Results of the IMO Video Meteor Network - December 2007
=======================================================

The year 2007 finished with true meteor fireworks. The weather was less 
co-operative than in 2006, so that the monthly totals summed to "only" 
1,700 hours of observing time and nearly 9,800 meteors. That was sufficient, 
though, to ensure the first place for 2007 in the annual statistics.

In the first December days weather was particularly good for a winter month, 
but right in time for the Geminids the situation became worse. At the maximum 
night December 12/13 it was better again, but there was hardly an observing 
site with truly clear skies. Often the observation was hampered by cirrus 
clouds or fog. Bob Lunsford was in the best position of all - he had moved 
for three nights into the Californian desert with pristine skies. On 
December 14/15 he broke all records by capturing over 700 meteors in eight 
hours of observing time. That result was only topped during the Leonid 
storms.
In subsequent nights, the weather allowed one or the other observation. 
However, just in time for the eagerly awaited Ursid maximum it deteriorated 
again and improved only slightly towards the end of the year.

Now for the highlights of the month. At first I would like to mention a 
sporadic meteor of first magnitude that I captured on the morning of 
December 14 at 4:14 UT. What's so special about it? It's the 100,000st 
meteor that I observed by video and analysed with MetRec! Ok, to be perfectly 
honest, the one shown here is meteor no. 99,999. The real jubilee meteor was 
much less attractive. ;-)



Back to the real highlights of the last month. First of all, the Geminids 
have to be mentioned. Contrary to the previous year, there was no single 
camera in 2007 with permanently clear skies on December 13/14 and 14/15. For 
that reason, the activity graph had to be combined from time intervals with 
clear skies from the individual cameras. Unfortunately I could not use the 
data sets of the image-intensified cameras AVIS2 and BOCAM. That was 
particularly pity, because the American data would have extended to profile 
quite a bit. However, whereas all the other Mintron and Watec cameras have 
in the first order similar recordings properties, the two intensified cameras 
record much more meteors. The meteor counts would have to be scaled down, 
but the scaling factor is not easily determined.
The resulting activity profile from the other cameras shows rising Geminid 
activity in the evening of December 13 until about midnight. From there on, 
it stays at an high level until dawn, and by the evening of December 14 the 
rates are falling again.



The second highlight of December were the Ursids, which were supposed to 
show enhanced rates in 2007. Just days before the maximum, Peter Jenniskens, 
Esko Lyytinen and other renowned outburst specialists published a paper in 
WGN. They had studied the development of dust trails from the parent comet 
8/P Tuttle in the last 2000 years. It was concluded, that on December 22 
between 20 and 22 UT ZHRs between 40 and 80 could have been expected, much 
more than the usual maximum rate of about 10. Already at previous returns 
of the short periodic parent comet, the Ursids had occasionally shown 
enhanced rates, which could be explained more or less well by the dust 
trail simulations.

Unfortunately, the weather was hardly co-operative in the night in question, 
and the full moon was high in the sky. So only three cameras (Mincam2, 
Mincam3, Hermine) in the Ruhr area in Germany and one (Finexcam) in Finland 
were able to provide useful data sets. Mincam5 was blinded for a longer time 
period by the full moon, RF1 suffered from clouds drifting through the field 
of view, and at other sites skies cleared only later at night.
The four cameras recorded 93 Ursids and 42 sporadic meteors between December 
22, 15:30 UT and December 23, 01 UT. From the first look it was obvious, 
that Ursid rates were high right from the beginning of observation until 
about 23 UT, and broke down dramatically thereafter. For the analysis, meteor 
were summed up in 30 minute intervals and corrected for the radiant altitude. 
In addition, an empirical correction factor was applied for those time 
intervals where the full moon disturbed the field of view. In the end, the 
data from the four cameras were averaged resulting in an activity profile, 
that shows enhanced activity between 17 and 23 UT.

