April Fireballs? Second half of April

starfinder · Post by **starfinder** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 6:55 pm

A general astronomy book I was browsing through today at Kino (published in around 1981) states that the second half of April is the time for "April Fireballs", that these are generally sporadic in terms of radiant area and time of night.

That was the first time I had read about this. And it so happens to be that time of year now. Searching the net, I came across the references below. I think it is inconclusive but possible.

So why not keep a look out for it? You could be watching out for Lyrids or Eta Aquarids these few days but instead (or in addition) catch an "April Fireball". Wow, that would be what Bill Clinton once referred to as "buy one get one free".

Hmmm... quite intriguing.

http://www.arksky.org/index.php?pid=72
April 14 - THE APRIL FIREBALLS - As its name suggests, this can sometimes be a pretty spectacular display if the conditions are right and the skies are dark; however, even during times of the full moon - as in 2009 - , these huge and bright fireballs come streaking clearly across our crisp and clear springtime skies. This unusual display lasts for the last two full weeks of April....there is no known radiant or seeming point of origin for this curious group, and they can be seen originating from just about any part of the dark night sky. They likewise are not - or appear to not be - associated with any other known major or minor meteor shower group. The April Fireballs are characterized by tremendously bright meteors, nearly all of which demonstrate beautiful and long-lasting trails through the sky. The moonlight will slightly hamper observations in 2009 as the first quarter moon will dominate the sky until after midnight; however, with their brightness, the moon's light should not interfere for observing these very spectacular meteors. Always look for the April Fireballs late in the night, preferably after midnight. Because of the late nature of the peak of these unusual meteors, 2009 should be a good year to try to catch a few of these. NOTE: several of these renegade meteors have been known to reach the ground as meteorites! Heads UP!

http://www.universetoday.com/2006/04/11 ... l-17-2006/
Saturday, April 15 - Tonight keep a watch for the “April Fireballs.” This unusual name has been given to what may be a branch of the complex Virginid stream which began earlier in the week. The absolute radiant of the stream is unclear, but most of its long tails will point back toward southeastern skies. These bright bolides can possibly arrive in a flurry - depending on how much Jupiter’s gravity has perturbed the meteoroid stream. Even if you only see one tonight, keep a watch in the days ahead. The time for “April Fireballs” lasts for two weeks. Just seeing one of these brilliant streaks will put a smile on your face!

http://www.tvcomm.co.uk/radio/metshwr.html
Back in the 1970s there was talk of a meteorite-dropping swarm that intersected the Earth's orbit during the second half of April. In fact, here is an exerpt from the 1991 edition of Guy Ottewell's Astronomical Calendar: "April Fireballs," Apr. 15-30, an annual sparse irregular shower of bright meteors some of which reach Earth as meteorites."

Also in the September 1970 S&T, in the News Notes section, page 138,
there is an item concerning "April Meteorite Coincidences." The notation speaks of the similarity between the calculated orbits of a shadow-casting
fireball that passed over northern New Jersey on April 23, 1962 and a bolide which dropped meteorites over England, Wales and northern Ireland on April 25, 1969.

The late Charles P. Olivier provided a preliminary orbit for the 1962
fireball based on 80 observations, finding a radiant at RA 183-degrees
(12hrs 12min), declination -26-degrees. For the 1969 bolide, British workers
used a computer at the University of Liverpool to analyze over 300 sightings
and found a radiant point at RA 186-degrees (12hrs 24 min.), declination
-31-degrees. Two sets of orbital elements were later computed and were
found to be "remarkably similar, differing by less than their uncertainties."

Lastly . . . in the June 1970 Journal of the British Astronomical
Asociation, Keith B. Hindley and Howard G. Miles suggested that: "The period April 23-26 should be covered in the future by amateur and professional groups in the hope of recording further associated fireballs and perhaps meteorite
falls."
/end/

http://www.saguaroastro.org/content/ANN ... HOWERS.htm
April 15 April Fireballs: Radiant-- between The Water Jar and Scutum, very erratic. From April 15 to 30 many bright bolides from Southeastern sky.

Post by **rcj** » Sun Apr 19, 2009 8:55 pm

got one here too in BBC news....

http://www.bbc.co.uk/herefordandworcest ... ture.shtml

April may exhibit a mysterious phenomenon known as the "April Fireballs". I've never seen them, or even seen them mentioned in any of the standard reference books, although they are referred to on several websites. However, the apparently incestuous descriptions of the fireballs on these sites all seem to lead back to one source, the book "A Complete Manual of Amateur Astronomy", by P. Clay Sherrod, published in 1981 by Prentice-Hall, from which I quote: "From April 15 to April 30, several prominent fireballs will be seen… The meteors are very, very bright and long lasting, and seem to originate somewhere in the southeast sky… Several of these meteors have been known to reach the ground as meteorites." One of the websites postulates that they "may be a branch of the complex Virginid stream which began earlier in the week." If you do see any please let me know.

