under closer investigation in cooperation with visual observers 
from the DMS.
By the end of May we were looking for meteors from comet Schwassmann-
Wachmann 3, too. The video records revealed the same result as visual 
observations: There were virtually no meteors from the predicted radiant. 
Only Rob McNaught recorded about a dozen candidates. Given more than 300 
meteors that night, however, these were probably by-chance alignments.


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

Code     Name      Place            Camera          FOV    LM  Nights Time Meteors
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BENOR  Benitez  S. Maspalomas   TIMES4 (1.4/50)    20 dg  8 mag   6  42.1 h   120 
EVAST  Evans    Little Thurlow  EMILY (1.8/28)     36 dg  5 mag   5  14.4 h    27
KOSDE  Koschny  Noordwijkerhout ICC4 (0.85/25)     25 dg  6 mag   8  43.8 h    87
KNOAN  Knoefel  Duesseldorf     VIDEOMET (0.75/50) 20 dg  7 mag   4  14.6 h    28 
MCNRO  McNaught Coonabarabran   SSO1 (1.2/85)      13 dg  9 mag  21 191.4 h  3342  
MOLSI  Molau    Aachen          AVIS (2.0/35)      40 dg  5 mag  22  86.3 h   328
NITMI  Nitschke Dresden         VK1 (0.75/50)      20 dg  8 mag   5  22.6 h    36
RENJU  Rendtel  Marquardt       CARMEN (1.8/28)    28 dg  5 mag  15  61.5 h    86
STRJO  Strunk   Leopoldshoehe   FAMOS  (2.0/28)    45 dg  5 mag  18  85.1 h   164
YRJIL  Yrjola   Kuusankoski     NONAME (2.0/35)    35 dg  6 mag   1   2.1 h     1
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Overall                                                          27 563.9 h  4219


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

May    01   02   03   04   05   06   07   08   09   10   11   12   13   14   15
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BENOR   -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -   7.5   -   5.4   -    -    -  
EVAST   -    -    -    -    -    -    -   2.0   -    -   3.1  3.1   -    -    -
KOSDE   -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -   4.6  6.0  5.8  6.0   -    -    -
KNOAN   -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -   5.2  5.2   -    -    -    -    -
MCNRO   -   7.0   -    -    -    -   8.9 11.1 10.9 10.9 10.5 10.7 11.0 11.1  7.2
MOLSI   -    -    -    -   0.7   -   1.9  4.1  6.5  6.5  2.4  5.8   -    -    -
NITMI   -   5.0   -    -    -    -    -    -   5.1   -   5.0   -    -    -    -
RENJU  6.0  6.2   -    -    -    -    -   4.0  5.5  3.1  5.4   -    -    -    -
STRJO  5.3  6.4   -    -    -    -    -   5.2  5.6  5.5  5.3  5.4  5.3   -    -
YRJIL   -    -    -    -    -    -    -   2.1   -    -    -    -    -    -    -
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sum   11.3 24.6   -    -   0.7   -  10.8 28.5 43.4 44.7 37.5 36.4 16.3 11.1  7.2

May    16   17   18   19   20   21   22   23   24   25   26   27   28   29   30   31
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BENOR   -    -    -    -    -   8.0  7.5  8.0   -    -    -    -    -    -   5.7   -
EVAST   -    -    -    -    -   3.1  3.1   -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -
KOSDE   -    -    -   5.8  5.7  6.0  3.9   -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -
KNOAN   -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -   0.3  3.9   -    -
MCNRO 11.0 11.1   -   8.1  8.6 11.1  8.0   -    -   2.0   -    -    -  10.5 10.9 10.8
MOLSI  1.8  4.8   -   4.9  5.4  5.8  5.8  5.7  5.4  3.1  3.6  2.7  0.8  5.1  2.5  1.0
NITMI   -    -    -    -    -    -   5.1   -    -   2.4   -    -    -    -    -    -
RENJU   -    -    -   4.9  3.8  0.9  4.8  4.8  4.3  4.2  1.7   -    -   1.9   -    -
STRJO  4.4   -    -   4.2  4.8  5.0  4.7  4.3  1.0  4.4  4.0   -    -   4.3   -    -
YRJIL   -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sum   17.2 15.9   -  27.9 28.3 39.9 32.9 22.8 10.7 16.1 19.3  2.7  1.1 25.7 19.1 11.8


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

May    01   02   03   04   05   06   07   08   09   10   11   12   13   14   15
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BENOR   -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -   41    -   15    -    -    -
EVAST   -    -    -    -    -    -    -    4    -    -    5    6    -    -    -
KOSDE   -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    2   10   18    6    -    -    -
KNOAN   -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    7    7    -    -    -    -    -
MCNRO   -  147    -    -    -    -    1   57   73  116  125  155  181  151   97
MOLSI   -    -    -    -    2    -    3   13   16   28   18   33    -    -    -
NITMI   -    3    -    -    -    -    -    -    9    -   14    -    -    -    -
RENJU   3    7    -    -    -    -    -    5    7    3   10    -    -    -    -
STRJO   6   13    -    -    -    -    -    6   11   10    6    9    6    -    -
YRJIL   -    -    -    -    -    -    -    1    -    -    -    -    -    -    -
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sum     9  170    -    -    2    -    4   86  125  215  196  224  187  151   97

May    16   17   18   19   20   21   22   23   24   25   26   27   28   29   30   31
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BENOR   -    -    -    -    -   22   19   17    -    -    -    -    -    -    6    -
EVAST   -    -    -    -    -    6    6    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -
KOSDE   -    -    -    4   17    9   21    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -
KNOAN   -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    4   10    -    -
MCNRO 189  256    -  111  208  168  180    -    -   99    -    -    -  300  327  401
MOLSI   7   26    -    8   21   13   29   28   20   10   11    9    8   15    5    5
NITMI   -    -    -    -    -    -    5    -    -    5    -    -    -    -    -    -
RENJU   -    -    -    7    4    2    5   12    9    6    4    -    -    2    -    -
STRJO  13    -    -    5   22   11   15   10    2    5    7    -    -    7    -    -
YRJIL   -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    - 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sum   209  282    -  135  272  231  280   67   31  125   22    9   12  334  338  406

Sirko Molau, 2001/06/18