The 24th Astronomical Camping
(Radio Meteor Observation)

After making some radio meteor observations in JAS, several questions raised, and we thought that another well-organized observation might answer some of these questions. Consequently, JAS organized the 24th astronomical camping in Al-Azraq desert at the night of 11-12 February 1999.

All the wires and the connections were changed into the best types we could get. Also, we bought a booster (Amplifier) since it could enhance the results. And finally, we managed to use two radios at the same time (Two stations).

Unfortunately, we were not able to use the two stations because of a damage in one of the radios we had.

While as for the booster, we concluded that the booster increased the number of the detected meteors several times ! For example, within one hour 26 meteors only were heard without the booster, while 101 meteors were heard using the booster !

The results were so interesting and encouraging, where we detected 813 meteors within 7 hours only. Knowing that the last hour (07:05-08:05 Local Time) was the best, where we detected 208 meteors in it. This is a bit strange since the activity kept increasing, even after the Sun rise ( 06:17 Local Time).

According to IMO the active shower at that time was Alpha Centaurids (ZHR = 6). However, from Jordan the radiant is at the horizon ! On the other hand according to ALPO, the active showers were:-

Alpha Hydrids (ZHR = 2)
Delta Velids (ZHR = 1)
Omicron Centaurids (ZHR = 2)
Theta Centaurids (ZHR = 4)
February Leonids (ZHR = 5)

The Results

Observers: Khalid Al-Tall, Moh'd Alawneh, Moh'd Odeh, and Tareq Katbeh,
Location: Al-Azraq desert, Jordan (37 07' E, 31 43' N)
Frequency: 97.2 MHz
Transmitter Location: Five Stations:-
1. Turkey, 750 Km at 30 KW Power.
2. Turkey, 900 Km at 30 KW Power.
3. Turkey, 1106 Km at 30 KW Power.
4. Turkey, 811 Km at 05 KW Power.
5. Cyprus, 600 Km at 10 KW Power.
Frequency: 91.4 MHz
Transmitter Location: Three Stations:-
1. Turkey, 1179 Km at 30 KW Power.
2. Cyprus, 600 Km at 01 KW Power.
3. Saudi Arabia, 1400 Km.
Antenna: Yagi FM 3 elements.
Receiver: Commercial FM radio (Eroica).
15 dB Booster.
Observing Method: Listening by ear.

Day	Time	Teff	Number	Frequency	Notes
12/02	23:32-00:32	1.0	78	97.2	Booster
12/02	00:32-01:32	1.0	101	97.2	Booster
12/02	01:45-02:45	1.0	26	97.2	Without Booster
12/02	03:22-04:22	1.0	147	91.4	Booster
12/02	05:00-06:00	1.0	113	97.2	Booster
12/02	06:02-07:02	1.0	140	91.4	Booster
12/02	07:05-08:05	1.0	208	91.4	Booster
Total	7.00 Hours	813 Meteors

Notes:-

Times are local (UT+2).
Teff: Effective time in hours.
Number: Number of meteors detected.
Click here to hear 17-second meteor !
For more information about observing meteors by radio, kindly visit "Observing Meteors by Radio" page at our site.

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By Moh'd Odeh. Jordanian Astronomical Society (JAS), All Rights Reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission. For more information Send E-mail or contact us at : The Jordanian Astronomical Society (JAS), P.O.Box 141568, Amman 11814 Jordan

The 24th Astronomical Camping (Radio Meteor Observation)

The Results

The 24th Astronomical Camping
(Radio Meteor Observation)