But was that indeed the expected outburst? Fortunately, there was already 
special interest in the Ursids before, so I had done an analysis of the 
shower with the same method in the previous year based on five data sets. 
That could now be used for comparison. It became clear, that the activity 
profile in 2007 was quite similar to the one of 2006, and rates were only 
slightly higher. Since the profile of sporadic meteors looked the same as 
well it can be ruled out, that this is only due to different observing 
conditions (limiting magnitude, field of view). If there was indeed an 
outburst, it must have consisted mainly of faint meteors - too faint to 
be recorded by non-intensified cameras in a moonlit night. 



It remains to mention, that the highest Ursid activity was observed in both 
years in the evening of December 22, i.e. at a different solar longitude.

Let's now come to the annual statistics for 2007. In the last year, 
22 observers (2006: 19) from 9 countries (2006: 6) have participated in 
the IMO Video Meteor Network with 30 (2006: 28) distinct camera systems. 
With respect to the number of observers, Germany (7) and Italy (5) are 
on top, followed by Slovenia (3). All observers but Bob Lunsford (USA) are 
based in Europe.
The slightly increased interest in the camera network reflects also in the 
observation result. Even though we "only" got 364 observing nights this 
time (Mai 28/29 was the only night with no observation in the last two years), 
the overall effective observing time increased from nearly 15,000 hours 
in 2006 to nearly 17,000 hours in 2007, and also the meteor number increased 
from 70,000 to 75,000. Averaging over all cameras and nights, we 
recorded 4.4 meteors per hour - slightly less than in the year before 
(2006: 4.7).

Once more, August, October and December were particularly successful months. 
Whereas most observing time was collected in October, we could record for 
the first time more than 15,000 meteors a month in August. April is also 
worthwhile to be mentioned, since this typically very poor month yielded 
perfect observing conditions in 2007, in contrast to the two following months. 

Month   # Observing   Effective Obs.   # Meteors   Meteors /
           Nights       Time [h]                     Hour
============================================================
January      31          1071.8           3188       3.0
February     28          1011.2           2720       2.7
March        31          1605.6           3466       2.2
April        30          2087.1           4823       2.3
May          30           880.9           2145       2.4
June         30           631.8           1864       3.0
July         31          1259.9           5912       4.7
August       31          1603.9          15185       9.5
September    30          1623.9           7609       4.7
October      31          1881.2          11535       6.1
November     30          1586.1           6807       4.3
December     31          1689.0           9816       6.0
============================================================
Overall     364         16932.4          75070       4.4

Looking at the complete video meteor database, we now collected between 
10,000 (May) and 53,800 (October) meteors per month. The data set has
almost doubled since the last extensive meteor shower analysis in 2006, 
which is why I intend to repeat the analysis this year.

In the last year, six (2006: 5) observers managed to take the magic hurdle 
of 200 observing nights. In fact, what seemed to be almost impossible 
before - I myself collected even well above 300 nights improving the record 
from last years by 36 nights. Javor Kac, Flavio Castellani, Bernd 
Brinkmann, Mihaela Triglav and Joerg Strunk follow in the statistics. 
It should be mentioned, that Sirko Molau, Javor Kac and Joerg Strunk 
usually operate three cameras in parallel.
The results for all observers are summarized in the next table. 

