History
The first detection of this radiant should be attributed to C. Hoffmeister (Germany), who observed a radiant at α=305°, δ=+57° on October 9, 1931 (λ=195.6°). Although additional visual observations seem quite rare, this radiant has been detected by both radar and photography.
The Author has found six photographic meteors in papers published by F. L. Whipple in 1954 and by R. McCrosky and A. Posen in 1961, which indicate a duration extending from September 26 to October 10. The nodal passage seems to occur on October 6, at which time the average radiant is at α=311.3°, δ=+54.7°. The average orbit is
| ω | Ω | i | q | e | a |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 207.1 | 192.7 | 29.9 | 0.953 | 0.734 | 3.576 |
Two meteor streams were detected during the 1961-1965 session of Z. Sekanina’s Radio Meteor Project. The “Delta Cygnids” were detected during October 4-10. The date of the nodal passage was given as October 8.9 (λ=195.2°), at which time the radiant was at α=299.7°, δ=+50.7°. The “Alpha Cygnids” were based on 12 meteors detected during September 22-October 11. The date of the nodal passage was given as October 4.4 (λ=190.8°), at which the radiant was at α=316.3°, δ=+52.3°. Their orbits are, respectively,
| ω | Ω | i | q | e | a |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 198.6 | 195.2 | 25.0 | 0.976 | 0.647 | 2.764 |
| 216.0 | 190.8 | 25.5 | 0.930 | 0.538 | 2.014 |
Admittedly, the orbits of the two radio-echo streams are somewhat different, but it is evident that at least one radiant is producing activity from this region. The shower’s duration seems to extend from September 22 to October 11, and maximum occurs between October 4 and 9. The average position of the radiant at maximum is α=311° (20 hours 44 minutes), δ=+52°.