History of Meteor Astronomy in Venezuela
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
History of Meteor Astronomy in Venezuela
ANTONIO MARTÍNEZ1,2, HENRY SALAS1
1
Sociedad Universitaria de Astronomía, Facultad de Ingeniería, Escuela de Geología,
Minas y Geofísica, Universidad Central de Venezuela. Caracas. Venezuela.
2
Escuela de Ingeniería Eléctrica, Universidad Central de Venezuela.
Apartado Postal 48069, Caracas 1041-A, Venezuela
Abstract
There are records related to the meteor science in Venezuela since the last years of 18th
century. Its recent development, due to the contribution of enthusiastic meteor observers
groups, has, although, not been constant along the years. In this paper it is presented a
historical compilation of the events, facts or demonstrations of the human activity related
with meteor astronomy in Venezuela.
1. Introduction.
Scientific activity related with meteor science has been studied by the humanity since
remote times. There are Chinese records that date since the year 1809 b.C., although the
extraterrestrial origin of meteors was demonstrated at the end of the eighteenth-century
(MARTÍNEZ, 2000a). The observation report made by HUMBOLDT (1987, 1944) in
November of 1799 from Cumaná -one of the most ancient cities in Venezuela- is among the
most important records of that period. In that moment, the country entered inexorably into
the meteor observation history. However, besides the summary about meteorites records
put together by URBANI (2002), a compilation of meteor observations in Venezuela has not
yet been carried out.
In this paper is sought to document the largest amount of published information related to
the meteor science produced in the country or generated by Venezuelan authors. As a
matter of fact, we have gathered information of a total of 119 observation reports of meteor
activity, fireballs sightings and meteorites falls witnessed from Venezuelan lands, as well as
20 publications of books, guides, manuals and theoretical or educational articles related
with meteor science from Venezuelan authors or published within Venezuela.
2. Meteor science activity in Venezuela.
The collection of this work begins in 1799 -the reference of 1766 published by HUMBOLDT
(1987) is uncertain- and extends to our days. Table 1 summarizes part of collected
information.Table 1: Summary of historical compilation related with meteor science in Venezuela. DATE PLACE(1) SUBJ(2) REMARKS(3) REFERENCE
Table 1: Summary of historical compilation related with meteor science in Venezuela.
DATE PLACE(1) SUBJ(2) REMARKS(3) REFERENCE
SpainTable 1: Summary of historical compilation related with meteor science in Venezuela.
DATE PLACE(1) SUBJ(2) REMARKS(3) REFERENCE
Valencia -Spain-
La Paz -Bolivia-
Paris -France-
London -England-
Antwerp -Belgium-
Antwerp -Belgium-
City Name -Country-As a matter of fact, in terms of astronomy in Venezuela, it is appropriate to present the
content of the summary in three periods: the corresponding to the first observations of
meteors (1799-1887), the age of Observatorio Cagigal (1888-1960) and contemporary
epoch (from 1961 until our days).
2.1 First meteor observations in Venezuela.
The first meteor observations carried out in Venezuela (of those scientifically registered)
were made by the eminent German naturalist Alexander Humboldt who had the opportunity
to enjoy, together with his accompanying A. Bonpland, of the abundant activity of the
famous Leonids meteor shower occurred in November of 1799 from Cumaná, one of the
more ancient cities in Venezuela. HUMBOLDT (1987), even, makes reference to the possible
sight of the oldest residents in the area about the 1766 shower that preceded an earthquake
of that year (MARTÍNEZ, 2000b). According to KIDGER (1996), the activity registered by
Humboldt and Bonpland in 1799 could reach approximate levels of 5000 meteors by hour.
Figure 1: Engraving that shows Humboldt and Bonpland
observing Leonids shower from Cumaná in 1799.
