From left to right: Koen Miskotte, Marco Langbroek, Casper ter Kuile and Robert Haas with the Camper in the Background
Photo by Robert Haas
Team Delphinus announces successfull Leonid watch
Visual results of Marco Langbroek on 13/14 and 14/15 November
Visual results of Marco Langbroek on 15/16 November
Visual results of Koen Miskotte on 15/16 November
Visual results of Koen Miskotte on 16/17 November
Leonid visual results: ZHR- and magnitude distribution Graphs
Photographic results by team Delphinus on 16/17 November
Contributors to the successfull expedition of team Delphinus
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Marco Langbroek and Koen Miskotte use the GPS-receiver to find out at which location we observed the Leonids Photo by Robert Haas |
Dear everyone,
We have just returned home from a memorable journey. After observations on November15-16 from Sexbierum (in the uppermost part of the Netherlands) we went, guided by Jacob Kuiper of the Dutch Meteorological Institute, to Northern France, a journey over 600 km. Jacob guided us well, to as it seems one of the very rare parts of Europe which had periods of clear skies on 16-17.
In the vicinity of Abbeville (Somme estuary) we have been able to observe roughly during two periods from two stations: 0-1 UT and 3-6 UT. A very strong Leonid activity, many many memorable fireballs. We have not been able to check our data yet, but it reminded me of the 1995 Quadrantid activity in the period 2-3 hours after Quadrantid maximum, i.e. this would suggest a ZHR ~80-90. Many fireballs (something like 12 true ones within 1.5 hours), but also many many faint Leonids. It was really a great show.
More news, and eventually observational data, will soon follow. We are too tired now after 4 observational nights (13-14, 14-15, 15-16 and 16-17). About the night of 15-16: we managed to observe some 2 hours then, with nice activity though I am not able to give an opinion if it was already slightly enhanced. A -10 taurid fireball made this night very memorable.
Tired, but satisfied:
DMS team Delphinus (the Netherlands);
- Marco Langbroek
- Koen Miskotte
- Robert Haas
- Casper ter Kuile
- Jos Nijland (team Benningbroek)
- Marc de Lignie (Team Cyclops)
Below some more LEONID observations. It concerns my early observations from my hometown Voorschoten (the Netherlands) before the night of maximum. Note the night of 13-14 which was the clearest night I ever experienced in Voorschoten: a milky way into Monoceros from this urban (and therefore light polluted) area! The -3 Southern Taurid of November 15, 3:11:26 UT was spectacular: blue and with a whole bunch of flares, like fireworks. It was also observed by Koen Miskotte from Ermelo.
Marco Langbroek (the Netherlands)
Observer: Marco Langbroek (LANMA)
Location: Voorschoten (the Netherlands), 52d 07' N, 4d 28' E
All meteors have been plotted and classified from plottings (and speed).
Night 13-14 November 1996
| Interval [UT] | Teff | Lm | Nleo | Ntau | Nspo | ZHR(Leo) | +- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2:20 - 3:12 | 0.70 | 6.3 | 2 | 2 | 13 | 5.2 | 3.7 |
| 3:32 - 3:40 | 0.13 | 6.4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | - | |
| 3:57 - 5:17 | 1.12 | 6.5 | 7 | 1 | 23 | 6.8 | 2.6 |
Magnitude Distribution
| Con | -3 | -2 | -1 | 0 | +1 | +2 | +3 | +4 | +5 | +6 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leo | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 9 |
| Tau | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Spo | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 12 | 13 | 1 | 39 |
Night 14-15 November 1996
| Interval [UT] | Teff | Lm | Nleo | Ntau | Nspo | ZHR(Leo) | +- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2:50 - 4:00 | 0.73 | 6.3 | 6 | 3 | 30 | 13.5 | 5.5 |
| 4:00 - 5:05 | 0.85 | 6.3 | 13 | 2 | 22 | 21.4 | 5.9 |
Magnitude Distribution
| Con | -3 | -2 | -1 | 0 | +1 | +2 | +3 | +4 | +5 | +6 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leo | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 19 |
| Tau | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Spo | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 21 | 18 | 1 | 57 |
Visual results obtained by Marco Langbroek (Dutch Meteor Society).
Observing location: Sexbierum (north-western part of the Netherlands)
Latitude: 53d15m (north)
Longitude: 5d30m (east)
| Interval [UT] | Teff | Mg | Leo | Tau | Spo | ZHR(Leo) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23h58m - 00h38m | 0.65 | 6.7 | 2 | 2 | 32 | 10 +- 7 |
| 00h38m - 01h18m | 0.60 | 6.5 | 6 | 3 | 25 | 28 +- 11 |
| 01h18m - 01h58m | 0.60 | 6.6 | 7 | 1 | 25 | 22 +- 8 |
| 02h20m - 02h24m | 0.07 | 6.2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
Magnitude distribution:
| Con | -10 | -2 | -1 | 0 | +1 | +2 | +3 | +4 | +5 | +6 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leo | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 16 |
| Tau | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| Spo | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 9 | 37 | 27 | 4 | 85 |
Sky condition: hazy but very dark
Remark 1:
Tonights special: a briljant -10 Taurid fireball at 01h07m30s UT
Remark 2:
Average ZHR: 20 +- 5 (interval: 23h58m - 01h58m).
