Tau Herculids 2022 from the McDonald Observatory, Texas -- a progress report

TL;DR

This study reports on high-sensitivity observations of the 2022 Tau Herculids meteor shower from McDonald Observatory, confirming predicted activity peaks and analyzing meteor characteristics.

Contribution

It provides detailed observational data of the 2022 Tau Herculids, including radiant position, activity timing, and faint meteor detection, advancing understanding of this meteor shower.

Findings

Maximum activity matched predictions

Large fraction of faint meteors detected

Radiant position and activity evolution determined

Abstract

As part of an intensive effort to observe the predicted 2022 Tau Herculids outburst, we recorded almost 800 individual meteor streaks on May 30th and 31st, 2022, using a high-sensitivity Sony~$\alpha$7 camera. The video recordings were obtained under perfect conditions at the McDonald Observatory, Texas, USA. The meteor sample is dominated by the predicted Tau Herculids shower, however, we also noted significant activity of sporadic meteors and other possible weak showers. We found that the time of the maximum activity matched very well the predictions, while we note the large fraction of faint meteors that were not detectable visually. We determined the radiant, and the time evolution of the activities and currently we are working on the determination of the brightness statistics.