There are some records of the 19th century, the first ones corresponding to meteorite
sightings: on August 23th of 1837, it was reported the simultaneous sighting of an aerolite
from the cities of La Guaira, Ocumare and Caracas (RODRÍGUEZ & ROMERO, 2003). Also,
on December 17th of 1865, was observed another from Caracas that generated the rumor
among the inhabitants of the time of a relationship between this phenomenon and the
seismic movements. This led Alejandro Ibarra to publish a press article to clarify the
independence of these facts (IBARRA, 1956). Two years later, Adolfo Ernst publishes an
educational article about origin of meteors (ERNST, 1867; BRUNI, 1968a).In the dawn of November 13th to 14th of 1869, Dr. Díaz and Atty. Aveledo observed, in a
4h34m period, a total of 405 meteors from Caracas (ERNST, 1869). Applying correction for
radiant’s height on the hourly rate and obtaining moving averages on the observation
periods, a maximum activity of EZHR = 308 ± 19 is obtained toward 8h15m UT. On the
other hand, on November 27th of 1872, Dr. Álamo observed a high meteoric activity from
Sta. Lucía, counting -approximately- a hundred meteors in half hour (ERNST, 1872; BRUNI
1968b). He even mentions that “…from 8 p.m. until midnight they were so many that it was
impossible to count them…” Dr. Álamo reports that some meteors had persistent trails of
even one minute.
The rest of the observations of this period correspond to three meteorite sights: November
11th 1873, reported by Dr. Díaz (BRUNI, 1968b); in 1886 from Maracaibo and August 19th
1887 from Bobures (RODRÍGUEZ & ROMERO, 2003).
2.2 Age of Observatorio Cagigal: The great vacuum.
The Observatorio Cagigal occupies a prominent place in terms of history of astronomy in
Venezuela. Before its construction was decreed, in 1888, an official institution didn't exist
in the country among whose objectives included professional astronomy studies. In fact, the
Observatorio Cagigal was the scientific institution that monopolized the domestic
astronomical investigation until the construction of the Observatorio Astronómico Nacional
(OAN) in Llano del Hato (Edo. Mérida) and the consequent foundation of Centro de
Investigaciones de Astronomía “Francisco J. Duarte” (CIDA) in 1975. During that period
of history of astronomy in Venezuela, all research was carried out by the directors of the
observatory. The official publications of the observatory and the independent publications
of those researchers have been consulted.
Figure 2: Engraving with a view of the project for the astronomical, meteorological,
geomagnetic and seismological Observatory of Caracas (Observatorio Cagigal).
However, apart of the meteorite sighting from Las Araujas (Edo. Trujillo) August 9th of
1936 at 20h30m UT (RODRÍGUEZ & ROMERO, 2003; URBANI, 2002), there are no records of
any reports or publications from Drs. Luis Ugueto (1868-1936), Francisco Duarte
(1883-1972) or Eduardo Röhl (1891-1959) regarding meteors or meteorites (OLIVARES,
1986; DUARTE & MICHALUP, 1974; URBANI, 1986).2.3 Contemporary Epoch: Amateurs as protagonists. The first meteor activity records in this period were meteorite sights, beginning on February 7th of 1964 from Caracas (URBANI, 2002); next, the meteorite fall in Ucera (Edo. Falcón) on January 16th of 1970 at 23h UT (RODRÍGUEZ & ROMERO, 2003; URBANI, 2002) and the curious case of a meteorite that killed a cow the night of October 15th of 1970 (SCHOOLER & SCHOOLER, 2005; URBANI, 2002). The observations of those eta-Aquarids carried out by an amateur astronomical observer group from Mérida (Edo. Mérida), in May of 1981, started the activity registrations for meteor showers in this period, accounting a total of 67 meteors of which 62 were classified as belonging to eta-Aquarids’ radiant (COVA ET AL., 1981). Also in 1981, Orionids were observed from Ciudad Guayana (RAMOS & SÁNCHEZ, 1982) registering, in that moment, a low activity. Since then, the activity of several mayor meteor showers has been registered in different years. The most observed so far has -besides perhaps the possible activity of 1766 pointed out by HUMBOLDT (1987)- been the Leonids meteor shower, of which a total of 19 different observation registers were gathered. Besides being the most observed meteor shower in Venezuela, it is also the meteor shower with largest activity recorded, largest meteor number and largest