A Rare Sight in the Skies Tonight?

One night only: the return of the Gamma Delphinid meteors?
Guide map and some background below.

Per the American Meteor Society, some background and why one scientist is predicting their return tonight:

On the evening of June 11, 1930, three members of the American Meteor Society (AMS) reported that they observed a flurry of meteor activity occurring between the hours of 2215 and 2245 (1015-1045pm EST) from Maryland, USA. These meteors were seen despite the fact that a nearly full moon was present in the sky during the entire display. No other reports of this activity was reported, leading to some doubts of the authenticity of this outburst. Of course one would not expect many meteor observers to be out observing under such unfavorable lunar conditions. In subsequent years this radiant was monitored but no further activity was seen on or near this date....Peter Jenniskens, in his study of outbursts from long-period comets, has proposed that the 1930 event was real and may be repeated on Tuesday morning June 11, 2013...No one knows the strength of this display or whether it will occur at all. It would most likely be of short duration (less than one hour and perhaps as short as 15 minutes).

Meteor showers are unpredictable, and given this year's lunar cycle, most of the better ones will be washed out. I strongly suggest you night owls try your luck. It's not every day someone sees a shower with less frequency than Comet Halley.

posted by CAC at 07:13 PM

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