(meteorobs) Obs: 03/04 January 2008

[pmartsching at mchsi.com]

04 January 2008 09:45 - 11:45 UT (CST 03/04 January 3:45 - 5:45 am)

Paul Martsching
McFarland Park 4 miles NE of Ames, Story County, Iowa
Long: 93 deg 34 min W  Lat: 42 deg 05 min N  Elevation: ~1,040 feet
Method: Visual; paper, pencil & talking clock

Antihelion
Coma Berenicids
Quadrantids
Sporadics

The following is what I saw during the two clear hours by 15 minute intervals:

09:45-10:00; 24 deg F; wind South 10 mph; clear; snow on ground; average
limiting magnitude 5.7; facing Polaris 45 degrees; total teff 0.25 hour

Antihelion: none
Coma Berenicids: one: 0
Quadrantids: twelve: -3; -1; 0(2); +1(2); +2; +3(4); +4
Sporadics: none
Total meteors: thirteen

10:00-10:15; 24 deg F; wind South 10 mph; clear; snow on ground; average
limiting magnitude 5.7; facing Polaris 45 degrees; total teff 0.25 hour
Antihelion: none
Coma Berenicids: none
Quadrantids: eleven: -7; -4; -2; 0(2); +1(2); +2; +3(3)
Sporadics: one: +3
Total meteors: twelve

10:15-10:30; 24 deg F; wind South 10 mph; clear; snow on ground; average
limiting magnitude 5.7; facing Polaris 45 degrees; total teff 0.25 hour
Antihelion: none
Coma Berenicids: two: 0; +1
Quadrantids: fourteen: -3; -2; -1(2); 0(3); +1; +2(3); +3(2); +4
Sporadics: two: +2(2)
Total meteors: eighteen

10:30-10:45; 24 deg F; wind South 12 mph; clear; snow on ground; average
limiting magnitude 5.7; facing Polaris 45 degrees; total teff 0.25 hour
Antihelion: none
Coma Berenicids: none
Quadrantids: twelve: -5; -1; 0; +1; +2(4); +3(2); +4(2)
Sporadics: one: +3
Total meteors: thirteen

10:45-11:00; 24 deg F; wind South 12 mph; clear; snow on ground; average
limiting magnitude 5.7; facing Polaris 45 degrees; total teff 0.25 hour
Antihelion: none
Coma Berenicids: none
Quadrantids: ten: -6; 0(3); +1; +2(3); +3; +4
Sporadics: two: +1; +4
Total meteors: twelve

11:00-11:15; 24 deg F; wind South 14 mph; clear; snow on ground; average
limiting magnitude 5.6; thin crescent Moon rose ~11:00; facing Polaris 45
degrees; total teff 0.25 hour
Antihelion: none
Coma Berenicids: none
Quadrantids: eight: 0; +1; +2(2); +3(3); +4
Sporadics: one: +1
Total meteors: nine

11:15-11:30; 24 deg F; wind South 14 mph; clear; snow on ground; average
limiting magnitude 5.5; thin crescent Moon; facing Polaris 45 degrees; total
teff 0.25 hour
Antihelion: none
Coma Berenicids: none
Quadrantids: six: -3; -2; 0; +2(2); +3
Sporadics: three: +2(2); +3
Total meteors: nine

11:30-11:45; 24 deg F; wind South 14 mph; clear; snow on ground; average
limiting magnitude 5.5; thin crescent Moon; facing Polaris 45 degrees; total
teff 0.25 hour
Antihelion: none
Coma Berenicids: none
Quadrantids: two: +3(2)
Sporadics: one: +4
Total meteors: three (maybe just too tired??)

Longest duration trains:
10:12  mag. -7; yellow with 5 second train
10:40  mag. -5; white with 3 second train
10:56  mag. -6; white with 3 second train

The following three hours with more or less bad conditions; I have some doubt
that all my notes about sky conditions averaged out here are really all that
accurate, but this does show what I was able to see.

06:45-07:45; 26 deg F; wind South 12 mph; snow on ground; average limiting
magnitude ~4.25; dense/opaque clouds 25% of field of view; otherwise a lot of
transparent cloud/haze reflected in the limiting magnitude; some fairly clear
holes now and then; facing Polaris 45 degrees; total teff 0.95 hours (moving car
and getting set up)
Antihelion: one: -1
Coma Berenicids: one: +3
Quadrantids: six: -2(2); -1; +1; +2(2)
Sporadics: three: 0; +1; +3
Total meteors: eleven

07:45-08:45; 26 deg F; wind South 13 mph; snow on ground; average limiting
magnitude ~5.0; dense cloud 15% of field of view; still some transparent
cloud/haze with some "clear" holes; facing Polaris 45 degrees; total teff 1.0 hour
Antihelion: none
Coma Berenicids: one +3
Quadrantids: twelve: -4; -3; -2; -1; 0(2); +1(2); +2; +3(3)
Sporadics: three: -4; +3; +4
Total meteors: sixteen

08:45-09:45; 24 deg F; wind South 8 mph; snow on ground; average limiting
magnitude ~4.0; a lot more hazy clouds; dense cloud cover average 15%; for quite
a while a "clear" hole between Polaris and the zenith; during the last few
minutes conditions improved greatly; facing Polaris 45 degrees; total teff 1.0 hour
Antihelion: two: -2; +1
Coma Berenicids: one: -3
Quadrantids: fourteen: -2; -1(3); 0; +1(2); +2(4); +3(2); +4
Sporadics: seven: -2; -1; 0; +2; +3; +4(2)
Total meteors: twenty-four

After more than three hours of bad conditions I thought about going home, but
I'm glad I stayed.  I was very surprised that the Quadrantid rates were still so
high.  (Forty-nine during the best clear hour 09:45-10:45 UT).  I had been
hoping to see at least 30 in an hour as I have had bad luck trying to observe
this shower and I had never seen more than 21 Quads in an hour before.  The wind
made it feel a lot colder than it really was.  I was laying on the hood of my
car facing North sometimes with the engine running for a while.