quantity of observers. Second to the Leonids meteor shower (from the standpoint of quantity of records) comes the Orionids, with a total of 14 records; and following by the Geminids as the third most observed meteor shower, with a total of 10 observation reports. This aspect is interesting and it deserves a brief analysis: besides the importance (and publicity) associated with the Leonids, it is logical to conclude that Orionids and Geminids should be the most observed showers, since both radiants are located optimally for its observation from the country’s latitude. At this point it is worth asking why does not happen the same with eta-Acuarids (of which there are merely three records). And, maybe, the answer is related with the country’s weather: for example, during eta-Acuarids’ activity period (from mid April to later May), most of Venezuelan sky is affected by clouds and rain. The opposite happens with other showers, like Taurids (Taurids north, south and those cases in which no such discrimination was made), for example, which have received special attention, adding a total of nine observations recorded in this summary. In this case, although the location of its radiant one is not the best for Venezuela, during its activity period (October-November), the skies are usually very clear. Definitely, minor meteor showers have received less attention. Delta-Leonids and delta-Aquarids are some of the few minor showers published reports have been found for. On the other hand, there are records of meteor showers that are not classified by International Meteor Organization (IMO): 5185 Canis Minorids, alpha-Cannis Minorids (OTERO, 1993f), epsilon-Arietids (OTERO, 1993c), theta-Geminids (ZAGUSTÍN ET AL., 1993), among others. These cases of meteor activity report add a total of 28 records in this compilation such a high number is interesting and calls for corroboration. Regrettably, the original reports are not published in consulted sources.
It is worth mentioning that observations carried out from Venezuela began to appear in the
IMO’s Visual Meteor Data Base (VMDB) (which implies the adoption of standard
observation methods) in 1991, with delta-Leonids observations in February of that year.
The year with more contribution of Venezuelans to VMDB was 1998, during which a total
of 46 observation periods of Orionids, Leonids and Geminids were recorded. It is worth
mentioning that at the moment there exist 13 IMO observers codes assigned to Venezuelans
in this database.
Figure 3: Picture of participants in 1ª Convención Regional de Observadores
de la LIADA, that taken place on March of 1989 in Caracas, Venezuela.
On the other hand, during this period, the first text entirely devoted to the observation of
meteors: “Manual para la Observación de los Meteoros” by GONZÁLEZ (1987a; 1987b), was
published by the former Sociedad Universitaria de Aficionados a la Astronomía (now
known as Sociedad Universitaria de Astronomía, SUNA) of Universidad Central de
Venezuela (UCV) in 1987, with a total of 14 pages. Regarding publication of articles,
reports and texts related with the astronomy of meteors in general, the years with more
production are 1990 and 1993, with fifteen and ten publications respectively. This high
production is unquestionably related to the 1st and 3rd Liga Ibero-Americana de Astronomía
(LIADA) conventions, meetings in which astronomy enthusiasts found an opportunity to
share its observation results and other works. The latest LIADA’s convention was held in
1991. From then on, there have not been any additional meetings. Although it is common in
historical investigations that recent records are easier to obtain than older ones, the fact than
more than 90% of the publications gathered in this work were published from 1981 to the
present, is an unequivocal sign of the relevance taken by this astronomy branch during the
latest years in Venezuela.3. Scientific Productivity.
The data in Table 1 is plotted in Figure 4 which shows the quantity of meteor showers
observations and meteorite sightings recorded annually in Venezuela. The records include
also those made by foreign observers on Venezuelan soil.
20
18
16
14
Registered Observations
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
1790 1810 1830 1850 1870 1890 1910 1930 1950 1970 1990 2010
Year
Figure 4: Total Number of meteor observations registered in Venezuela.