It's been rather clear here this week. Hopefully next week too, and see if there are fireballs here...

starfinder · Post by **starfinder** » Sun Apr 19, 2009 11:05 pm

rcj wrote:However, the apparently incestuous descriptions of the fireballs on these sites all seem to lead back to one source, the book "A Complete Manual of Amateur Astronomy", by P. Clay Sherrod, published in 1981 by Prentice-Hall

Yup, that's the 1981 book I read at Orchard Kino! Didn't notice the author's name earlier though, that's Dr Clay Sherrod of Arkansas Sky Observatory which is linked above.

Yesterday (Sat) night at about 10pm, whilst observing the Jewel Box through a 20x80mm bino, I saw a meteor streak downwards in the field of view between it and the nearby Beta-Crucis. Perhaps mag 3 or 4. Tracing backwards and looking at a planetarium program, it seems to have come from the Virgo-Corvus area. Hmmm..... Virgo is mentioned is the articles above ("Virginid stream"). Interesting!

Post by **Airconvent** » Tue Apr 21, 2009 12:48 am

Hi Gavin!
Just came back just now and noticed the sky was quite clear by Singapore standards. Leo and Virgo are high up and Saturn was glowing brightly too!
Too bad I sold off all my grab-and-go gear to prep for an upgrade that is now stuck! [smilie=bad-atmosphere.gif]

Siren · Post by **Siren** » Tue Apr 21, 2009 1:59 pm

I saw a fireball last night at 11.03pm. From pollux to procyon. Have never seen a fireball in my life and was shocked at what I saw until I verified with a friend. Thought it was cigarette butt that someone threw, but I live on the last floor. Heh.

Last night's sky was very very transparent and clear.

starfinder · Post by **starfinder** » Tue Apr 21, 2009 8:19 pm

Hi Rich,

Hope you see plenty of fireballs! Can think of this as a good time to do wide-field observing for them now that you're waiting for the scope upgrade. Ha..

Good luck!

Hi Siren,

Wow! Can you describe how bright it was, e.g. in comparison to Procyon, or Jupiter or Venus? Looking at a planetarium program, the meteor would seem to have had its radiant in the far north, in perhaps Lynx or Camelopardalis.

Perhaps it was one of the April Fireballs! Hmmm... that inspires me to spend more time watching. I was observing last night at around 11pm too, but only the south and east. No northwestern view from my apartment.

I hope to get up early on Wed (tomrw) and Thurs morning before dawn to keep a lookout for the Lyrids. Would be near the peak time then.

Siren · Post by **Siren** » Wed Apr 22, 2009 1:02 am

Gotta apologise first if I don't make sense cause I don't really know how to explain myself in proper terms. :S

It travelled about 20-25cm long as seen from my window.

It was something like this http://lh6.ggpht.com/_NgClXC3qHaA/SXdW0 ... 5B1%5D.jpg

Around that brightness and very very prominent as compared to the stars. It's about half as bright as a full moon. I have no idea where it originated from and I've read the above links provided and it says that it's origins are unclear?

It flew and disappeared (and sorta like explode into a ball of orange energy) in around 3, 4 seconds. I'm very excited about this! Hoping to see more of this in the remaining few days in April!

starfinder · Post by **starfinder** » Wed Apr 22, 2009 7:11 am

Hi Siren,

Could you clarify, how slow or fast was it moving, i.e. how long did it take to travel the distance of the 20-25cm? What colour was it when it was travelling?

Was it a travelling dot, or a travelling straight line?

Did your friend who verified it see it too? From another location or from where you were?

Hmmm... very interesting.

Siren · Post by **Siren** » Wed Apr 22, 2009 12:21 pm

It took about 3, 4 secs to travel 20-25cm. It was very very fast. I think (can't remember exactly) that it was travelling in a whitish straight line with a blazing and sparkly tip at the front.

That friend didn't see it. But he's seen a fireball before and suggested that it could be a fireball? I initially didn't know that fireballs existed. Lol.

Edit: Just realized that the image above doesn't work. I found a video that looks somewhat like it what I saw. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MT5t8NZdI4

Sam Lee · Post by **Sam Lee** » Wed Apr 22, 2009 1:33 pm

I saw my only fireball while observing in SP a few years back.
It was midnight then and a couple of us were observing in the usual stadium grounds.
We could see the fireball very clearly, with rainbow colours and ended with a bright flash that lid up the sky. All that happened in under a second ..

Sam