[en] P. Jenniskens, SETI Institute and NASA Ames Research Center, reports a meteor outburst, possibly ongoing, from a previously unknown shower now called the gamma Crucids (code GCR and IAU shower number 1047). The shower was detected in low-light video camera observations of the following "Cameras for Allsky Meteor Surveillance" (CAMS) networks: CAMS Australia (M. Towner), CAMS Chile (S. Heathcote and E. Jehin), and CAMS New Zealand (J. Baggaley). The meteors radiated from a geocentric radiant at R.A. = 192.6 +/- 3.3 degrees, Decl. = -56.0 +/- 1.6 deg (equinox J2000.0), with geocentric velocity 55.8 +/- 1.7 km/s. The first shower meteors were triangulated on 2021 Feb. 11.04 UT (322.7 degrees solar longitude, equinox J2000.0). The most recently analyzed meteor occurred on Feb. 14.375 (325.6 deg). Forty meteors give the steeply inclined 1P/Halley-type median orbital elements and 1-sigma dispersions of a about 17 AU, q = 0.930 +/- 0.023 AU, e = 0.946 +/- 0.174, i = 100.8 +/- 2.7 deg, Peri. = 28.5 +/- 6.1 deg, and Node = 144.21 +/- 0.99 deg (equinox J2000.0); cf. website URL http://cams.seti.org/FDL/ for the dates of 2021 Feb. 13-14.
Disciplines :
Space science, astronomy & astrophysics
Author, co-author :
Jenniskens, P.
Towner, M.
Heathcote, S.
Jehin, Emmanuel ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Unités de recherche interfacultaires > Space sciences, Technologies and Astrophysics Research (STAR)