Observer             Country  # Observing  Effective Obs.  # Meteors  Meteors /
                                 Nights       Time [h]                  Hour
============================================================================
Sirko Molau          Germany       324         3288.9        18326       5.6
Javor Kac            Slovenia      256         2331.8        10253       4.4
Flavio Castellani    Italy         238         1317.2         3253       2.5
Bernd Brinkmann      Germany       220          833.3         3098       3.7
Mihaela Triglav      Slovenia      208         1022.3         3544       3.5
Joerg Strunk         Germany       201         1430.9         4692       3.3
Biondani Roberto     Italy         153          872.0         2822       3.2
Enrico Stomeo        Italy         145         1004.8         4214       4.2
Ilkka Yrjola         Finland       142          770.3         3753       4.9
Wolfgang Hinz        Germany       133          748.5         3713       5.0
Stane Slavec         Slovenia      133          655.4         1601       2.4
Stephen Evans        U.K.          108          710.3         3043       4.3
Orlando Benitez-S.   Spain          86          280.0          787       2.8
Robert Lunsford      U.S.A.         82          532.9         4867       9.1
Detlef Koschny       Netherlands    70          516.5         1874       3.6
Maurizio Eltri       Italy          45          373.3         1887       5.1
Stefano Crivello     Italy          16          110.1          767       7.0
Rosta Stork          Czech Rep.      8           70.0         2191      31.3
Niko Wuensche        Germany         7           37.5          254       6.8
Milos Weber          Czech Rep.      4            3.9           55      14.1
Ulrich Sperberg      Germany         2           19.4           46       2.4
Daniel Fischer       Germany         1            3.1           30       9.7
============================================================================
Overall                            364        16932.4        75070       4.4

It remains to explain, how a single observer can collect 324 observing 
nights in central Europe. The answer has two aspects:
On the hand hand, my cameras are installed at two observing sites at a 
distance of about 500 kilometers. If it is clouded at one site, there are 
still chances for a cloud gap at the second.
On the other hand, both observing sites seem to be well suited for central 
European circumstances. Both camera systems are operated fully autonomously 
and run stable such that they do not miss the slightest cloud gap. The 
following statistics of the ten most successful cameras shows REMO1 in 
Ketzuer in first and MINCAM1 in Seysdorf in second place.

Camera       Site               Observer      # Obs.   Eff. Obs.  # Met. Met. /
                                              Nights   Time [h]          Hour
===============================================================================
REMO1     Ketzuer (D)        Sirko Molau        271     1243.5     4363   3.5
MINCAM1   Seysdorf (D)       Sirko Molau        251     1247.8     4171   3.3
BMH1      Monte Baldo (I)    Flavio Castellani  238     1317.2     3253   2.5
HERMINE   Herne (D)          Bernd Brinkmann    220      833.3     3098   3.7
METKA     Konstanjevec (SL)  Javor Kac          209     1168.6     3906   3.3
SRAKA     Velenje (SL)       Mihaela Triglav    208     1022.3     3544   3.5
MINCAM2   Herford (D)        Joerg Strunk       184      565.2     1460   2.6
AVIS2     Seysdorf (D)       Sirko Molau        155      797.6     9792  12.3
FIAMENE   Verona (I)         Biondani Roberto   153      872.0     2822   3.2
MIN38     Scorze (I)         Enrico Stomeo      145     1004.8     4214   4.2
===============================================================================

All observation from 2007 are checked for consistency and inserted into the 
video meteor database. They will be made available in PosDat format for 
download at www.imonet.org soon.

Finally, I'd like to thank all observers in the camera network for the 
good co-operation in the previous year, and to wish all of us a happy and 
successful new observing year. 


