(meteorobs) Observation October 8/9 2010

[Pierre Martin]

Evening cloudiness made this an iffy night, but clearing skies were  
expected into the overnight.  I drove to Bootland Farm, and then  
waited for the clouds to part (taking a short nap).  When I woke up at  
11pm EDT, the northern sky was almost entirely clear, so I signed-on  
shortly after and I was able to observe for over two hours.  I kept my  
field of view to the north, to keep an eye for Draconids.

During that time, I logged a total of 28 meteors (which breaks down to  
17 sporadics, 7 South Taurids, 3 Delta Aurigids and 1 Draconid).  No  
meteors really stood out though ;)

On my way out in the morning, I startled a single wild turkey that was  
roaming around the entrance way.

Pierre Martin
Ottawa, Ontario


DATE: October 8/9 2010
BEGIN: 03:15 UT (23:15 EDT) END: 06:25 UT (02:25 EDT)
OBSERVER: Pierre Martin (MARPI)
LOCATION: Long: -76 29' West; Lat: 45 23' North
Observing site: Bootland Farm, Ontario, CANADA
RECORDING METHOD: talking clock/tape recorder, plotting
----------------------------------------------------------

OBSERVED SHOWERS:_______________________________radiant position

GIA (Draconids)_________________________________17:28 (262) +54
STA (South Taurids)_____________________________02:08 (032) +09
ORI (Orionids)__________________________________05:48 (087) +16
DAU (Delta Aurigids)____________________________05:56 (089) +49
EPC (October Epsilon Piscids - IMO video)_______00:05 (001) +14

----------------------------------------------------------

OBSERVING PERIODS: 0 = none seen; / = shower not observed

PERIOD(UT)___Teff___LM____SPO_GIA_STA_ORI_EPC_DAU

03:15-04:21__0.99___6.50___8___0___3___/___0___1
04:28-06:00__1.00___6.50___9___1___4___0___0___2
06:00-06:25__0.33___6.50___0___0___0___0___0___0

TOTALS:______2.32_________17___1___7___0___0___3  = 28


Note: The first column (Period UT) refers to the observed periods, in  
Universal Time. The second column (TEFF) is the effective observing  
time, it is minutes/60. The column (LM) is the average naked eye  
limiting magnitude, determined by the triangle star counts method. All  
following columns indicate the number of meteors for each shower  
observed.
------------------------

MAGNITUDE DISTRIBUTIONS:

SHOWER
_____+2__+3__+4__+5______AVE

SPO___4___3___7___3_____+3.53
STA___1___2___4___0_____+3.43
DAU___2___1___0___0_____+2.33
GIA___0___0___0___1_____+5.00


Note: Magnitude -8 is comparable to a quarter moon, magnitude -4 with  
the planet Venus, magnitude -1 with the brightest star Sirius,  
magnitude +2 to +3 with most average naked eye stars and magnitude +6  
to +7 are the faintest stars the naked eye can see under typical dark  
conditions. A meteor of at least magnitude -3 is considered a fireball  
(IMO definition). The above table contains the magnitudes from all  
observed meteors, and the average (last column) for showers.
------------------------

SKY OBSCURED (FOV) (UT):  None

------------------------

Dead time: 41.83 min (breaks) + 1.99 min (plotting) = 43.82 min

Breaks (UT): 3:40-46, 4:21-28, 4:37 (30 sec), 4:44-48, 4:53-54, 4:54  
(30 sec), 5:13-38, 6:05-10