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To my delight the peak of the Lyrids was completely clear the whole night from my location!
Caught many Lyrids on the video systems but one in particular stands out.
The video is here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_X2TVSZUeQM
It was remarkable to see the persitant train distort in the mesopsheric wind before the video cut out.
It was also more remarkable that I caught the spectrum of it too!
and of course here is a colourised version…
Strong emission from magnesium with lots of Iron lines. Other interesting features are ionised silicon and a forbidden oxygen line.
(Even caught a decent haul with th DSLR rig.)
A gorgeous night start to finish! There is something special about hearing the birds just starting to sing as one packs up and the sky brightens.
Cheers,
Bill.
Nice result Bill! I enjoyed the video – the distorted train on one is particularly interesting.
It was clear here in Cheshire for part of the night and I caught a few Lyrids on my meteorcams, but none very bright
All the best,
Jeremy Shears
Nice work Bill; I’m still blown away by the spectra you guys can get.
I was trying to get my meteor camera back online over the weekend, but one thing after another means it still isn’t collecting data, but now at least I know what the issues are and have a plan.
James
James,
I’ll be at the BAA meeting in Eastbourne next Saturday – I’d be happy to discuss any issues you might be addressing with your set-up.
Jeremy
Last night was quite clear at Kelling and saw quite a few through the night – but just incidental to the deep sky observing 🙂
Callum
After a siginificant amount of preparation (which can often be set to naught, especially in my part of the world!) the Lyrids delivered the most remarkable spectroscopy results I have had in some time.
Here are a few more graphs etc.
My ideas about comparative spectroscopy seem to be valid!
I can feel another paper coming on…
Cheers,
Bill.
I also caught the one on 20170425:230306ut on a different system in the second order. Not as bright of course but for a video meteor spectrum this is excellent dispersion.
A beautifully resolved set of Fe lines around the bright green Mg line.
Gorgeous!
Hi James,
Thanks! It’s the technology that makes it possible. I often wonder if the engineers and designers at Watec ever considered that, what was probably made to be a high spec security camera, would have such a global impact on a subject like meteor astronomy!
I hope you get your meteor camera up and running soon.
Cheers,
Bill.
Hi Bill,
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a meteor train distorting whilst the body was still in flight. That’s a great capture.
As discussed offline, my Leeds_N camera wasn’t active at that time. I was AWOL in Cambridge for the weekend, attending the SHA meeting. I don’t leave my indoor system running if I’m away for more than a day. If only the meteor had appeared a day earlier…
Cheers,
Alex.
Hi Bill,
I was clouded out at that time.
Always like to see your spectral diagrams, the composite intensity plots and wavelength colour strips are a nice way to present the results.
Fingers crossed for obtaining multi-station orbital data this season.
Clear skies,
Alex.
Hi Alex,
Yep, the one on the 22nd was a cracker as was the one right after it. Unfortunately I didn’t catch that on a “NOVEX” system. However the one on the 25th was equally impressive. I’m saving the “Interesting” graphs for the paper but what I can say is that the group of Lyrids I have show the most astonoshing spectrum similarity I have seen so far. Better than both the Perseids and Southern Taurids I have.
It’s truly fascinating stuff!
See you In Edinburgh.
Cheers,
Bill.
Hi Bill,
Those are great spectra of the Lyrids! There is a whole wealth of spectral lines. Is it difficult to identify them all or do you have resources that allow you to identify all or the majority of the lines?
Cheers,
Andy
Hi,
The very first spectrum in this thread should be treated with caution. By that I mean a lot of the features are artifacts caused by the interline nature of the camera and very poor dispersion aspect. The others were captured with much better dispersion aspect and are pretty much genuine.
With the reference libraries that are available it is possible to have a good stab at most of the lines. There are surprisingly few elements involved. Due the electronic configuration unsurprisingly the majority are Fe. There are just a huge number if Fe multiplets from the UV right through to the green/red end.
Most pro observers only use Mg, Na and the series of Fe multiplets around the Mg line. As these are the most common and strongest lines the ratio’s can be used to construct ternary diagrams that can reveal quite a lot about any given meteor and the comparison to others. However due to the inherent lack of inital condition knowledge the method needs quite a lot of care
cheers,
Bill.
Hi a bit later than planned….
This is a multi plot of the three lyrid fireballs I captured this year. It is always re-assuring to see near identical spectra with meteors from the same stream.
Micahel, sorry for the delay, I use the 25mm (and occasionally 50mm lens) on my non spectroscopy narrow field of view rig but the spectra are all captured with 12mm f0.8 lenses.
cheers,
Bill.
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