On the other hand, Figure 5 shows a plot of the total production of books, guides, manuals,
theoretical and educative articles related with meteor science written by Venezuelan
authors or published in Venezuela.16
14
12
10
Total Publications
8
6
4
2
0
1790 1810 1830 1850 1870 1890 1910 1930 1950 1970 1990 2010
Year
Figure 5: Total number of published books, guides, manuals and theoretical or educative
articles related with meteor science written by Venezuelan authors or published in
Venezuela.
20
18
16
14
12
N°
10
8
6
4
2
0
1960 1970 1980 1990 2000
Year Publications Reg. Observations
Figure 6: Total number of publications and observations of meteors
in contemporary times (1961 from now on).In the graphics of Figures 4 and 5 it is noticeable the obvious increment of activity in those
decades. In Figure 6 the period between 1960 to the present is shown in more detail. It is
easy to see that most of the observations and publications appear in the period between
1981 and 1994.
Table 2 shows the five observation records with the largest meteoric activity registered in
Venezuela. It is clear that four of them correspond to observations made during Leonids
activity period.
Table 2: Meteor observations with largest activity level registered from
Venezuela.
Date ZHR n Meteors Observers References
(1)
11/14/1799 ~ 5000 - 2 30, 31
(2)
11/14/1869 ~ 300 405 2 16
11/27/1872 ~ 200 - 1 12, 17
11/17/1998 200±16 3826 33 44
11/18/2001 351±22 4166 32 5, 74
(1)
According KIDGER (1996) estimates.
(2)
Approximate value just considering hourly rate and radiant height
4. Conclusions.
Definitely, the history of meteor astronomy in Venezuela doesn't escape to the influence of
famous Leonids as the meteor shower with the largest number of observations, with the
largest number of recorded meteors and with the most participants in observation
campaigns.
A sensitive hole of information exists between 1888 and 1960, period during which the
Observatorio Cagigal, institution that concentrates the astronomical knowledge of the time
in the country, doesn't publish anything related with the astronomy of meteors.
Since 1981 it is noticeable an increment of the observational activity in Venezuela,
monopolizing more than 90% of the publications related with meteor astronomy whose
authors belong mostly to amateur groupings. Ten years later, the registrations of realized
observations of meteors from Venezuela began to contribute to the IMO database, signaling
the adoption of the international observation method for meteor study.
On the other hand, in spite of not having many experience in other observation techniques
than the visual one, the first radio observation rehearsal carried out in 2002 places the
country as one of the first ones of Latin America where they have been rehearsals with this
observation technique.
5. Acknowledgements.
Authors want to thank to Sociedad Universitaria de Astronomía of Universidad Central de
Venezuela for the support provided during the necessary documentation in this work. Also
they are sincerely grateful to Tobías Arias, Ignacio Ferrín, Javier González, Jesús Otero,Sergio Radaelli and Franco Urbani who offered their uninterested help in the summary of the information used to elaborate this work as well as to María Carolina Lobo, Leticia Navarro and Michele Ciampagna for their valuable advice in the writing of the same one. On the other hand, it is important to mention that without the moral and financial support of the Asociación Cultural SKENA, International Meteor Organization (IMO) and Fondo Nacional de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación (FONACIT) of the Government of the República Bolivariana de Venezuela, it would had been impossible to finish this project. Notice: If the reader possesses some reference that has not been considered in this work, please send it to the authors to enrich the content of this compilation. References [1] ALAFA, 1986a, Meteoros, Boletín Astronómico, Año 1, N° 1, w/o numeration. [2] ALAFA, 1986b, Meteoros, Boletín Astronómico, Año 1, N° 3, pp. 2-3 [3] ALAFA, 1986c, Reportes, Boletín Astronómico, Año 1, N° 5, pp. 2-3 [4] ALAFA, 1987, Meteoros, Boletín Astronómico, Año 2, N° 1, pp. 2-5 [5] ALDA, 2001, Informe final de las leónidas, [on line], Barquisimeto, Available in: [2005, May 4th] [6] AMARO, M. et al., 1998, Supuesta caída de un meteorito en Barbacoas, estado Lara. En: Memorias de XVIII Encuentro Nacional de Astronomía, Caracas. [7] ARLT, E., 1998, Bulletin 13 of the International Leonid Watch: the 1998 leonid meteor shower, WGN 26, pp. 239-248 [8] ARLT, R. and BROWN, P., 1999, Bulletin 14 of International Leonid Watch: Visual results and modelling of the 1998 leonids, WGN 27(6), pp. 267-285 [9] ARLT, R.; BELLOT, L.; BROWN, P. and GYSSENS, M., 1999, Bulletin 15 of the International Lonid Watch: first global analysis of the 1999 leonid storm, WGN 27(6), pp. 286-295 [10] ARLT, R. and GYSSENS, M., 2000, Bulletin 16 of the international Leonid Watch: results of the 2000 leonid meteor shower, WGN 28(6), pp. 191-204 [11] BRUNI, B., 1968a, Actas de la sociedad de ciencias físicas y naturales de Caracas, Tomo I, Banco Central de Venezuela, Caracas. [12] BRUNI, B., 1968b, Actas de la sociedad de ciencias físicas y naturales de Caracas, Tomo II, Banco Central de Venezuela, Caracas.
