Meteor shower radiant positions and structures as determined from single station video observations

Abstract

Single station video observations of meteors can be used for the precise determination of radiant positions of major and minor meteor showers. Video systems combine large quantities of recorded events with high accuracies, and are therefore applied in the investigation of fine structures within the radiant. In the past four years, amateurs from the Archenhold-Observatory Berlin have been operating the wide angle video system MOVIE. The maxima of several major meteor showers could be recorded. The video tapes were digitized and analysed on PCs. Using the Radiant software developed within the International Meteor Organization, the position was determined of the Quadrantid (α = 229.4° ± 1.5°, δ = +49.7° ± 1.5°), Lyrid (α = 271.6° ± 1.5°, δ = +32.9° ± 1°), Perseid (α = 46.0° ± 2°, δ = +57.7° ± 2°), Orionid (α = 93.6° ± 1°, δ = +14.9° ± 1°) and Leonid (α = 154.5° ± 2°, δ = +21.4° ± 1°) meteor shower radiants and possible radiant fine structures searched for. The obtained radiant positions are in good agreement with the common values in the literature; no significant fine structures could be found. From the video records of the 1995 α-Monocerotid outburst, a radiant at α = 117° ± 3° and δ = +1° ± 2° was derived, which proves older results to be in error by several degrees.