Pegasids

July Pegasids
Celestial map of Pegasus
Parent bodyC/1979 Y1 (Bradfield)
Radiant
ConstellationPegasus
Right ascension23h 12m -0s
Declination+10° 08′ 00″
Properties
Occurs duringJuly 4 to Aug 8[1]
Date of peakJuly 11
Velocity64.1[1] km/s
Zenithal hourly rate3[1]
See also: List of meteor showers

The meteor shower of the July Pegasids occurs between July 4 and Aug 8. It is a weak meteor shower that has its maximum around July 11 having a ZHR of only 3 meteors per hour. The meteors have, however, an atmosphere entry speed of about 64 km/s.

The Radiant of the Pegasids is in the constellation of Pegasus, around 5 degrees to the west of the star α Pegasi. The origin of this meteor shower is probably the comet C/1979 Y1 (Bradfield).[2] C/1979 Y1 has an orbital period of 308 years,[3] and should return around 2287.

For Central Europe, the best time to watch them is the second half of the night, as the radiant reaches at that time a sufficient height over the horizon.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "2023 Meteor Shower List". American Meteor Society (AMS). Retrieved 2023-08-05.
  2. ^ "Meteor Data Center". Archived from the original on 2017-08-21. Retrieved 2014-05-26.
  3. ^ "Small-Body Database Lookup: C/1979 Y1 (Bradfield)".