Kappa Cygnids, abbreviated KCG and IAU shower number 12, was an episodic meteor shower that took place from June to September, peaking around August 13, along with the larger Perseids meteor shower.[1] The radiant of the shower emerged from the antihelion source in late June and moves upwards to Cygnus in July. In early August, the radiant is just west of the star Vega and elongated in a north-south direction. [2] The shower then turns a corner and moves to the east in late August. The Kappa Cygnids are named for the position of the radiant at the peak of the shower, where the meteor shower will appear to line up in sky by the constellation Cygnus and the star Kappa Cygni.
| Kappa Cygnids | |
|---|---|
 Celestial map of Cygnus | |
| Parent body | Unknown |
| Radiant | |
| Constellation | Cygnus (near Kappa Cygni) |
| Right ascension | 19h 4m -0s |
| Declination | +59° 00′ 00″ |
| Properties | |
| Occurs during | August 3 to August 25 |
| Date of peak | August 17 |
| Velocity | 25 km/s |
| Zenithal hourly rate | 3 |
The Kappa Cygnids are unusual in that they are absent in most years, but appear every 7 years (see table below). The years 2020 and 2021 fit in that sequence. The shower is known for occasional bright fireballs with multiple flares.
| Year | Active Between | Peak of shower | ZHR |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1879 | June - September | August 13 | 3 |
| 1893 | June - September | August 13 | 3 |
| 1950 | June - September | August 13 | 3 |
| 1957 | June - September | August 13 | 3 |
| 1978 | June - September | August 13 | 3 |
| 1985 | June - September | August 13 | 3 |
| 1993 | June - September | August 13 | 3 |
| 1999 | June - September | August 13 | 3 |
| 2007 | June - September | August 13 | 3 |
| 2013 | June - September | August 13 | 3 |
| 2014 | June - September | August 13 | 3 |
| 2020 | June - September | August 13 | 3 |
| 2021 [3] | June - September | August 13 | 3 |
Notes
edit- ^ "IMO Meteor Shower Calendar 2009: Contents: July to September: Kappa Cygnids". IMO.net.
- ^ "NASA Meteor Shower Portal". SETI Institute.
- ^ "Enhanced kappa Cygnids (KCG#0012) in 2021". eMeteorNews. Retrieved 2009-02-10.
External links
edit- https://web.archive.org/web/20101026003846/http://astronomia.org/shower?la=en&s=KCG
- https://www.meteornews.net/2021/08/10/enhanced-kappa-cygnid-kcg0012-activity-in-2021/
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