The 34th AKM Seminar in Waren/Müritz
by Roland Winkler, Brünhildestr. 74, 14542 Werder (Havel)
"Waren 2015" written from the crescents of the solar eclipse (Photo: Wolfgang Hinz)
The meeting of the Meteors Working Group e.V. (AKM) took place from 20.03. to 22.03.2015 in the old town of Waren/Müritz. We had chosen the youth hostel on the Binnen-Müritz as the conference venue, where, in addition to the lectures, one could also linger by the shores of the water. The first conference guests arrived a day earlier in view of the solar eclipse on 20.03. to fully enjoy the event. The weather also played along, so that after the eclipse several atmospheric phenomena could be marveled at, and among others the Parry arc emerged as a nice "byproduct".
Observation of the solar eclipse on March 20 in cloudless skies by the rather early participants (Photo: Kevin Förster)
Goods at Night (Photo: Reinhard Nitze)
Sunset over the Müritz (Photo: Andreas Möller)
On the evening of 20.03, the youth hostel slowly filled up and even Thomas Osthoff and Bernd Gährken did not miss the chance to arrive on time from distant Svalbard and the solar eclipse flight over the Faroe Islands, having been able to admire the total solar eclipse under the best conditions there. Regarding the travel route, for an interesting conference, no distance is too far. On Friday evening, after the meeting was opened by the chairperson Claudia Hinz, some lectures were on the agenda to set the mood. Ina Rendtel reported on a spontaneous aurora trip to northern Sweden, where one could admire impressive auroras. Repeating such ventures is definitely worth considering. Anke Hamann and Manfred Heinrich delighted us once again with a remarkable aurora film from their aurora vacation in northern Finnish Enontekiö. Despite multiple trips to this region, the auroras always leave us amazed. Andreas Möller then showed some self-created time-lapse films of various atmospheric phenomena. Today's photo technology now allows for a quality that was once only accessible to professionals. The evening then ended with long conversations.
Bernd Gährken brought the Eyafjallajökull volcano in Iceland very close to the participants with 3D images. (Photo: Wolfgang Hinz)
The Saturday began with a block of lectures that well represented the spectrum of phenomena observed and studied in the AKM. Kevin Förster spoke about evaluations of halo phenomena in relation to synoptic weather conditions that he conducted as part of his high school diploma. It turned out that, percentage-wise, these phenomena are concentrated on a few weather conditions; however, whenever cirrus clouds appear in the sky, a "control glance" should always be made, as halos are naturally to be expected. André Knöfel gave a presentation on LIDAR measurements of cirrus clouds carried out by the Meteorological Observatory Lindenberg. The system named RAMSES allows measurements that provide insights into the nature of cirrus clouds. However, this project is still in its early stages, and data evaluation is very complicated. Alexander Haußmann then introduced us to the methodology of analyzing rainbows based on the split rainbow from Japan discussed in the AKM observer forum and on the mailing list. He demonstrated how, by creating a calibration photo, the rainbow segments could be analyzed. This is very helpful for further measurements and analyses and was illustrated very clearly. Sirko Molau then gave a review of the 2014 season in the AKM’s meteor video camera network. In addition, data from visual meteor streams were also analyzed. The Kappa-Cygnids, a stream active in August, were evaluated in detail, where members from the AKM can participate. Furthermore, a camera comparison was made to investigate different lenses regarding their limiting magnitude for video observations.
Lecture on Unusual Rainbows by Alexander Haußmann (Photo: Kevin Förster)
Appointment of honorary members Sirko Molau and Jürgen Rendtel by the chairperson of AKM Claudia Hinz. (Photo: Wolfgang Hinz)
To lighten things up, solar eclipse images part 1 followed, before Jürgen Rendtel posed the question "What is (today) a meteor stream?". It was shown through some examples which criteria are used to define a clustering of meteors as a stream. The result is, among other things, a more compact observation list, as streams below the perception threshold are not included. Conclusion: A particle stream can appear in several radiants and be fed by multiple objects. Sergei Schmalz gave a lecture on the connection between sungrazer comets and meteor streams. Most are familiar with comet ISON as a sungrazer comet, which was "dissolved" after its perihelion passage through the sun. Investigations were also presented showing that meteor matter can be "generated" by such sungrazer comets, which is then distributed along the comet's path and can be observed as a meteor stream or increased activity. After these interesting lectures, the solar eclipse images part 2 followed. Subsequently, Sirko Molau introduced the new web form for fireball sightings on the IMO (International Meteor Organization) website. This will be integrated into the AKM website and also enables laypeople to provide detailed information on sighting a fireball. The link can be found at www.meteoros.de.
