(meteorobs) Quadrantids impressive from Oregon!

[Wes Stone]

After a couple of months of terrible weather (no Leonids, Geminids or Ursids 
here), Saturday morning looked pretty promising. I managed to wake up at 
around 3am and look out at clear sky. Temperature at the start of the 
observation was 17F (-8C), which is actually pretty balmy for a clear night 
in January. It dropped a few degrees while I was out there. I didn't see any 
meteors while I was setting up, which worried me a bit, but I started seeing 
Quads once I settled into my sleeping bag. After a bit of trouble with my 
watch and tape recorder, I got things straightened out and enjoyed a 
spectacular meteor shower on par with the 2004 Perseids.

In 2.63 hours of Teff, I saw 289 Quadrantids and 40 other meteors under nice 
dark skies. The Quadrantids seemed to be of average brightness. There was a 
brilliant -5 fireball late in the watch. Most of the Quadrantids appeared 
pure white to me, although there were a smattering of greens and blues and 
one red. Only about 5% left notable wakes/trains. I picked up a lot of 
meteors fairly close to the radiant.

Other minor showers were nearly absent, and sporadic rates were roughly 
normal. The most notable background activity featured 8 fast, trained 
meteors appearing to radiate from the Corvus/Virgo/Crater boundary region 
(South Apex?).

The Quadrantids came in the normal spurts and lulls. I didn't see a sharp 
peak, although rates were apparently higher in the middle of my watch. The 
Quadrantids were definitely still going strong well into twilight as I 
watched the ISS glide by and then dug out my binoculars to see the infamous 
toolbag (about magnitude 7.5) skip by Eta Draconis.

Report follows (IMO electronic form already filled out and available at 
http://umdb.urania.be/v2/obsview/view.php?id=4442 for those who prefer short 
intervals).

Observer: Wesley Stone (STOWE)
Location: Chiloquin, OR (42d 35m N, 121d 52m W)
Method: Counting: Watch/Tape recorder
Date: 2009 January 2/3

Interval 1: 1120-1230 UT
Teff: 1.03 hours
F: 1.00
LM: 6.85
Total Meteors: 113
QUA: 94
AHY: 1
COM: 1
ANT: 0
Spo: 17

---

Interval 2: 1230-1333 UT
Teff: 1.00 hours
F: 1.00
LM: 6.76
Total Meteors: 146
QUA: 133
AHY: 0
COM: 1
ANT: 1
Spo: 11

---

Interval 3: 1333-1410 UT
Teff: 0.60 hours
F: 1.00
LM: 6.72
Total Meteors: 70
QUA: 62
AHY: 0
COM: 0
ANT: 0
Spo: 8


Magnitude Distributions:

QUA 1120-1230 UT
-1(3), 0(7), +1(18), +2(22), +3(23), +4(16), +5(5) Total=94, Mean=2.3

QUA 1230-1333 UT
-3(1), -1(4), 0(11), +1(21), +2(36), +3(40), +4(17), +5(3) Total=133, 
Mean=2.2

QUA 1333-1410 UT
-5(1), -2(1), -1(2), 0(6), +1(12), +2(14), +3(20), +4(6) Total=62, Mean=1.8

Spo 1120-1410 UT
-1(1), 0(3), +1(3), +2(4), +3(18), +4(7) Total=36, Mean=2.6

AHY +2(1)
COM +2(1), +4(1)
ANT +2(1)


--
So he slept on a mountain.
In a sleeping bag underneath the stars
he would lie awake and count them.
And the gray fountain spray of the great Milky Way
would never let him die alone.
--Wilco