Virginids

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The Virginids are a meteor shower. There are many major and minor meteor shower streams that occur during the Virginid Complex, [1] including the Alpha Virginids, Gamma Virginids, [2] [3] [4] [5] Eta Virginids, Theta Virginids, Iota Virginids, [6] Lambda Virginids, [7] Mu Virginids, [8] Pi Virginids, and Psi Virginids, [9] and March Virginids, [10] [11] emanating mostly from the constellation Virgo between February and May. [1] Collectively, the shower normally lasts from late January to mid-April [12] and into early May, [1] peaking in March and April, [1] [12] with one to two meteors per hour on average. [12] The main radiant shifts southeastwards from central Leo in late January to central Virgo near Spica in mid-May. [13]

Meteor shower celestial event

A meteor shower is a celestial event in which a number of meteors are observed to radiate, or originate, from one point in the night sky. These meteors are caused by streams of cosmic debris called meteoroids entering Earth's atmosphere at extremely high speeds on parallel trajectories. Most meteors are smaller than a grain of sand, so almost all of them disintegrate and never hit the Earth's surface. Very intense or unusual meteor showers are known as meteor outbursts and meteor storms, which produce at least 1,000 meteors an hour, most notably from the Leonids. The Meteor Data Centre lists over 900 suspected meteor showers of which about 100 are well established. Several organizations point to viewing opportunities on the Internet.

Virgo (constellation) Zodiac constellation straddling the celestial equator

Virgo is one of the constellations of the zodiac. Its name is Latin for virgin, and its symbol is ♍. Lying between Leo to the west and Libra to the east, it is the second-largest constellation in the sky and the largest constellation in the zodiac. It can be easily found through its brightest star, Spica.

Radiant (meteor shower) the point from which meteors appear to originate

The radiant or apparent radiant of a meteor shower is the celestial point in the sky from which the paths of meteors appear to originate. The Perseids, for example, are meteors which appear to come from a point within the constellation of Perseus.

Contents

Alpha Virginids

The Alpha Virginids occur between March 10 and May 6, peaking between April 7 and April 18, with five to ten meteors per hour. They were first detected in 1895. [14]

Gamma Virginids

The North and South Gamma Virginids are a slow-moving minor meteor shower stream, [2] [3] although the May Gamma Virginids and Daytime Gamma Virginids are faster-moving. [4] [5] The source of the North and South Gamma Virginid streams are thought to be 2002 FC and 2003 BD44, respectively. [2] [3] It usually spans from April 5 to April 21, peaking on April 14 and April 15, with less than five meteors per hour. It was first discovered in 1895. [15]

Eta Virginids

The Eta Virginids occur between February 24 and March 27, peaking around March 18 with only one to two meteors per hour. The shower was first detected in 1961. [16]

Theta Virginids

The Theta Virginids occur between March 10 and April 21, peaking around March 20, with only one to three meteors per hour. The shower was first observed in 1850 and identified in 1948. [17]

Iota Virginids

The Iota Virginids are a minor daytime meteor shower stream. [6]

Lambda Virginids

The Lambda Virginids are a minor meteor shower stream. [7]

Mu Virginids

The Mu virginids are a minor meteor shower stream, visible in April [18] and early May. The shower typically lasts from April 1 to May 12, peaking around April 24 [19] to April 25. Its radiant is near Libra, peaking with seven to ten meteors per hour. [20]

Pi Virginids

The Pi Virginids occur between February 13 and April 8, peaking between March 3 and March 9, with two to five meteors per hour. The shower was first observed in 1908 and identified in 1948. [21]

Psi Virginids

The Psi Virginids are a minor daytime meteor shower stream. [9]

March Virginids

The March Virginids are a minor meteor shower stream; the source of the Northern March Virginids is thought to be 1998 SJ70. [10] [ dead link ] The Beta Leonids, lasting from February 14 to April 25, peaking around March 20 with three to four meteors per hour, were also referred to as the "March Virginids". [22]

Related Research Articles

Aries (constellation) constellation in the zodiac

Aries is one of the constellations of the zodiac. It is located in the northern celestial hemisphere between Pisces to the west and Taurus to the east. The name Aries is Latin for ram, and its symbol is , representing a ram's horns. It is one of the 48 constellations described by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy, and remains one of the 88 modern constellations. It is a mid-sized constellation, ranking 39th overall size, with an area of 441 square degrees.

Boötes Constellation in the northern celestial hemisphere

Boötes is a constellation in the northern sky, located between 0° and +60° declination, and 13 and 16 hours of right ascension on the celestial sphere. The name comes from the Greek Βοώτης, Boōtēs, meaning “herdsman” or “plowman”.

