(meteorobs) Obs: 17 & 18 April 2010

pmartsching at mchsi.com pmartsching at mchsi.com
Mon Apr 19 12:06:10 EDT 2010


Paul Martsching
McFarland Park 4 miles NE of Ames, Story County, Iowa, USA
Long: 93 deg 34 min W  Lat: 43 deg 05 min N  Elevation 318 meters
Method: Visual; paper, pencil & talking clock
Antihelion
Lyrids
Sporadics

17 April 2010 04:30-06:30 UT (16/17 April 11:30pm - 01:30am CDST)
04:30-05:30; 42 deg F; wind N 7 mph; clear; LM 5.6; facing E 50 deg; total teff 1.0 hr
Antihelion: one: +1 orange
Lyrid: none
Sporadics: two: +3(2)
Total meteors: three
05:30-06:30; 41 deg F; wind N 7 mph; clear; LM 5.6; facing E 50 deg; total teff 1.0 hr
Antihelion: none
Lyrid: none
Sporadics: two: +2; +4
Total meteors: two

18 April 2010 06:00-009:00 UT (17/18 April 01:00 - 04:00am CDST) same location
06:00-07:00; 42 deg F; wind calm; clear; LM 5.7; facing E 50 deg; total teff 1.0 hr
Antihelion: none
Lyrid: one: -3 with 2 second train; passed 1 deg below Vega
Sporadics: two: +3(2)
Total meteors: three
07:00-08:00; 38 deg F; wind calm; clear; LM 5.7; facing E 50 deg; total teff 1.0 hr
Antihelion: none
Lyrid: one: +1
Sporadics: three: +3(2); +4
Total meteors: four
08:00-09:00; 36 deg F; wind calm; clear; LM 5.6; facing E 50 deg; total teff 1.0 hr
Antihelion: one: +3
Lyrid: none
Sporadics: three: +2; +3; +4
Total meteors: four

This morning (April 19th) sky very hazy/thin overcast.  Weather forecast next three mornings is bad, so two Lyrids is proabably all I will see this year.  

I am having increasing difficulty with "clouds" of floaters, which was especially obvious when I was looking at the conjunction of Venus and Mercury thru binoculars earlier in the month.  I've had floaters since I was a teenager, and they have been gradually becoming more numerous and now cause problems just doing normal things, let alone meteor observing.  I rarely bother to look thru a telescope any more because mostly I just see floaters.  




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