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

Code    Name        Place           Camera         FOV    LM Nights Time Meteors
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BENOR Benitez-S.  Las Palmas    TIMES4 (1.4/50)   20 dg  3 mag 12   39.2 h   167
                                TIMES5 (0.95/50)  10 dg  3 mag 10   28.9 h    86
BRIBE Brinkmann   Herne         HERMINE (0.8/6)   55 dg  3 mag 20   88.8 h   372
CASFL Castellani  Monte Baldo   BMH1 (0.8/6)      55 dg  3 mag 23  207.0 h   538
CRIST Crivello    Valbrevenna   STG38 (0.8/3.8)   80 dg  3 mag  2   11.5 h    54
ELTMA Eltri       Venezia       MET38 (0.8/3.8)   80 dg  3 mag  3   18.9 h   203
EVAST Evans       Moreton       RF1 (0.8/12)      25 dg  5 mag  9   75.7 h   623
HINWO Hinz        Brannenburg   AKM2 (0.85/25)    32 dg  6 mag 16  124.8 h   591
KACJA Kac         Kostanjevec   METKA (0.8/8)     42 dg  4 mag  8   57.8 h   386
                  Kamnik        REZIKA (0.8/6)    55 dg  3 mag  4   11.7 h    85
                  Ljubljana     ORION1 (0.8/8)    42 dg  4 mag 10   42.5 h   313
KOSDE Koschny     Noordwijkerh. ICC4 (0.85/25)    25 dg  5 mag  3    6.0 h     7
LUNRO Lunsford    Chula Vista   BOCAM (1.4/50)    60 dg  6 mag 17  136.7 h  2128
MOLSI Molau       Seysdorf      AVIS2 (1.4/50)    60 dg  6 mag 11   65.4 h   908
                                MINCAM1 (0.8/6)   55 dg  3 mag 17   75.2 h   386
                  Ketzuer       REMO1 (0.8/3.8)   80 dg  3 mag 16   92.9 h   319
ROBBI Roberto     Verona        FIAMENE (0.8/3.8) 80 dg  3 mag 24  180.3 h   740
SLAST Slavec      Ljubljana     KAYAK1 (1.8/28)   50 dg  4 mag  6   36.2 h   143
STOEN Stomeo      Scorze        MIN38 (0.8/3.8)   80 dg  3 mag 16  141.1 h   646
STORO Stork       Ondrejov      OND1 (1.4/50)     55 dg  6 mag  1    2.7 h    67
STRJO Strunk      Herford       MINCAM2 (0.8/6)   55 dg  3 mag  2   42.6 h   110
                                MINCAM3 (0.8/8)   42 dg  4 mag  6   34.5 h    96
                                MINCAM5 (0.8/6)   55 dg  3 mag  6   45.4 h   178
TRIMI Triglav     Velenje       SRAKA (0.8/6)     55 dg  3 mag 12   50.6 h   237
WUNNI Wuensche    Berlin        ARMEFA (0.8/6)    55 dg  3 mag  5   29.5 h    78
YRJIL Yrjola      Kuusankoski   FINEXCAM (0.8/6)  55 dg  3 mag  7   46.4 h   422
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sum                                                            31 1689.0 h  9816


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

Dec    01   02   03   04   05   06   07   08   09   10   11   12   13   14   15
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BENOR   -   1.8   -   0.2   -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -   7.5  9.3  2.3
        -   0.2   -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -   3.8  9.4  2.2
BRIBE  2.5  0.9  5.2   -   0.3   -   0.3   -    -    -    -   1.5  4.8  2.5 11.3
CASFL   -    -   7.0  9.0  8.5  3.5   -   5.0 12.0  8.0 11.0  4.9 13.0  6.0  3.0
CRIST   -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -   2.3   -    -
ELTMA   -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -   9.3  1.8   -
EVAST   -   7.1   -    -    -    -   5.9   -    -  10.7 11.4 11.7  6.5   -    -
HINWO   -    -   7.0   -   8.0   -    -   4.7  6.8  0.7   -    -    -    -   4.4
KACJA  9.0   -    -   6.6  8.6  6.6   -    -    -   4.7   -    -   7.6   -    - 
        -    -    -   1.1  7.5   -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    - 
        -    -   1.4  4.9  2.0   -    -    -    -    -    -   2.1  8.8  3.8   -
KOSDE   -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -
LUNRO   -    -  11.2 11.9 11.9  1.7   -    -    -    -    -   9.2  2.4  7.7  6.0
MOLSI   -    -   0.3   -   1.3   -    -   4.8  5.7   -    -    -  10.0  2.8   - 
       2.8   -   2.5   -   6.1   -    -   2.7  5.3  0.2   -   0.9  8.2  2.1   - 
      10.8  3.3  2.8  3.9  5.9   -   6.5  5.5  3.5   -   1.0   -    -   6.6  8.0
ROBBI   -    -   8.7 10.0  6.2  1.2   -   4.7  8.2   -   8.8  7.8 10.3  6.3  0.8
SLAST   -    -    -   8.5  5.7   -    -    -    -    -    -    -   7.7   -    -
STOEN   -    -    -    -   9.6  2.4   -   0.6   -    -    -   5.3  6.0  6.1   -
STRJO  0.7   -   0.5   -    -    -   1.8   -   0.5   -    -    -    -    -   4.7
        -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -   9.5
        -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -   7.7
TRIMI  6.5   -   6.6  6.1  7.8  0.7   -   0.3   -   8.2  1.0  0.7  5.7   -    -
WUNNI   -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -
YRJIL   -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -  12.4 14.3   -    -
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sum   32.3 13.3 53.2 62.2 89.4 16.1 14.5 28.3 42.0 32.5 33.2 56.5128.2 64.4 59.9

