(meteorobs) Meteor report from Edmonton -- 2008-08-09/10

[bmccurdy at telusplanet.net]

   Poor weather has invaded central Alberta at the worst possible time. On 
Saturday a storm system blew through which pre-empted my planned trip to a dark 
site, however it cleared late and I put in a decent two-hour session in my 
front yard. (See below)

   Last night swirling cloud systems were highly unpredictable; after my 
Observatory shift I headed out southwest of the city to Sanctuary Road where 
some gaps in the cloud seemed promising, but after a single faint Perseid the 
sky filled in with no relief in sight so I headed for home. 

   Tonight the forecast is pretty hopeless for these parts ( 
http://cleardarksky.com/c/Blackfootkey.html?1 ), so Alister Ling, Ross Sinclair 
and I are heading out after supper for a four-hour drive south of Calgary where 
the forecast sounds much more promising. If fortune is on our side we'll be 
observing by midnight, and going right through until 5. Wish us luck! 

   As for Saturday/Sunday, in the first hour I saw just two Perseids but 
considered myself fortunate nonetheless. The two occurred within about 20 
seconds of each other; the first passed just over Polaris and I saw it in my 
averted vision, but as is my habit I looked at the area of the sky where I saw 
the meteor while I described it on tape, and serendipitously a second, much 
brighter meteor passed underneath Polaris during those moments. That part of 
the sky was otherwise pretty much outside of my field of view. It was of course 
the second one which was memorable, a -3 magnitude off-white streaker which 
zipped across the northern sky leaving a long, lingering horizontal trail 
underneath the Little Dipper. A few minutes later I saw the lone Kappa Cygnid 
of the session soar majestically from Cepheus through Cassiopeia and then into 
the trees; the part I saw lasted a good two seconds with an orange trail that 
peaked around mag -2. 

   For the second half of that hour I saw not a single meteor of any type in 
worsening conditions, but the skies started to improve near the end so I hung 
in for a second hour and was rewarded with 8 meteors, all Perseids. There were 
none so spectacular as those earlier two, but almost all were the mag 0 to +2 
range, many with (brief) persistent trains, and well worth my time.  

   Bruce
   *****


Observer: Bruce McCurdy, MCCBR
Dates: 2008 August 10, 07:00 - 09:00 UT; Teff = 2.0 hour
Location: Front yard, central Edmonton, AB [IMO Location Code 70799],
113°32'35" W, 53°33'12" N, Elevation ~700 metres
Limiting magnitude: = ~4.3 // SQM = 18.3
Conditions: slight haze, minor clouds
Method: Visual; microcassette recorder and talking watch

Active radiants:
Kappa Cygnids (KCG) 18:56 (284) +58 Velocity - 25km/sec.
Alpha Capricornids (CAP) 21:12 (318) -06 Velocity - 23km/sec.
Antihelion (ANT) 22:00 (330) -10 Velocity - 30km/sec.
Delta Aquariids (SDA) 23:16 (349) -13 Velocity 41km/sec.
Perseid (PER) 03:00 (045) +57 Velocity - 59km/sec.

07:00-08:00, LM = 4.3v, facing the zenith, Teff = 1.0 hour
Time    Type     Mag    Comment
-----------------------------------
07:00  			start, LM =4.3, SQM = 18.3
07:03	Spor	+3	
07:07	Spor	+4	/ 2°
07:11	PER	+2	/ 10°, ~ 0.5 s, over Polaris, 	
07:11	PER	-3	/ 20°, ~ 1.5 s, under Polaris, creamy-white, 
                  "THAT'S what I came outside to see, that one right there!"
07:27	KCG	-2	/ 2s, 25° then into the trees; 
                         golden-orange, faded and came back 
07:29	Spor	+3	"faster than a Perseid"
07:40	-->		25% obscuration, + haze; LM = ~4.0, SQM = 18.1
07:50   -->		clearing, SQM = 18.3 again
***
1 KCG:	-2
0 CAP
0 ANT
0 SDA
2 PER:	-3, +2	
3 SPO:	+3(2), +4
Total meteors: six
*****
08:00-09:00, LM = 4.3, facing the zenith, Teff = 1.0 hour
Time Type Mag Comment
-----------------------------------
08:11	PER	+1	coppery
08:20	PER	+3
08:22	PER	+1	~ 0.5 s
08:32	PER	+2	~ 0.5 s, broad wake
08:46	PER	0	v. short wake, no train; in Head of Draco
08:51	PER	+2
08:55	PER	0	"classic Perseid", / 15°, ~ 0.5 s, white
09:00	PER	+1	~0.5s, short path fairly near radiant, 
                           into the attic of Cepheus		
09:00			end, LM = 4.4, SQM = 18.4
***
0 KCG
0 CAP
0 ANT
0 SDA
8 PER:	0 (2), +1 (3), +2(2), +3
0 Spor
Total meteors: eight
*****

Observing summary:
Teff = 2.0 hours 

1 KCG: -2                   [Mean = -2]
0 CAP
0 ANT
0 SDA
10 PER: -3, 0 (2), +1 (3), +2(3), +3	[Mean = +0.9]
3 Spor:	+3(2), +4			[Mean = +3.33]
Total meteors: fourteen
*****