(meteorobs) Obs: 07/08 September 2007

[pmartsching at mchsi.com]

08 September 2007 02:15-10:50 UT (CDST 07/08 Sept 9:15pm - 5:50am)

Paul Martsching
Star Field at White Rock Conservancy NW Guthrie County, Iowa (Iowa Star Party)
Long: 94 deg 38 min W  Lat: 41 deg 48 min N  Elevation: ~390 meters
Method: Visual; paper, pencil & talking clock
Of the four nights of the Iowa Star Party only the second was clear.  It rained
the first and last nights and was mostly cloudy - overcast the third night.

I have Pi Eridanids (ERI) listed in my report.  Tho this is after the usual
published "end date". I have seen a very few ERI's scattered well into
September.  (These have characteristics similar to the South Apex sporadics
whose radiant is farther East and farther South.)

Dave Oesper and Gregg Erickson were informally observing with me and soon after
4am CDST (09:00 UT) they saw two very fast, nearly simultaneous meteors and very
shortly after a third which appeared to trace back to an area West of Orion.  In
the hour 09:00-10:00 UT Dave saw 7 and Gregg saw 8 of these meteors (each saw 3
which were not seen by the other) and indicated that the radiant area was West
of the bottom right corner of Orion.  Dave was facing East blocking the crescent
Moon with his arm; Gregg was facing SE; I was facing West to keep the Moon out
of my field of view.  During this time I saw only three meteors that I thought
traced back to this general area.  During my next 45 minutes of observing
10:00-10:50 (with a forced 5 minute break 10:08-10:13) I was facing South and I
saw only one more of these meteors - going West and tracing back at a level a
bit below Rigel.  During my break Dave and Gregg had seen one more.  Gregg saw
at least two more during the 50 minutes 10:00-10:50.  Unfortunately neither Dave
nor Gregg will submit a formal report.  The general info on their observations I
wrote on the back side of the pages I was using.  This is a lot of ERI's even
around their peak date.  Was any body else observing during this time?
The Kappa Cygnids do occur very sparsely well into September.

02:15-03:15; 70 deg F; wind light & variable; clear; average limiting magnitude
6.2; facing ENE 45 deg; total teff 1.0 hour
Time   mag.   type   comment
02:24  +4     Spor
02:38  +1     Spor   orange
02:43   0     ANT    yellow
02:47  +3     Spor   
02:51   0     SPE    yellow; 0.5 second train
Antihelion: one: 0
Kappa Cygnid: none
September Perseid: one: 0
Sporadics: three: +1, +3, +4
Total meteors: five

Half hour break 03:15-03:45

03:45-04:45; 68 deg F; wind lt & var; clear; aver. lim. mag. 6.2; facing ENE 45
deg; total teff 1.0 hour
Time   mag.  type   comment
03:57  +5    Spor
04:05   0    SPE    yellow; brief train
04:07  +1    Spor
04:16  +3    Spor
04:17  +2    Spor   orange
Antihelion: none
Kappa Cygnid: none
September Perseid: one: 0
Sporadics: four: +1, +2, +3, +5
Total meteors: five

Quarter hour break 04:45-05:00

05:00-06:00; 65 deg F; wind lt & var; some spreading jet contrails; average
limiting magnitude 5.9; facing ENE 45 deg; total teff 1.0 hour
Time   mag.   type   comment
05:42  +4     SPE 
05:57  +3     Spor
Antihelion: none
Kappa Cygnid: none
September Perseid: one: +4
Sporadic: one: +3
Total meteors: two

06:00-07:00; 63 deg F; wind calm; aver. lim. mag. 6.1; facing ENE 45 deg; total
teff 1.0 hour
Time   mag.  type   comment
06:01  +3    Spor
06:08  +2    Spor   orange
06:14  +1    SPE    one second train
06:15  +2    SPE    brief train
06:24  -2    Spor   orange
06:25  +3    Spor
06:27  +1    Spor
06:42  +5    SPE
06:57  +4    Spor
06:57  +3    Spor
Antihelion: none
Kappa Cygnid: none
September Perseids: three: +1, +2, +5
Sporadics: seven: -2, +1, +2, +3(3), +4
Total meteors: ten

07:00-08:00; 61 deg F; wind calm; clear; aver. lim. mag. 6.1; facing ENE 45 deg;
total teff 1.0 hour
Time   mag.   type   comment
07:02  +3     Spor
07:03  +3     Spor
07:29  +1     SPE    brief train
07:42  +3     Spor
07:45  -2     SPE    yellow; 2 second train
Antihelion: none
Kappa Cygnid: none
September Perseids: three: -2, +1, +3
Sporadics: three: +3(3)
Total meteors: six

08:00-09:00; 59 deg F; wind calm; clear; aver. lim. mag. 6.0; facing ENE 45 deg
till 08:45; then North 45 deg (Moon rise); total teff 1.0 hour
Time   mag.   type   comment
08:02  +1     Spor   yellow
08:09  +1     SPE    yellow; 1 second train
08:27  +4     Spor
08:29  +2     Spor
08:41  +3     Spor
08:48  +3     ANT
08:58  +3     Spor
Antihelion: one: +3
Kappa Cygnid: none
September Perseid: one: +1
Sporadics: five: +1, +2, +3(2), +4
Total meteors: seven

09:00-10:00; 56 deg F; wind calm; clear; aver. lim. mag. 5.8; facing West 45
deg; total teff 1.0 hour
Time   mag.   type   comment
09:04  +2     SPE    
09:21  +4     Spor
09:26  +2     SPE
09:31   0     KCG
09:33  +3     SPE
09:35  +1     ERI    yellow; 0.5 second train
09:36  +1     Spor
09:40   0     SPE    1 second train
09:43  +1     Spor
09:50  +3     ERI    brief train
09:50  +3     ERI    brief train; two seconds after previous meteor
09:47  +4     Spor
09:59  +4     Spor
Antihelion: none
Kappa Cygnid: one: 0
Pi Eridanids: three: +1, +3(2)
September Perseids: four: 0, +2(2), +3
Sporadics: five: +1(2), +4(3)
Total meteors: thirteen

10:00-10:50; 54 deg F; calm; clear; thin crescent Moon and twilight; aver. lim.
mag. 5.5; facing South 45 degrees; total teff 0.75 hour (forced break 10:08-10:13)
Time   mag.   type   comment
10:11   0     Spor   yellow
10:18  -3     SPE    orange; 2 second train
10:22  -2     SPE    orange; 1 second train
10:32  +1     Spor
10:39  +2     Spor
10:40  +3     Spor
10:42  +2     Spor
10:43  +2     ERI    brief train
10:46  +2     SPE
Antihelion: none
Kappa Cygnid: none
Eridanid: one: +2
September Perseids: three: -3, -2, +2
Sporadics: five: 0, +1, +2(2), +3
Total meteors: nine  (0.75 hour)

Magnitude distribution for entire time (7.75 hours):
Antihelion: two: 0, +3
Kappa Cygnid: one: 0
Pi Eridanids: four: +1, +2, +3(2)
September Perseids: seventeen: -3, -2(2), 0(3), +1(3), +2(4), +3(2), +4, +5
Sporadics: thirty-three: -2, 0, +1(7), +2(5), +3(12), +4(6), +5