Meteors Division of the Israeli Astronomical Association
Short history
The Meteors Division has been in existence since the beginning of the IAA. The history of the division could be divided in three eras:
1. The beginning of the IAA, in the 1950s and 1960s, as many of the founders used to observe meteors.
2. The time of the 1980s and beginning of 1990s, when mass observations of the Perseids would take place each year in Antipatrus Fortress, 15km east of Tel Aviv, before light pollution made them impossible.
3. The era which started in 1998 when Anna Levin, head of the Meteors Division nowadays, came to live in Israel and joined the IAA. The two other primary observers in the division are Shy Halatzi and Shlomi Eini.
Anna and Shy instruct meteors observing workshops in order to train new observers (most of them IAA members) who will make good visual meteors observations. Ideally some of these will become regular observers and perhaps may later deal with more areas of meteor observing (photographic, telescopic, radio, video etc. which are currently not conducted in the division).
Addtionally, at least twice a year we give lectures about meteors in various locations in Israel (Givatayim, Be'er Sheva, soon Hadera).
Once or twice a year the media in Israel is interested in meteors, normally in the time of major showers such as the Leonids, Perseids, Geminids. Then we are represented on TV and in the Radio mostly by Anna Levin, head of the division, Dr. Igal Patel, chairman of the association, Shy Halatzi, student and meteor observer and Shlomi Eini, musician and meteor observer.
Some of our observing campaigns in recent years
Leonids 1998 - observed from several location. Very nice bolid shower. Ofer Gabzo took one of the most famous Leonids photos ever, in that shower, which later appeared on APOD.
Leonids 1999 - observed by many people in Israel - a storm which reached ZHR 5000. NASA teams and the Leonids MAC campaign also operated from Israel.
Leonids 2002 - observed the rising ZHR until around 500 at sunrise, during full moon.
Quadrantids 2003 - one night from Machtesh Ramon.
Lyrids 2003 - observed one night from Neve Shalom, halfway between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. We were 4 out of 15 observers worldwide on that night.
Eta-Aquarids 2003 - 5 nights expedition in the Wise observatory near Mizpe Ramon.
Leonids 2006 - 2 nights from two different locations - Ma'ale Erod and Wise observatory, near Mizpe Ramon.
Leonids 2007 - 2 nights from two locations, Park Golda near Be'er Sheva and Wise observatory near Mizpe Ramon.
Geminids 2007 - 3 nights from Km101 Inn in the Arava Valley. Magnificent shower with many bolids.
Eta-Aquarids 2008 - 2 nights, one from Neve Shalom, one from Nahal Barak (near Mizpe Ramon).
June Bootids 2008 - 1 night from Har HaTayasim.
Delta Aquarids, Capricornids 2008 - Several nights from different locations in the center of Israel.
Perseids 2008 - 3 nights from the Arava valley as well as three nights from Har HaTayasim (several groups of observers).
Orionids 2008 - 3 nights from different locations in the center of Israel. Fought clouds, lighting and moon to observe this beautiful bright outburst of the orionids.
Leonids 2008 - We observed and were the first to confirm the outburst of the Leonids as predicted by Jeremie Vaubaillon and Mikhail Maslov. See the IAU telegram which mentions the report by our member, Shy Halatzi.
Eta-Aquarids 2009 - one night from Neve Shalom.
Leonids 2009 - A team of three observers watched this shower for one night from the neighboring Kingdom of Jordan, only 60km from the border with Iraq.
Perseids 2009 - the IAA held two massive events, with ~3000 people in each of them, one in the very south of Israel, in Timna Park, the other in the Gilboa region in the north of the country. Some of the members observed up to 3 nights. Additionally we had 3 television appearances and numerous news and magazine articles, directly related with the IAA or its members, before and after the shower.
