The Camelopardalids

The Camelopardalids are probably a one-and-done event.  One could hardly call the event a  "One-hit Wonder", because the only wonder is to wonder why so many articles predicted that there would likely be a meteor storm, or, if not a storm, at least a show stronger than the annual August 13th Perseid Meteor shower or the annual December 13th Geminids.  Another wonder to me is to wonder why it is being touted as "a new annual meteor shower."

If I live to celebrate my birthday next year, I will have lived 70 years.  I became interested in Astronomy at age five and have long been one of the multitude of active amateur astronomers.  Others, with superior computers tuned to the entire known universe and with much more powerful telescopes and radios at their disposal, know much more, and are able to learn much more, than I.  However, it appears to me that, from the route of the comet whose debris trail we just passed through, and knowing the gravitational effects of the earth, the moon, the sun, and Jupiter, we may never again pass through this comet's debris field in a way which will provide another meteor shower.  And because of this, I will not join the throng of voices which complain about the lack of an exciting meteor shower between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. Eastern on May 23, 2014.  Rather, I proudly proclaim to be honored to have witnessed the one-time showing of the meteors known as the Camelopardilids, pronounced "ka-MELLOW-pard'lids" or "ka-MELLOW-pard-alids".

My viewing began 15 minutes prior to the announced desired viewing window.  In that first 15, I saw what I would describe as one ordinary, run of the mill, everyday "shooting star", the sort you might see on any night of the year at the rate of 2 or 3 an hour, if you possess 20-20 or better vision.  There was a slight haze over the sky, but I had an hour and 20 minutes during the Prime Time before the clouds moved in.

After the aforementioned common shooting star, shortly after the Prime Time began, I saw my only fireball of the night.  It appeared headed directly towards me, glowing from small to an apparent Venus-size/brightness, then suddenly disappearing.  There was no significant trail of which I was aware, since its direction was directly towards me.  During the next forty minutes, I saw exactly one dozen meteors with trails, mostly unremarkable, then at 2:51 Eastern time, there was a strong, bright meteor with a remarkable trail across the sky.  Then another at 2:53, 2:54, and 2:57, all strong and bright, all emanating from the area near Polaris.  In the following twenty-three minutes before the cloud cover moved in, I saw nary a one.  In all, during my hour and thirty-five minutes of viewing, I observed:

1 fireball
4 strong meteors with bright trails
5 ordinary-looking shooting stars
8 weak units with visible trail arcs of 30-40 degrees

On Saturday afternoon, I went to the web to see what others said about the event.  Almost everyone was disappointed.  Some felt cheated.  Many interesting comments, but general disappointment that more meteors were not visible.  One tweet, addressed to the Camelopardalids,  made me laugh:

                     "Maybe you got the wrong address. 
                      We're the third planet from the sun. 
                      The blue one with the single moon."

For me, it was a successful night.  I kept my head only slightly elevated, in the direction of Polaris, so I did not suffer the stiff neck reported by some.  The weather was comfortable, far more comfortable than the two strongest meteor showers of most years in mid-August and mid-December.  I saw an average of one piece of glowing debris every five minutes and 17 seconds during the viewing time.  Actually, since I didn't see any at all during the final twenty-three minutes prior to the obscuring cloud cover, I saw one every four minutes during the "active" stretch of time.  Not bad.

If, as I suspect, this is a one-time event, i.e., if the Camelopardalids never return for earth viewing, then I will have participated in a "once-in-a-lifetime" event.  Surely, that must be significant, even if the meteor shower was nowhere near the best I've seen.

Thanks, Camelopardalids, for the event, and for creating the occasion for me to sleep two and a half hours and making my once-a-week-only Saturday Morning Coffee taste even better.  Thanks for the memory.