(meteorobs) Obs: 24/25 Sept 2006

[pmartsching at mchsi.com]

25 September 2006 02:00-10:00 (CDST 24/25 Sep 2006 9:00pm - 5:00am)

Paul Martsching
Iowa Star Party in NW Guthrie County, Iowa
Long: 94 deg 38 min W   Lat: 41 deg 48 min N    Elevation: 1,280 feet
Method: Visual; paper, pencil and talking clock

02:00-03:00; ~60 deg F; wind calm; clear; average limiting magnitude 6.2; facing
East 45 degrees; Total teff 1.0 hour (31 jets!!!)
Time   mag.   type   comment
02:06  +3     Spor
02:16  +3     Spor
02:17   0     Spor   yellow
02:39  +1     DAU
02:43  +1     Spor
02:47  +1     ANT    orange
02:56  +3     Spor
Antihelion: +1
Delta Aurigid: +1
Sporadic: 0, +1, +3(3)
Total meteors: seven

03:00-04:00; ~57 deg F; wind calm; clear; average limiting magnitude 6.2; facing
East 45 degrees; total teff 1.0 hour (13 jets)
Time   mag.   type   comment
03:23  +3     Spor
Antihelion: none
Delta Aurigid: none
Sporadic: +3
Total meteors: one

04:00-05:00; ~54 deg F; wind calm; clear; average limiting magnitude 6.2; facing
East 45 degrees; Total teff 1.0 hour (7 jets)
Time   mag.  type   comment
04:02  +3    Spor
04:21  +3    Spor
04:30  +2    Spor
04:40  -1    Spor   0.5 second train
04:56   0    Spor   yellow
Antihelion: none
Delta Aurigid: none
Sporadic: -1, 0, +2, +3(2)
Total meteors: five

05:00-06:00; ~52 deg F; wind calm; clear; average limiting magnitude 6.2; facing
East 45 degrees; Total teff 1.0 hour (2 jets)
Time   mag.   type   comment
05:06  +4     Spor
05:12  +3     Spor
05:31  +1     Spor
05:51  +2     Spor
Antihelion: none
Delta Aurigid: none
Sporadic: +1, +2, +3, +4
Total meteors: four

06:00-07:00; ~50 deg F; wind NW 3 mph; clear; average limiting magniutde 6.2;
facing East 45 degrees; Total teff 1.0 hour (4 jets)
Time   mag.  type   comment
06:03  +3    Spor
06:04  +1    Spor   yellow
06:23  -3    ANT    orange
06:29   0    Spor   yellow; 0.5 second train
06:31  +3    Spor
06:36  +2    Spor
06:41  +2    Spor
06:47  +1    Spor
06:49  +1    Spor
06:57  +1    Spor   yellow
Antihelion: -3
Delta Aurigid: none
Sporadic: 0, +1(4), +2(2), +3(2)
Total meteors: ten

07:00-08:00; ~48 deg F; wind NW 5 mph; clear; average limiting magnitude: 6.2;
facing East 45 degrees; Total teff 1.0 hour (4 jets)
Time   mag.   type   comment
07:14  +4     Spor
07:16  +3     Spor
07:34  +4     Spor
07:35  +1     Spor
07:45  +3     Spor
07:47  +3     Spor
Antihelion: none
Delta Aurigids: none
Sporadic: +1, +3(3), +4(2)
Total meteors: six

08:00-09:00; ~46 deg F; wind NW 5 mph; "clear"; average limiting magnitude 6.1;
facing East 45 degrees; Total teff 1.0 hour (7 jets)
Time   mag.   type   comment
08:07  -1     ANT
08:23  +3     Spor
08:24  +4     Spor
08:31  +2     Spor
08:32  +1     Spor   orange
08:35  +2     Spor
08:52  +1     Spor   1 second train
Antihelion: -1
Delta Aurigid: none
Sporadic: +1(2), +2(2), +3, +4
Total meteors: seven

09:00-10:00; ~43 deg F; wind NW 5 mph; clear; average limiting magnitude 6.2;
facing East 45 degrees; Total teff 1.0 hour (5 jets)
Time   mag.  type   comment
09:03  +5    Spor
09:12  +2    Spor
09:16  +3    Spor
09:19  +3    Spor   brief train
09:20  +4    Spor
09:26  +1    Spor
09:31  +3    Spor
09:44   0    Spor   orange
09:50  +1    Spor   yellow
Antihelion: none
Delta Aurigid: none
Sporadic: 0, +1(2), +2, +3(3), +4, +5
Total meteors: nine

Comment: I certainly don't recommend entire night meteor watches, but the
weather had not been cooperating and I was making the best of the last night. 
There was no apparent reason for only one meteor during the second hour.  It is
possible to have one's eyes off the sky for less than one minute per hour, if at
a dark enough site and things are arranged well, etc.  This is a very good
observing site, but at my age I could not get any of the magnitude count areas
to give a limiting magnitude better than 6.2.