A-Carinid Meteor Shower

P. Jenniskens, SETI Institute and NASA Ames Research Center; T. Hanke, the H.E.S.S. Collaboration; T. Cooper, Astronomical Society of Southern Africa; S. Heathcote, AURA and Cerro Tololo Interamerican Observatory; and E. Jehin, University of Liege, report an outburst of meteors of the normally weak A-Carinids (IAU shower number 842) near the southern ecliptic pole between 2020 Oct. 12d20h and 14d09h UTC (cf. website URL http://cams.seti.org/FDL/ for the date of 2020 Oct. 14). A total of 99 shower members were triangulated by CAMS Namibia. Confirmation comes from 13 shower members triangulated by CAMS South Africa and 18 by CAMS Chile. The shower was detected over the solar longitude range 199.6-201.2 degrees (equinox J2000.0). The rate peaked at solar longitude 200.897 +/- 0.005 deg and was distributed in a Lorentz profile with full-width-at-half-maximum 0.13 +/- 0.01 deg. Meteors radiated from a geocentric radiant at R.A. = 98.7 +/- 1.3 deg, Decl. = -54.3 +/- 0.8 deg, with geocentric velocity 32.4 +/- 1.4 km/s. Corresponding median orbital elements are q = 0.9974 +/- 0.0004 AU, a approximately 3.31 AU, e = 0.696 +/- 0.088, i = 54.4 +/- 1.7 deg, Peri. = 0.8 +/- 1.9 deg, and Node = 20.90 +/- 0.11 deg (equinox J2000.0). The median Tisserand parameter with respect to Jupiter is 2.25 +/- 0.47. There is no known Jupiter Family comet that may be a parent body.