(meteorobs) orionids impression--small outburst ~0715 UT

[Jim Rosenstock]

Hi,

I observed the Orionid shower "socially" with a couple of friends from 
Nanjemoy Creek Observatory in southern Maryland overnight.  We had nice 
clear transparent skies, limiting magnitude probably ~5.5, actually a 
pretty nice site for the east coast, except for the light dome to the 
north from the "Great DC Nebula".

As expected, the shower started off slowly as the radiant began to rise 
(and the moon began to set).  Around 2 a.m. EDT (0600UT) things picked 
up nicely.  We did NOT take notes at all, this was a social observing 
session.

However, it was pretty obvious that we were getting enhanced activity 
during the (approximate) period of 0615 to 0630 UT.  We were seeing 2-3 
Orionids per minute, most fairly bright, and many leaving brief trails. 
   
Then things slowed down noticeably, despite the radiant's continued 
rise.  By 0645 we were only seeing a meteor every few minutes, and my 
friends headed home.  I remained on site until nearly 0800UT, with 
relatively low rates continuing.  I headed for home, where I went out 
and looked from my backyard for a short while before dawn; rates 
appeared to remain low.  

Perhaps the 15-20 minute "outburst" around 0615UT was only a random 
variation that three human observers chose to apply a pattern to....but 
it sure felt like a small outburst to us!  We certainly saw more 
meteors during that period than during the rest of our ~4 hour 
session.  Again, I must add the caveat that we were not attempting to 
do organized, detailed observing and recording, so I characterize this 
post as an "impression" rather than a "report", and so you may take all 
of this with a grain of comet dust ;^) if you prefer....

Anybody else experience such an outburst?

Clear skies,

Jim