[13] COVA, J., TORRES, D. and CHACÓN, R., 1981, Observación de las eta acuáridas en 1981, Boletín astronómico, 1(4), pp. 82-86 [14] DUARTE, C. and MICHALUP, E., 1974, Homenaje al Dr. Francisco J. Duarte (1883- 1972) Personalidad y Correspondencia, Ediciones de la Presidencia de la República, Caracas. [15] ERNST, A., 1867, Los Fenómenos meteóricos, El Federalista, N°1274. [16] ERNST, A., 1869, The november meteor shower in Caracas, Scientific Opinion, 3(16). [17] ERNST, A., 1872, The great meteoric shower of november 27, 1872, Nature, 7(443). [18] FERRÍN, I., 1984, Sección de Meteoros, Universo 4(15); pp. 159-161 [19] FERRÍN, I., 1985, Trabajo observacional en 1984, Universo 5(19), pp. 134-139 [20] FERRÍN, I., 1999, Meteor storm forecasting: Leonids 1999–2001, Astron. Astrophys. 348, 295–299 [21] FERRÍN, I., 2000, A revised prediction for the 2000 Leonids, J. Br. Astron. Assoc. 110(5), 253-255 [22] FREITEZ, W., 1988, Reducción de datos para lluvias de meteoros, Boletín Astronómico, Año 3, N° 1, p. 3 [23] GONZÁLEZ, J. and SALAS, J., 1987, Actividades realizadas, Pulsar, N° 10, p. 2 [24] GONZÁLEZ, J., 1987a, Manual para la observación de los meteoros, SUNAFA, Caracas.14 p. [25] GONZÁLEZ, J., 1987b, Editorial: X Encuentro nacional de astronomía - observatorio Cagigal - Caracas 10-12 de Octubre de 1987, Pulsar, N° 13, p. 1 [26] GONZALEZ, J. and FERRÍN, I., 1988, Espectacular lluvia de meteoritos sobre Venezuela, Universo, 8(26), p. 37 [27] GONZÁLEZ, J.; 1988, Informe Oriónidas 1987, Tribuna de Astronomía, Nº 32-33, pp. 70-76. [28] GRIMÁN, A.; TORRES, R. and MARTÍNEZ, A., 1992, Reporte de dos bólidos. Universo, 12(36), p. 41 [29] HERNÁNDEZ, F., 1990, Un bólido por el can mayor, Pulsar Nº 21, p. 18 [30] HUMBOLDT, A. VON, 1987. Viaje a las regiones equinocciales del nuevo continente, Monteávila Editores, Caracas.