Afterwards, the AKM general meeting followed, where important topics included a change of statutes, the discussion of membership fees, and possible conference locations for the coming years were on the agenda. For their long-standing services to the AKM, Jürgen Rendtel and Sirko Molau were appointed honorary members
The evening program began with a lecture by Bernd Gährken, who only arrived on Saturday due to a solar eclipse flight over the Faroe Islands. He showcased the beautiful pictures and videos of the Bardabunga volcano in Iceland, which had calmed down by then. In addition, there were beautiful northern lights photographs. Thomas Osthoff did not miss the chance to share his impressions of the total solar eclipse in Svalbard with the attendees. In central Europe, solar eclipses will be rare in the coming decades, so other continents "must be explored".
After that, there was the 2014 annual review with impressive atmospheric phenomena from the AKM, presented by Claudia Hinz with a slideshow. The last evening concluded in a very cozy atmosphere.
On the last day, there were a few short presentations. Bernd Gährken showed a series of solar eclipse images taken during the flight over the Faroe Islands. However, his focus was not so much on tracking totality but on the effects of the moon's shadow and the detection of possible auroras. Andreas Möller followed up on his Friday presentation and demonstrated how to process time-lapse recordings using software to create a video file. There were also image series from Thomas Osthoff about Svalbard and Jürgen Rendtel from Tenerife, before Claudia Hinz reported on her observations of atmospheric phenomena and auroras in 2014/15 in Iceland. The conclusion was a film about the Eyafjallajökull eruption from an Icelander's perspective. Although volcanism is not related to atmospheric phenomena, it was a welcome addition to the Iceland presentation.
All in all, it was again a successful meeting with interesting lectures that encouraged participation. One took some things home for their own work area, and above all, the personal contacts make these meetings always something special. So we said goodbye to the Müritz and will see where next year's meeting on topics related to the atmosphere and its phenomena will take place. Thanks again this year to the organizers of the meeting and see you next time.
The obligatory group picture in front of the conference venue in Waren (Müritz) (Photo: Andreas Möller)
Scheduled Lectures
| Thema | Referent | ca. Dauer |
| Highlights 2014 | Sirko Molau | tbd |
| Polarlichter September 2014 | Anke Hamann, Manfred Heinrich | 22min |
| Die Atmosphäre in Bewegung | Andreas Möller | 10-15min |
| Die Beziehungen zwischen Haloerscheinungen und Großwetterlagen | Kevin Förster | 20-25min |
| Polarlichter in Skandinavien Oktober 2014 | Ina Rendtel | 15min |
| Atmosphärisches aus dem AKM 2014 | Claudia Hinz | 30min |
| Blick in die Cirruswolken mit dem RAMSES-Lidar | André Knöfel, Veronika Wolf | 20min |
| Was ist ein Meteorstrom? | Jürgen Rendtel | 30min |
| Sungrazer-Kometen und Meteorströme | Sergei Schmalz | 45min |
| Polarlichter über dem Bardarbunga | Bernd Gährken | 35min |
| Zeitraffer-Videos mit der DSLR | Andreas Möller | tbd |
| Polarlichter und andere Atmosphärische Erscheinungen von Island | Claudia Hinz | 30min |
| Ausbruch des Eyjafjallajökull aus der Sicht eines Isländers | Film | 30min |
| Dreifach-Gespaltener Regenbogen Beobachtung aus Japan August 2012 | Alexander Haußmann | 15min |