In the fall of 1995, Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 fractured into several pieces and left a trail of fragments. Astronomers worldwide have since investigated the prospects of Earth’s passage through this swarm of freshly ejected material.

Some predictions said there would be no significant meteor shower on the night of May 30-31, but others predicted that Earth would have a direct interaction with the comet debris, with the small chance that something extraordinary - perhaps a fully-formed meteor storm (with up to 1,000 meteors an hour) - could take place.

From La Palma (Canary Island in the Atlantic Ocean) we tried to observe the event, because firstly the weather in this season usually offers best conditions and secondly - unlike currently in Germany - for the predicted maximum shower rate (ZHR) in the night from 30 to 31 May around about 5 UT still astronomical night prevails on La Palma. The radiant was predicted to be about 10 degrees NW of Arcturus in Boötes.

To our great surprise (and extremely unusual for this time of year), a bad weather front passed over La Palma on the night in question.

The observation night ended with a drive of four hours and about 150 km to find a few gaps in the clouds, which we found after all at 03:00 UT for a maximum of 4 observed TAH in half an hour between 03:30 and 04:00 UT then. That was already all. At least the few meteors mentioned were indeed TAH with all the characteristics, especially the predicted slow speed. All were between +1 and +4 mag, fireballs we didn't see a single one.

Around 05:00 UT the activity decreased noticeably: Only 2 TAH between 04:30 and 05:00, none at all between 05:00 and dawn at 05:20.

In summary, we did not observe a storm on the night of May 31, but a modest meteor shower generated by fragments from the 1995 break-up of the parent comet.

The still images (rev B, C) each show a TAH at about 04:00 and 04:01 UT, respectively (see upper right image quarter). Arcturus stands brightly in the lower right quarter of the image.

Interestingly, the animation (possibly enlarged in the browser view) including the two TAHs from both still images shows the dynamics of the meteor trains (vapor trails left by the meteors) very well, pls. focus on the upper right image corner. Other moving objects in the animation are satellite trails (and clouds of course).

Each image is just a single (unprocessed) shot with 20 seconds exposure each at a focal length of 24mm. The setup was kept very simple: no tracking, camera fixed on a tripod (hence the somewhat distorted stars in the frames).

What fascinates me about the animation are the vapors left by the meteors in the atmosphere and blown away by the upper winds. This dynamic can be clearly followed in the animation in the upper right corner of the image.

Thank you for stopping by.
Enjoy!