[31] HUMBOLDT, A. VON, 1994, Kosmos, Editorial Glem, Buenos Aires. [32] IBARRA, A., 1956, Meteoro luminoso y temblor en Caracas, Crónica de Caracas, Vol. 6, Nros 28 y 29, pp. 123-126 [33] IMO, Visual Meteor Data Base, [on line], Postdam, 1991 [2005, May 1st], available in: [34] JAIMES, E.; GONZÁLEZ-JIMÉNEZ, F. and D’ONOFRIO, L., 2000. Mössbauer study of the Ucera and Kukenán Meteorites. 7th. Latin American Conference on Applications of the Mössbauer Efect, Caracas. [35] KIDGER, M.; 1996, Una historia de dos lluvias, Tribuna de Astronomía, Nº 122, pp. 60- 65. [36] MARCHIORO, D., 1990, Alejandro de Humboldt: El astrónomo Desconocido (recopilación de sus investigaciones astronómicas publicadas en su libro viaje a las regiones equinocciales del nuevo continente) Parte I, Manuscrito presentado en el XIII Encuentro Nacional de Astronomía, Pto. Ordaz y Guri. 12 al 14 de Octubre de 1990 [37] MARTÍNEZ, A., 1990a, Guía para la observación visual de meteoros, SUNAFA, Caracas. [38] MARTÍNEZ, A., 1990b, Las gemínidas en 1988. In: Ferrín, I. (Ed.), Memorias de la 1ra convención regional de observadores de la LIADA, Caracas, pp. 23-25 [39] MARTÍNEZ, A., 1990c, Delta acuáridas/sur 1989, Pulsar Nº 20, pp. 19-21 [40] MARTÍNEZ, A., 1991a. Por falta de observadores, Meteoros sobre sudamérica, Nº 10, p. 20 [41] MARTÍNEZ, A., 1991b. Canis mayóridas en febrero de 1991, Meteors, Nº 17, p. 5 [42] MARTÍNEZ, A., 1993, Factores de corrección para una lluvia de meteoros. En: Ferrín, I. (Ed.), Memorias de la 3ra convención regional de observadores de la LIADA, Caracas, pp. 68-78 [43] MARTÍNEZ, A., 1994, Oriónidas 1993, Meteoros sobre sudamérica, N° 14. p. 9 [44] MARTÍNEZ, A., 1999, Las Leónidas desde Venezuela en 1998. Análisis Global de Actividad, [on line]. Caracas. Available in: [2005, May 1st] [45] MARTÍNEZ, A., 2000a, Guía para la observación de meteoros, SUNA, Caracas. 70 p.
[46] MARTÍNEZ, A., 2000b, On the Leonid observations made by Alexander von Humboldt from Venezuela, WGN, 28(6), p. 160 [47] MARTÍNEZ, A., 2001a. Las leónidas en el 2000. La incógnita empieza a ceder, [on line]. Caracas. Available in: [2005, May 1st]. [48] MARTÍNEZ, A., 2001b, Las oriónidas desde Venezuela en 2001, [on line]. Caracas. Available in: [2005, May 1st]. [49] MARTÍNEZ, A., 2001c, Las Leónidas en 2001. Las Leónidas contraatacan, [on line]. Caracas. Available in: [2005, May 1st] [50] MARTÍNEZ, A., 2002. Sistema de radio automatizado para el registro de actividad meteórica, Tesis de Grado, Universidad Central de Venezuela. [51] MARTÍNEZ, A., 2003, An automated radio system for recording meteor activity, WGN, 31(5), pp. 139-144 [52] MOLINA, M., 1990, Táuridas norte en 1989, Pulsar Nº 22, pp. 15-17 [53] MOLINA, M. and MARTÍNEZ, A., 1993, Táuridas 1988-1990. En: Ferrín, I. (Ed.), Memorias de la 3ra convención regional de observadores de la LIADA, Caracas, pp. 79-89 [54] MOLINA, M. and ORTEGA, I., 1990, Observación de los radiantes Táuridas/norte y Táuridas/sur, Pulsar, Nº 19, pp. 23-25 [55] MUNZI, C.; CASTILLO, A.; SOTO, C.; WOLF, F. CASTILLO, M.V. and