ZHR of the Leonids is twice the normal value (slightly enhanced).
Visual results obtained by Koen Miskotte (Dutch Meteor Society).
Observing location: Sexbierum (north-western part of the Netherlands)
Latitude: 53d13m (north)
Longitude: 5d35m (east)
| Interval [UT] | Teff | Mg | Leo | Tau | Spo | ZHR(Leo) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23h55m - 01h00m | 1.08 | 6.72 | 5 | 4 | 33 | |
| 01h00m - 02h05m | 1.08 | 6.45 | 8 | 5 | 27 |
Magnitude distribution:
| Con | -8 | -2 | -1 | 0 | +1 | +2 | +3 | +4 | +5 | +6 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leo | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 16 |
| Tau | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| Spo | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 29 | 18 | 1 | 85 |
Sky condition: hazy but very dark
Remark 1:
Tonights special: a briljant -8 Taurid fireball at 01h07m30s UT
Visual results obtained by Koen Miskotte (Dutch Meteor Society).
Observing location: Woignarue (near Abbeville, north-western France)
Latitude: 50d06m (north)
Longitude: 1d29m (east)
| Interval [UT] | Teff | Mg | Leo | Tau | aMo | Spo | ZHR(Leo) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 03h26m - 03h35m | 0.15 | 6.30 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| 03h40m - 03h52m | 0.20 | 6.25 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 03h52m - 04h00m | 0.13 | 6.50 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 4 | |
| 04h00m - 04h08m | 0.13 | 6.60 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 7 | |
| 04h08m - 04h17m | 0.15 | 6.55 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 5 | |
| 04h17m - 04h30m | 0.22 | 6.50 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 6 | |
| 04h30m - 04h40m | 0.17 | 6.50 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |
| 04h40m - 04h52m | 0.20 | 6.43 | 21 | 1 | 0 | 4 | |
| 04h52m - 04h57m | 0.08 | 6.25 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
Magnitude distribution:
| Con | -6 | -4 | -3 | -2 | -1 | 0 | +1 | +2 | +3 | +4 | +5 | +6 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leo | 1 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 12 | 20 | 25 | 23 | 2 | 107 |
| Tau | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| aMo | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Spo | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 12 | 17 | 12 | 0 | 45 |
Marco Langbroek, Koen Miskotte (team Delphinus)
Marc de Lignie, Jos Nijland (team Astra)
As per November 20, the Delphinus-team which observed the Leonids near Abbeville in the north-western part of France captured about 20 Leonids on film! Nearly all these Leonids were photographed in a 90-minute clear period which lasted from 03:24 to 04:54 UT. Conditions at elevations below about 30 degrees at the sky were not excellent but despite this most of the fireballs observed by team Delphinus have been photographed. More details on our photographic results will appear on this DMS-website. Please stay tuned!
Place : Woignarue
Longitude: 50:06:11.8
Latitude : 01:29:12.0
| Counter | Time [UT] | Meteor |
|---|---|---|
| 039 | 03:51:30 | Leo, 0, Leo/Vir |
| 041 | 03:40:00 | Leo, -4, Ori |
| 041 | 03:57:14 | Leo, -2, Ori |
| 047 | 04:08:57 | Leo, -3, Dra |
| 051 | 04:12:00 | Leo, -2, Com |
| 054 | 04:13:11 | Leo, 0/-1, Per |
| 062 | 04:22:25 | Leo, -5/-6, Ori/Eri |
| 087 | 04:29:00 | Leo, -3, Eri |
| 091 | 04:31:09 | Leo, 0, Uma |
| 092 | 04:32:02 | Leo, -4, Leo |
| 096 | 04:32:47 | Leo, -4, Sirius |
| 099 | 04:33:09 | Leo, -4, Sirius |
| 105 | 04:37:43 | Leo, -3, Uma |
| 107 | 04:46:46 | Leo, 0/-1, Ori/Tau |
| 110 | 04:48:05 | Leo, -1/-3, Boo |
| 113 | 04:53:00 | Leo, -3, Boo |
| 115 | 05:21:00 | Flash!! |
| 118 | 05:38:40 | Leo, -8, Aur |
Such a success as team Delphinus achieved regarding the observations of the Leonids 1996 could not have been possible without help of many people. We hereby express our utmost gratitude to these people:
- Weatherpredictions: Jacob Kuiper, Meteorologist at the Royal Dutch Weather Institute, De Bilt
- GPS-receiver: Laboratory for Radiation Research of the RIVM, De Bilt
- GSM mobile phone: Robert Haas, foto Steenweg, Alphen aan de Rijn
- Power unit: BO-Rent, Utrecht
- Camper: KAV car-rent, Amsterdam
- Koen Miskotte
- Robert Haas
- Marco Langbroek
- Casper ter Kuile
Marc de Lignie and Jos Nijland formed the other "Astra" team which worked closely together with team Delphinus and as such also had a lot of advantages of the many fine weatherpredictions of Jacob Kuiper.
