(meteorobs) Observation November 10/11 2010

[Pierre Martin]

For my last November observing opportunity, I was out at the Fred  
Lossing Observatory, covering about two and a half hours of meteor  
observing into the early morning hours.

Temperature was 0C (comfortable, well dressed for it!) and the sky  
transparency was decent/average quality.  Several observers were  
present with scopes.  I had my 12.5" dobsonian, and I spent the  
evening hours enjoying a variety of deep sky objects (such as the  
bright Blue Snowball nebula at high power, and showpiece galaxies such  
as NGC7331 and NGC891).

During the meteor watch, I logged a total of 17 (including 9  
sporadics, 4 North Taurids, 2 early Leonids, 1 South Taurid and 1 late  
Orionid).

The best meteor was a blue-green mag 0 Leonid seen at 1:18am EST, that  
left a 3 seconds persistent train.  This would be my last Leonid seen  
in 2010, due to the peak night here getting clouded out.

Lets hope for some good clear skies for the upcoming Geminids!!

Pierre Martin
Ottawa, Ontario


DATE: November 10/11 2010
BEGIN: 04:20 UT (23:20 EST) END: 07:20 UT (02:20 EST)
OBSERVER: Pierre Martin (MARPI)
LOCATION: Long: -76 15' 50" West; Lat: 45 15' 2" North
City & Province: Almonte, Ontario, CANADA
RECORDING METHOD: talking clock/tape recorder, cord align
----------------------------------------------------------

OBSERVED SHOWERS:_______________________________radiant position

NTA (North Taurids)_____________________________03:38 (055) +22
STA (South Taurids)_____________________________03:42 (056) +14
ORI (Orionids)__________________________________07:14 (109) +16
LEO (Leonids)___________________________________09:50 (148) +25
AND (Andromedids - IMO video)___________________01:27 (022) +27

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

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

PERIOD(UT)___Teff___LM____SPO_AND_NTA_STA_ORI_LEO

04:20-05:30__1.16___6.33___4___0___2___1___0___0
06:05-07:20__1.25___6.45___5___0___2___0___1___2

TOTALS:______2.41__________9___0___4___1___1___2  = 17


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
______0__+1__+2__+3__+4__+5______AVE

SPO___0___1___0___2___1___5_____+4.00
NTA___0___0___1___0___1___2_____+4.00
LEO___1___0___1___0___0___0_____+1.00
STA___0___0___0___0___0___1_____+5.00
ORI___0___0___0___0___1___0_____+4.00

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: 0.33 min (break)

Breaks (UT): 5:30-6:05, 6:36 (20 sec)