(meteorobs) Aurigids from New Mexico

[Skywayinc at aol.com]

Here is a report that I received from an amateur watching 
for the Aurigids from New Mexico.  -- joe rao
 
-----------------------------------------------------
Joe:
The Aurigids did come through this morning, and  the show 
was quite a bit better than the '07 Perseids.  I gambled on an  early
peak- not wanting to travel west-, and in fact, it came quite a 
bit  earlier than suggested in your Sky and Tel article.
Between 4:21 AM and 5:36 AM- bright dawn- I observed 30 Aurigids.
But there's  a catch- let me explain:
I observed from the Volcanos,  some 15 miles west of downtown
Albuquerque, and 5 miles north of I-25.   I had excellent skies- the
Milky Way from Cassiopeia to Auriga was faintly  visible, and I 
could clearly make out the Little Dipper.  I'm guessing  the zenith
star- as best defined tonight- was 5.5.
I  began a watch at 4:21 AM MDT.  At 4:36 AM there were two
quick Aurigids,  similar to what I observed back in mid 90's.  
By  4:50 AM activity really picked up.  It was obvious an outburst 
was  underway.  The Aurigids I saw were a mix of fireballs- and  faint
specimens (unlike the previous time a saw a few of these meteors,  where
there were only fireballs).  Two magn. minus 3 Aurigids-  almost
simultaneous-
were one of the highlights of the show.
Between 4:21 AM and 5:17 AM MDT I counted 29 Aurigids.  By  5:10 AM
it was pretty obvious the outburst was winding down (one gets a  feel
for these things).  I would guess the peak occurred between 4:50 AM  and
5:05 AM
(10:50 to 11:05 UT).  This turned out to be perfectly  suited for
Albuquerque.
At 5:17 AM twilight was  apparent, but not a problem.  Now I logged
Aurigid #29 of the  night.  However, I continued my watch.
The next  Aurigid- at 5:36 AM, in bright twilight- really floored me! 
It
was a huge  fireball of magnitude -6 or -7, easily casting shadows.  It 
streaked  almost directly overhead of me, heading south, ending near the
Moon.
It  left a train for maybe 15 seconds.  This (Capella) Aurigid  showed
flares, and bursts, 
which were preserved in the train.
Aurigids are very swift, very light yellow meteors,  ephemerally
trianed.  Perhaps
they resemble October Orionids most  closely, but are brighter.  Some
of the brighter Aurigid fireballs  showed delicate green tints.  There were
no "red" or 
purple  fireballs such as what I observed with the 1993 Perseids.  But 
color is  subjective.
Thus, between 4:36 AM and 5:17 AM MDT Sept.  1st 2007 I observed 29
Aurigids.
One highly curious  aspect of the shower which became immediatley 
noticed was the highly diffuse  radiant.  Anywhere around, and inside the 
Winter Pentagon could have  been a radiant.  However, 3 radiants
seemed definable:
1. The Capella radiant
2. The beta  Auriga radiant
3.  The beta Tauri (El Nath)  radiant
However one bright Aurigid say 15 degrees below  the Pentagon
would have passed directly through the center of the Pentagon as  it
moved directly downward.  
That a large  diffuse radiant existed was definititly- DEFINITELY
the case- I wasn't making  this up.  I actually began to describe
Aurigids as "Capella Aurigids,"  or beta Tauri Aurigids," or radiant
uncertain if the meteor passed through  two of the aforementioned stars.
This shower's  radiant  was as diffuse- or likely more diffuse
than the  Quadrantids.  I've been observing meteors since 1969, and 
have a pretty  good feel for when I'm seeing a diffuse radiant.
This is  interesting because a very sharply peaked meteor
shower would be expected to  emmanate from a very small, tight radiant. 
Anyway,  

Kevin McKeown, Albuquerque, New Mexico




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