Leonids meteor shower

The Leonids are a prolific meteor shower associated with the comet Tempel–Tuttle, which are also known for their spectacular meteor storms that occur about every 33 years. The Leonids get their name from the location of their radiant in the constellation Leo: the meteors appear to radiate from that point in the sky. Their proper Greek name should be Leontids, but the word was initially constructed as a Greek/Latin hybrid and it has been used since. They peak in the month of November.

Geminids meteor shower

The Geminids are a prolific meteor shower caused by the object 3200 Phaethon, which is thought to be a Palladian asteroid with a "rock comet" orbit. This would make the Geminids, together with the Quadrantids, the only major meteor showers not originating from a comet. The meteors from this shower are slow moving, can be seen in December and usually peak around December 6–14, with the date of highest intensity being the morning of December 14. The shower is thought to be intensifying every year and recent showers have seen 120–160 meteors per hour under optimal conditions, generally around 02:00 to 03:00 local time. Geminids were first observed in 1862, much more recently than other showers such as the Perseids and Leonids.

Perseids Prolific meteor shower associated with the comet Swift-Tuttle

The Perseids are a prolific Riordanian meteor shower associated with the comet Swift–Tuttle. The meteors are called the Perseids because the point from which they appear to hail lies in the constellation Perseus.

The Quadrantids (QUA) are a January meteor shower. The zenithal hourly rate (ZHR) of this shower can be as high as that of two other reliably rich meteor showers, the Perseids in August and the Geminids in December, yet Quadrantid meteors are not seen as often as meteors in these other two showers, because the peak intensity is exceedingly sharp, sometimes lasting only hours. Additionally, the meteors are quite faint.

46P/Wirtanen short-period comet

46P/Wirtanen is a small short-period comet with a current orbital period of 5.4 years. It was the original target for close investigation by the Rosetta spacecraft, planned by the European Space Agency, but an inability to meet the launch window caused Rosetta to be sent to 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko instead. It belongs to the Jupiter family of comets, all of which have aphelia between 5 and 6 AU. Its diameter is estimated at 1.2 kilometres (0.75 mi).

Eta Aquariids meteor shower

The Eta Aquariids are a meteor shower associated with Halley's Comet.

The Taurids are an annual meteor shower, associated with the comet Encke. The Taurids are actually two separate showers, with a Southern and a Northern component. The Southern Taurids originated from Comet Encke, while the Northern Taurids originated from the asteroid 2004 TG10. They are named after their radiant point in the constellation Taurus, where they are seen to come from in the sky. Because of their occurrence in late October and early November, they are also called Halloween fireballs.

Comet IRAS–Araki–Alcock astronomical object

Comet IRAS–Araki–Alcock is a long-period comet that, in 1983, made the closest approach to Earth, about 0.0312 AU, of any comet in 200 years; only Lexell's Comet, in 1770, and 55P/Tempel-Tuttle, in 1366, are thought to have come closer.

Draconids meteor shower

The October Draconids, in the past also unofficially known as the Giacobinids, are a meteor shower whose parent body is the periodic comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner. They are named after the constellation Draco, where they seemingly come from. Almost all meteors which fall towards Earth ablate long before reaching its surface. The Draconids are best viewed after sunset in an area with a clear dark sky.

David J. Asher is a British astronomer, who works at the Armagh Observatory in Northern Ireland. He studied mathematics at Cambridge and received his doctorate from Oxford. He is known for the meteor research that he conducts with Robert McNaught. In 1999 and 2000, they accurately gauged when the Leonids meteor shower would peak, while underestimating the peak intensities.

The Orionid meteor shower, usually shortened to the Orionids, is the most prolific meteor shower associated with Halley's Comet. The Orionids are so-called because the point they appear to come from, called the radiant, lies in the constellation Orion, but they can be seen over a large area of the sky. Orionids are an annual meteor shower which last approximately one week in late October. In some years, meteors may occur at rates of 50–70 per hour.

Lyrids meteor shower in the constellation Lyra

The April Lyrids are a meteor shower lasting from April 16 to April 26 each year. The radiant of the meteor shower is located in the constellation Lyra, near this constellation's brightest star, Alpha Lyrae. Their peak is typically around April 22 each year.

Andromedids meteor shower

The Andromedids meteor shower is associated with Biela's Comet, the showers occurring as Earth passes through old streams left by the comet's tail. The comet was observed to have broken up by 1846; further drift of the pieces by 1852 suggested the moment of breakup was in either 1842 or early 1843, when the comet was near Jupiter. The breakup led to particularly spectacular showers in subsequent cycles.

The Delta Cancrids is a medium strength meteor shower lasting from December 14 to February 14, the main shower from January 1 to January 24. The radiant is located in the constellation of Cancer, near Delta Cancri. It peaks on January 17 each year, with only four meteors per hour. It was first discovered in 1872, but the first solid evidence of this phenomenon came in 1971. The source of this meteor shower is unknown, it has been suggested that it is similar to the orbit of asteroid 2001 YB5.

