(meteorobs) Obs: 12/13 Aug 2006

[pmartsching at mchsi.com]

13 Aug 2006 07:45-09:15 (CDST 12/13 Aug 2006 2:45-4:15am)

After giving the meteor program for the public star party for the Ames Area
Amateur Astronomers the sky didn't look promising.  Long before dark there were
clouds all around 20 to 30 degrees above the horizon.  It was very humid and
eventually fog began forming.  I saw very few Perseids, and sky conditions
worsened, so I eventually went home.  About 2:15 I got up and looked out the
window.  The sky didn't seem quite so bad around the Moon so I went out.  

Paul Martsching
McFarland Park Observatory 4 miles NE os Ames, Story County, Iowa
Long: 93 deg 34 min W   Lat: 42 deg 05 min N   Elevation: 318 meters
Method: Visual; paper, pencil and talking clock
 
07:45-09:15; 72 degrees; wind SE 10 mph; 07:45-08:00 several bands of thin
cirrus in right one-third of field of view slowly moving eastward and out of
view ~08:00; clear 08:00-08:45 but with Moonlit horizon haze; 08:45-09:15 15%
cloud cover; not as humid as in evening and no apparent fog; average limiting
magnitude ~4.0 thruout entire session; facing North 45 degrees; used black
umbrella to block light from waning gibbous Moon; Total teff 1.5 hours
(9 jets/planes)
Time   mag.   type   comment
07:45  +2     PER    yellow
07:50  +1     PER
07:52  +2     Spor
07:57   0     PER    orange
08:05  +3     Spor
08:06  +3     PER
08:07  +3     PER
08:10  +2     PER
08:11  +1     PER
08:15   0     PER
08:19  -1     PER    orange; 1 sec. train
08:20  -3     PER    yellow; 1 sec. train
08:24  +3     Spor
08:26  +3     PER
08:33  -1     PER    orange; brief train
08:36  +3     Spor
08:37  +1     PER
08:39  +3     PER
08:42  +2     PER
08:44  +3     PER
08:58  -1     PER    yellow; brief train
08:59  -2     PER    yellow; brief train
09:05   0     PER
09:06  -2     PER    brief train
09:07  +3     PER
09:12  +3     PER
08:13  -5     PER    1 second train; going down into horizon haze/cloud
08:14  -3     PER    orange; 1 sec. train
I quit at 08:15 because more clouds moving in from the West and fog began forming.

Perseids: -5, -3(2), -2(2), -1(3); 0(3); +1(3); +2(3); +3(7)
Sporadics: +2, +3(3)
Total meteors: twenty-eight