Dec    16   17   18   19   20   21   22   23   24   25   26   27   28   29   30   31
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BENOR  2.5  1.8   -   3.9  4.3  3.1  2.0   -   0.5   -    -    -    -    -    -    -
       3.8  0.5   -   2.8  4.4  1.7   -    -   0.1   -    -    -    -    -    -    -
BRIBE  8.3 10.9 10.4  0.8   -   9.8 11.0  0.3  1.8  2.2   -    -    -   2.5  1.5   -
CASFL 11.0 13.0 10.0 12.9 10.9 12.9   -    -    -    -    -   7.3  9.9  8.1 12.8  7.3
CRIST   -    -    -    -    -   9.2   -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -
ELTMA   -    -    -    -   7.8   -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -
EVAST  5.3   -    -    -    -    -  11.3   -    -    -    -    -    -   5.8   -    -
HINWO   -  10.0 13.1 13.1 13.1   -   6.6   -    -   4.7  4.4 13.0  8.5  6.7   -    -
KACJA   -    -  10.7   -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -   4.0
        -    -    -    -    -   1.8   -    -    -    -   1.3   -    -    -    -    - 
        -   0.7 10.1  7.1   -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -   1.6
KOSDE   -    -    -    -    -    -   0.2   -   1.1   -    -    -    -   4.7   -    -
LUNRO  5.1  7.0 10.5   -    -    -    -    -  12.1 10.9  7.8  5.1   -    -   5.9 10.3
MOLSI   -  11.9 10.8 11.7   -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -   1.1   -   5.0
        -  12.7 13.8 11.2  0.2   -    -    -    -    -    -    -   0.5  1.7  0.6  3.7
        -    -    -    -    -    -   2.9   -    -   8.9   -    -  14.1  6.5  2.0   -
ROBBI  7.8  8.2 10.8 10.8  6.8  9.4   -    -   7.2  6.9  4.9  6.9 10.6  7.9   -   9.1
SLAST   -    -   7.1  4.7   -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -   2.5
STOEN  6.4  9.6 12.6 11.6 12.6 13.5   -    -    -    -    -  13.5 13.3 10.9  7.1   -
STRJO   -    -   5.0   -    -   8.7 11.2   -   0.5   -    -    -   6.7  1.0  1.3   - 
        -   0.7  4.8   -    -    -  10.9   -    -    -    -    -   7.4  1.2   -    - 
        -    -   4.3   -    -  11.0 10.1   -    -    -    -    -  11.9  0.5   -    -
TRIMI   -    -   6.2   -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -   0.8
WUNNI   -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -   6.7  0.5   -  14.1  8.0   -   0.2
YRJIL   -    -   1.9  4.7  0.9   -   9.8   -    -    -    -    -    -    -   2.4   -
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sum   50.2 87.0141.2 95.3 61.0 81.1 76.0  0.3 23.3 40.3 17.6 45.8 97.0 66.6 33.6 44.5