Comae Berenicids is a minor meteor shower with a radiant in the constellation Coma Berenices. The shower appears from December 12 to December 23 with the estimated maximum around December 16. The radiant at that time is located at α=175°, δ=+18°. The shower's population index is 3.0 with the speed of 65 kilometres per second (40 mi/s).

209P/LINEAR periodic comet

209P/LINEAR is a periodic comet discovered on 3 February 2004 by Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR) using a 1.0-metre (39 in) reflector. Initially it was observed without a coma and named 2004 CB as a minor planet or asteroid, but in March 2004 Robert H. McNaught observed a comet tail which confirmed it as a comet. It was given the permanent number 209P on 12 December 2008 as it was the second observed appearance of the comet. Prediscovery images of the comet, dating back to December 2003, were found during 2009. Arecibo imaging in 2014 showed the comet nucleus is peanut shaped and about 2.4 km in diameter. The comet has extremely low activity for its size and is probably in the process of evolving into an extinct comet.

300P/Catalina is a periodic comet in the Solar System with an orbital period of 4.4 years. It is the second comet ever listed on the Sentry Risk Table. At 1.4 km in diameter, it is one of the largest objects ever listed on the Sentry Risk Table.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "The Virginids Complex". Meteor Showers Online. p. 1. Archived from the original on 2008-11-20. Retrieved 2008-08-05.
  2. 1 2 3 Jopek, T.J. (Nov 15, 2007). "North Gamma Virginids". IAU Meteor Data Center. Archived from the original on 2011-06-14. Retrieved 2008-08-07.
  3. 1 2 3 Jopek, T.J. (Nov 15, 2007). "South Gamma Virginids". IAU Meteor Data Center. Archived from the original on 2011-06-14. Retrieved 2008-08-07.
  4. 1 2 Jopek, T.J. (Nov 15, 2007). "May Gamma Virginids". IAU Meteor Data Center. Archived from the original on 2011-06-14. Retrieved 2008-08-07.
  5. 1 2 Jopek, T.J. (Nov 15, 2007). "Dayt. Gamma Virginids". IAU Meteor Data Center. Archived from the original on 2011-06-14. Retrieved 2008-08-07.
  6. 1 2 Jopek, T. J. (Nov 15, 2007). "Iota Virginids". IAU Meteor Data Center. Archived from the original on 2011-06-14. Retrieved 2008-08-07.
  7. 1 2 Jopek, T. J. (Nov 15, 2007). "Lambda Virginids". IAU Meteor Data Center. Archived from the original on 2011-06-14. Retrieved 2008-08-07.
  8. ↑ Jopek, T. J. (Nov 15, 2007). "Mu Virginids". IAU Meteor Data Center. Archived from the original on 2011-06-14. Retrieved 2008-08-07.
  9. 1 2 Jopek, T. J. (Nov 15, 2007). "Psi Virginids". IAU Meteor Data Center. Archived from the original on 2011-06-14. Retrieved 2008-08-07.
  10. 1 2 Jopek, T. J. (Nov 15, 2007). "Northern March Virginids". IAU Meteor Data Center. Archived from the original on 2011-06-14. Retrieved 2008-08-07.Cite uses deprecated parameter |deadurl= (help)
  11. ↑ Jopek, T. J. (Nov 15, 2007). "South. March Virginids". IAU Meteor Data Center. Archived from the original on 2011-06-14. Retrieved 2008-08-07.
  12. 1 2 3 "SPA Meteor Section". Pop astro. 2006. p. 1. Archived from the original on 2008-05-09. Retrieved 2008-08-05.
  13. ↑ "Virginids Radiant Position". nightskyinfo.com. p. 1. Retrieved 2008-08-05.
  14. ↑ "Alpha Virginids". Meteor Showers Online. p. 1. Archived from the original on 2008-08-27. Retrieved 2008-08-05.
  15. ↑ "Gamma Virginids". Meteor Showers Online. Archived from the original on 2008-08-27. Retrieved 2008-08-07.
  16. ↑ "Eta Virginids". Meteor Showers Online. p. 1. Archived from the original on 2008-08-07. Retrieved 2008-08-05.
  17. ↑ "Theta Virginids". Meteor Showers Online. p. 1. Archived from the original on 2008-08-07. Retrieved 2008-08-05.
  18. ↑ Davis, Mark (3 May 2001). "(meteorbs) NAMN Notes: May 2001". meteorbs. Archived from the original on 16 May 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-07.
  19. ↑ "meteor shower list". International Meteor Organization. Retrieved 2008-08-07.
  20. ↑ "glossary". Project Pluto. Retrieved 2008-08-07.
  21. ↑ "Pi Virginids". Meteor Showers Online. p. 1. Archived from the original on 2008-08-07. Retrieved 2008-08-05.
  22. ↑ "Beta Leonids". Meteor Showers Online. Archived from the original on 2008-05-16. Retrieved 2008-08-07.
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