Alpha Centaurids

Alpha Centaurids
Celestial map of Centaurus
Discovery date	1969
Parent body	Unknown
Radiant
Constellation	Centaurus
Right ascension	14^h 00^m 00^s
Declination	−10° 00′ 00″
Properties
Occurs during	January 28 to February 21[1]
Date of peak	February 8
Velocity	58 km/s
Zenithal hourly rate	6[1]
See also: List of meteor showers

The Alpha Centaurids are a meteor shower in the constellation Centaurus, peaking in early February each year. The average magnitude is around 2.5, with a peak of about three meteors an hour.^[2]

According to Philip M. Bagnall's Atlas of Meteor Showers: "The first probable observation of the α-Centaurids was by V. Williams^[3] from Sydney, Australia on 1889 February 10/11."^[4]

Bagnall continues: "Nothing more was recorded until 1938, when Cuno Hoffmeister probably picked up activity from his site in South West Africa. However, the shower was only formally recognized during the 1970s, when Michael Buhagiar and members of the Western Australia Meteor Society undertook systematic observations."^[5]

References

1. Kronk, Gary W. (October 10, 2013). Meteor Showers, An Annotated Catalog. Springer New York. p. 50. ISBN 9781461478973.
2. Lunsford, Robert (2009). Meteors and how to Observe Them. Springer. p. 74. ISBN 978-0-387-09460-1.
3. Jenniskens, Peter (2006). Meteor Showers and their Parent Comets. Cambridge University Press. p. 157. ISBN 978-1-316-34782-9.
4. Bagnall, Philip (2022). Atlas of Meteor Showers. Springer International Publishing. p. 316. ISBN 9783030766436.
5. Bagnall, Philip (2022). Atlas of Meteor Showers. Springer International Publishing. p. 316. ISBN 9783030766436.