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

Dec    01   02   03   04   05   06   07   08   09   10   11   12   13   14   15
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BENOR   -    3    -    1    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -   49   59    7 
        -    2    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -   14   26    9
BRIBE   9    3   19    -    1    -    1    -    -    -    -    6   22   26   55
CASFL   -    -   16   15   14    4    -    6   23   26   32   17  127   40    4
CRIST   -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -   30    -    -
ELTMA   -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -  160   14    -
EVAST   -   56    -    -    -    -   25    -    -   76  116  154  106    -    -
HINWO   -    -   24    -   27    -    -    6   78    1    -    -    -    -   42
KACJA  37    -    -   35   50   26    -    -    -   12    -    -  163    -    -
        -    -    -    3   74    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -
        -    -    2   13    4    -    -    -    -    -    -   19  154   57    -
KOSDE   -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -
LUNRO   -    -  122  122  105    6    -    -    -    -    -  140  158  709  318
MOLSI   -    -    4    -    8    -    -   29  130    -    -    -  298   74    - 
       15    -    5    -   19    -    -    3   41    1    -    9  117   33    - 
       36   11    4    5   19    -   22   20   12    -    1    -    -   76   16
ROBBI   -    -   23   19   14    2    -   14   36    -   40   66  147   53    2
SLAST   -    -    -   18   10    -    -    -    -    -    -    -   72    -    -
STOEN   -    -    -    -   29    2    -    3    -    -    -   76   49   51    -
STRJO   2    -    2    -    -    -    5    -    2    -    -    -    -    -   10 
        -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -   24 
        -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -   46
TRIMI  20    -   27   21   35    4    -    2    -   39    4    3   56    -    -
WUNNI   -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -
YRJIL   -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -  123  216    -    -
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sum   119   75  248  252  409   44   53   83  322  155  193  613 1938 1218  533     

Dec    16   17   18   19   20   21   22   23   24   25   26   27   28   29   30   31
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BENOR   8    5    -   10   11    7    5    -    2    -    -    -    -    -    -    - 
       13    2    -    4    8    7    -    -    1    -    -    -    -    -    -    -
BRIBE  43   43   30    1    -   41   43    2    7    6    -    -    -    8    6    -
CASFL  19   31   19   34   21   23    -    -    -    -    -   12   12    9   23   11
CRIST   -    -    -    -    -   24    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -
ELTMA   -    -    -    -   29    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -
EVAST  17    -    -    -    -    -   54    -    -    -    -    -    -   19    -    -
HINWO   -   76   76   56   56    -   39    -    -   17   20   27   36   10    -    -
KACJA   -    -   51    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -   12 
        -    -    -    -    -    7    -    -    -    -    1    -    -    -    -    - 
        -    3   41   18    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    2
KOSDE   -    -    -    -    -    -    2    -    1    -    -    -    -    4    -    -
LUNRO  46   60   56    -    -    -    -    -   56   43   55   42    -    -   30   60
MOLSI   -  129  141   56    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    3    -   36 
        -   40   58   29    1    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    2    2    2    9 
        -    -    -    -    -    -   14    -    -   27    -    -   37   14    5    -
ROBBI  26   24   35   38   19   25    -    -   19   16   21   25   32   14    -   30
SLAST   -    -   31   10    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    2
STOEN  32   62   57   49   46   55    -    -    -    -    -   46   36   20   33    -
STRJO   -    -   10    -    -   21   39    -    2    -    -    -   11    2    4    - 
        -    2   12    -    -    -   42    -    -    -    -    -   14    2    -    - 
        -    -   14    -    -   52   36    -    -    -    -    -   29    1    -    -
TRIMI   -    -   23    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    3
WUNNI   -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    9    1    -   46   21    -    1
YRJIL   -    -    3   18    1    -   51    -    -    -    -    -    -    -   10    -
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sum   204  477  657  323  192  262  325    2   88  118   97  152  255  129  113  166

Sirko Molau, 2008/01/17