(meteorobs) Perseids from Iowa

pmartsching at mchsi.com pmartsching at mchsi.com
Fri Aug 13 20:43:38 EDT 2010


Paul Martsching

The flood water receded enough that I could get out to my usual observing site.

McFarland Park 4 miles NE of Ames, Story County, Iowa, USA
Long: 93 deg 34 min W  Lat: 42 deg 05 min N  Elevation: 318 meters
Method: Visual; paper, pencil and talking clock

Showers "looked for":
Antihelion
Alpha Capricornids
Eridanids
Kappa Cygnids
Perseids
Beta Perseids
Delta Aquarids

All other meteors were considered to be sporadics.

No apparent Delta Aquarids were seen.  With all the meteor activity and especially the varying sky conditions during the latter part of the session, it is difficult to be sure about this.

Surprisingly no Kappa Cygnids were seen - not even any maybe's or possibly's.  I was definitely on the lookout for any of these.

In the case of Beta Perseids, these were only counted if they were close enough to the radiant that they could not possibly be regular Perseids.  Perseid-like meteors beginning far from the radiants were considered to be regular Perseids.

General conditions applying to all hours:
All night faced NE 50 degrees.
Temperature; 82 deg F; at 02:30 UT; 81 deg F at 04:00 UT; steady 80 deg F 05:00 to 09:00 UT.
Dew Point was 77 deg F throughout the entire session.
Wind from the SE 7 - 10 mph throughout the entire session.
Moderate horizon haze throughout the entire session.

02:30 - 08:45 UT 13 August 2010 (12/13 August 09:30 pm - 03:45 am CDST)
Break 05:30-05:45 UT (12:30-12:45 am CDST)

02:30-03:30 UT; average LM 5.4 - twilight in West; clear; total teff 1.0 hour
Perseids: twenty-two: -2(2); -1(2); 0 (2); +1(2); +2(7); +3(5); +4(2)
Sporadics: five: +1; +2(3); +3
Total meteors: twenty-seven 

03:30-04:30 UT; average LM 5.7; clear; total teff 1.0 hour
A Capricornid: one: +2
Perseids: eighteen: -4; -3; 0(3); +1(5); +2(2); +3(3); +4(3)
Sporadics: four: +1; +2; +3; +4
Total meteors: twenty-three

04:30-05:30 UT; average LM 5.7; clear; total teff 1.0 hour
A Capricornid: one: 0
Perseids: nineteen: -5; -4; -2(3); -1(3); 0(4); +1(2); +2; +3(3); +4
Sporadics: two: 0; +5
Total meteors: twenty-two

Break: 05:30-05:45 UT

05:45-06:45 UT; average LM 5.6; clear; total teff 1.0 hour
Antihelion: one: 0
Beta Perseid: one: +3
Perseids: twenty-six: -3; -2(2); 0(5); +1(4); +2(2); +3(9); +4(2); +5
Sporadics: four: 0; +2(2); +3
Total meteors: thirty-two

06:45-07:45 UT; average LM 5.5; average cloud cover 5 percent; total teff 1.0 hour
Beta Perseid: one: +4
Perseids: twenty-five: -3(2); -2; -1(3); 0(3); +1(3); +2(2); +3(9); +4(2)
Sporadics: five: +1(2); +2(2); +3 
Total meteors: thirty-one

07:45-08:45 UT; average LM 5.0 - hazy cirrus; denser clouds 10 percent; rapidly changing sky conditions during this hour; total teff 1.0 hour
Eridanid: one: +3
Perseids: twenty-eight: -5; -3(2); -2; -1(3); 0(2); +1(6); +2(6); +3(5); +4(2)
Sporadics: five: +3(5)
Total meteors: thirty-four

Out of 110 Perseids 42 were yellow and 15 orange.  I saw no other colors.  

Conditions rapidly worsened further and by 09:00 UT it was 90 percent overcast, so I went home.
 









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