OTERO, J., 1990, Muy activas las 5185 Canis Minóridas. En: Ferrín, I. (Ed.), Memorias de la 1ra convención regional de observadores de la LIADA, Caracas, pp. 18-19 [56] OLIVARES, A., 1986, Dr. Luis Ugueto, Ingeniero, astrónomo y profesor, Academia de ciencias físicas, matemáticas y naturales, Caracas. [57] ORTEGA, I., 1990a, Un bólido con zumbido, Universo, 10(31); p. 39 [58] ORTEGA, I., 1990b, Una "bola de fuego", Universo, 10(32); p. 97 [59] OTERO, J., 1984, ¿Están creciendo en intensidad las Leónidas?, Universo, 4(13), pp. 46-47 [60] OTERO, J., 1988, Mas posibles nuevos radiantes, Universo, 8(28), p. 139 [61] OTERO, J., 1990a, Las oriónidas disminuyeron su THZ. In: Ferrín, I. (Ed.), Memorias de la 1ra convención regional de observadores de la LIADA, Caracas, pp. 22 [62] OTERO, J., 1990b, Factores de corrección de radiantes. In: Ferrín, I. (Ed.), Memorias de la 1ra convención regional de observadores de la LIADA, Caracas, pp. 26-27
[63] OTERO, J., 1993a, Las Gemínidas. In: Ferrín, I. (Ed.), Memorias de la 3ra convención regional de observadores de la LIADA, Caracas, pp. 114-116 [64] OTERO, J., 1993b, Las gemínidas en 1987. In: Ferrín, I. (Ed.), Memorias de la 3ra convención regional de observadores de la LIADA, Caracas, p. 117 [65] OTERO, J., 1993c, Las epsilon arietidas. In: Ferrín, I. (Ed.), Memorias de la 3ra convención regional de observadores de la LIADA, Caracas, p. 119 [66] OTERO, J., 1993d, Las tauridas norte y sur. In: Ferrín, I. (Ed.), Memorias de la 3ra convención regional de observadores de la LIADA, Caracas, p. 120 [67] OTERO, J., 1993e, Las omicron orionidas. In: Ferrín, I. (Ed.), Memorias de la 3ra convención regional de observadores de la LIADA, Caracas, p. 121 [68] OTERO, J., 1993f, Las alfa canis minoris y las 5158 canis minoris. In: Ferrín, I. (Ed.), Memorias de la 3ra convención regional de observadores de la LIADA, Caracas, p. 122 [69] OTERO, J.; GARRIDO, J., STRUVE, J.; GONZÁLEZ, R.; TORRES, E., RODRÍGUEZ, M. and SOTO, C., 1993, Las Leónidas. In: Ferrín, I. (Ed.), Memorias de la 3ra convención regional de observadores de la LIADA, Caracas, pp. 113-114 [70] OTERO, J. and RODRÍGUEZ H., 1990, Las Vélidas: Un radiante no reportado. In: Ferrín, I. (Ed.), Memorias de la 1ra convención regional de observadores de la LIADA, Caracas, pp. 14-15 [71] OTERO, J. and SILVEIRA P., 1990, Canis Mayóridas: No más controversias. In: Ferrín, I. (Ed.), Memorias de la 1ra convención regional de observadores de la LIADA, Caracas, pp. 16-17 [72] RADAELLI, S., 2004, Leonidas 2004 y Dia de la Astronomia Foro PB (Foro Planetario Barquisimeto) [Lista de discusión de Internet] Available in: [2005, May 4th] [73] RAMOS, A.W. and SÁNCHEZ, D., 1982, Las Oriónidas en 1981, Boletín astronómico, 2(7), pp. 85-86 [74] RODRÍGUEZ H.; OTERO, J. and DE SOUSA AGUIAR, J.G., 1990, Columbidas-Lepúsidas: Nuevo radiante. In: Ferrín, I. (Ed.), Memorias de la 1ra convención regional de observadores de la LIADA, Caracas, pp. 20-21 [75] RODRÍGUEZ, J. A. and ROMERO, G., 2003, ¿Impacto meteórico en el estado Miranda en 1964?, Revista Geográfica Venezolana, 44(2) 2003, 189-205 [76] RUBESA, I., 1986, Actividades Realizadas, Pulsar, N° 8, p. 2
