(meteorobs) Observation June 14/15 2007 (Moose Creek)

[Pierre Martin]

The month of June was marked by a spell of generally poor weather.   
Along with a busier-than-usual schedule (both at work and at home), I  
only managed to get in a single meteor observing session during the  
entire dark sky period.

Shortly after midnight, I joined several people out at Moose Creek  
observing site.  Present were Sanjeev, Danny, Bruce and Donny.  It  
was my first time at this site, and the first thing that one notices  
there are the impressively flat horizons in all directions.  There  
are two bright yard lights facing the south, but they are far away  
enough to cause little to no interference.  The site has ample space  
for a number of cars, but one drawback that I found is that it tends  
to be a dusty area, especially if hasn't rained in a while.  I had to  
be cautious when putting anything near the ground otherwise the dust  
would tend to stick very easily.  As for sky darkness, it is a notch  
below in darkness compared to Bootland.  The distant light domes from  
Ottawa, Montreal, Cornwall and Casselman are visible in four  
directions, but the skies overhead were quite good with decent  
details especially in the summer Milky Way.  A rather nice advantage  
with this location appear to be the lack of mosquitoes, even on hot  
summer nights.  We enjoyed very good conditions.  Both the  
transparency and seeing were above average (4/5) quality when I got  
there shortly after midnight.  Not a single cloud either!

My rather un-eventful hour-long meteor session (below) was  
compensated by a spectacular view of Jupiter through Sanjeev's 14.5"  
Starmaster.  It provided one of the best views of Jupiter that I've  
seen in some time... a myriad of cloud belt details including three  
large blue festoons, a number of small ovals and even coloration  
tints in the GRS!  Certainly a very impressive view considering the  
low max-elevation of Jupiter this summer!

While meteor observing, I recorded one definite Xi Draconid  
(alternate radiant for the June Lyrids).  Its alignment, velocity and  
length all matched perfectly.

Clear skies,

Pierre Martin
Ottawa, Ontario



DATE: June 14/15 2007
BEGIN: 0435 UT (0035 EDT) END: 0605 UT (0205 EDT)
OBSERVER: Pierre Martin (MARPI)
LOCATION: Long: -75.063 West; Lat: 45.269 North  Elevation: 200 ft
City & Province: Moose Creek, Ontario, CANADA
RECORDING METHOD: talking clock/tape recorder, plotting
----------------------------------------------------------

OBSERVED SHOWERS:_______________________________radiant position
ANT (Antihelions)__________________________18:32 -23
JLY (June Lyrids)__________________________18:32 +35
XDR (Xi Draconids)_________________________18:32 +45
SPO (sporadics)
----------------------------------------------------------

OBSERVING PERIODS: 0 = none seen; / = shower not observed

PERIOD(UT)___FIELD____Teff____F______LM____SPO__ANT__JLY__XDR

0435-0605___1904+17___1.36___1.00___6.22____7____0____0____1  =  8

Note: The first column (Period UT) refers to observing periods broken  
down as close as possible to one hour of true observing, in Universal  
Time. The second column (Field) is the area in in the sky where I  
centered my field of view. The third column (TEFF) represents  
effective observing time (corrected for breaks or any time not spent  
looking at the sky). The column (LM) is the average naked eye  
limiting magnitude, determined by triangle star counts. All following  
columns indicate the number of meteors for each shower observed.
------------------------

MAGNITUDE DISTRIBUTIONS:

SHOWER
______+1__+2__+3__+4__+5______AVE

SPO____1___0___2___3___1_____+3.43
XDR____0___0___1___0___0_____+3.00

Note: Magnitude -8 is comparable to a quarter moon, magnitude -4 with  
the planet Venus, magnitude -1 with the brightest star Sirius,  
magnitude +2 to +3 with most average naked eye stars and magnitude +6  
to +7 are the faintest stars the naked eye can see under typical dark  
conditions. A meteor of at least magnitude -3 is considered a  
fireball. The above table contains the magnitudes from all observed  
meteors, and the average (last column) for showers.
------------------------

SKY OBSCURED (FOV) (UT): None

------------------------

Dead time: 8.16 min (time taken for breaks and plots)

Breaks (UT): 5:18-24, 5:50 (10 sec), 5:52 (1:30 min)