(meteorobs) FW: Obs: 03/04 January 2008

[pmartsching at mchsi.com]

The first time I tried to send this report my computer suddenly began working
very slowly for several minutes and when the report got distributed from
Meteorobs there was no text (at least in what I received).  I'm trying to resend
the report by forwarding the copy I had put in my SentMail folder (after having
moved it into my InBox).  Sorry if this ends up being a multiple report.


----------------------  Forwarded Message:  ---------------------
From:    pmartsching at mchsi.com
To:      meteorobs at meteorobs.org (meteorobs)
Subject: Obs: 03/04 January 2008
Date:    Fri, 04 Jan 2008 22:15:56 +0000

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.