[77] RUBESA, I.; URBANI, F. and BENCOMO, A., 1996. Observaciones con microscopio electrónico de barrido de microesferas asociadas al meteorito de Cagua, estado Aragua, Venezuela. En: VII Congreso Venezolano de Microscopía Electrónica. Valencia. Resúmenes, pp. 268-269. [78] SCHOOLER, E. and SCHOOLER, J., 2005, VALERA: the Meteorite that killed a cow! - Witnessed Fall, [on line]. Caracas. Available in: [2005, 2005, May 11th ] [79] SOVAFA, 2003a, Algunos reportes interesantes, Mensajero Estelar, Año 27, Nº 28, s/p. [80] SOVAFA, 2003b, Lluvias de estrellas observadas, Mensajero Estelar, Año 26, Nº 26 y 27, s/p. [81] STEEL, D, 2002. Rock on your head. Meteorite collectors are up in arms and all over a dead cow. The Guardian (diario, U.K.), Enero 17. [82] SUNAFA, 1987, Pulsar, N° 12, p.2 [83] SUNAFA, 1988a, Pulsar, N° 15, p.4 [84] SUNAFA, 1988b, Actividades realizadas, Pulsar, N° 17, p. 4 [85] TORO, L. and BERGAMASHI, J., 1988, Un meteoro sin ruido, Universo, 8(27), p. 92 [86] TORO, L., 1989a, Observación de radiantes meteóricos, Andrómeda, 1(2), p.9-13 [87] TORO, L., 1989b, Radiantes meteóricas, Andrómeda, 1(3), p.11-12 [88] TROCONIS, E. 1970, El meteorito de Ucera. El Planetario (Bol. Inf. del Planetario Humboldt), Caracas. 2(4): s/p, marzo 1970. [89] URBANI, F., 1986, Bibliografía del Dr. Eduardo Röhl (1851-1959), Revista Geográfica Venezolana, 27, pp. 97-115 [90] URBANI, F. 1994. Informe preliminar no. 1. Meteorito de Cagua, 22 octubre 1994. UCV, Fac. Ingeniería, Dept. Geología. Informe inédito. 22 noviembre. 2 p. [91] URBANI, F., 2002, Los meteoritos de Venezuela: ciencia, historia y anécdotas, Boletín de Historia de las Geociencias en Venezuela, 83, pp. 3-61 [92] URBANI, F.; BONGIOVANNI, A.; PADRINO, M.E. and RUBESA, I., 1994, Program of XII encuentro nacional de astronomía, SUNA, Caracas, pp. 16-17 [93] URBANI, F.; CAMPOSANO, L.; CONTRERAS, O.; BRICEÑO, H. and OTERO, J., 2002. El recién encontrado meteorito de Isla de Aves y una revisión de los hallazgos de meteoritos
en Venezuela. In: JIFI2002 - Jornadas de Investigación de la Facultad de Ingeniería 2002, UCV, Caracas, noviembre. Abstracts, on press. [94] VAZ, J. E. 1970. Mineralogía y composición química del meteorito caserío Ucera. Acta Cient. Venez., 21, pp. 157-159. [95] VAZ, J. E. 1971. Asymmetric distribution of thermoluminescence in the Ucera meteorite. Nature, Physical Science, London. 230(1), pp. 23-24. [96] VAZ, J. E. 1972. The Ucera meteorite, determination of differential atmospheric heating using its natural thermoluminiscence. Meteoritics, 7(2), pp. 77-86. [97] VILORIA, A. and URBANI, F., 1994, Programa del XII encuentro nacional de astronomía, SUNA, Caracas, p. 14 [98] ZAGUSTÍN, T; RODRÍGUEZ, L. and OTERO, J., 1993, Las theta gemínidas. En: Ferrín, I. (Ed.), Memorias de la 3ra convención regional de observadores de la LIADA, Caracas, p. 118
You can also read
