(meteorobs) Observation October 8/9 2011

[Pierre Martin]

It was exciting to read the European observing reports, announcing the  
arrival of the predicted Draconids meteor outburst!  I was very eager  
to get out as soon as it got dark here, to try and see a "tail end" of  
the outburst.  I went out with low expectations though, as it looked  
like the outburst was short lived.  In all likelihood, the activity  
would be all done by the time it got dark here.  The weather was also  
less than ideal, as the forecasts showed veils of thin cirrus clouds  
over the region.  Still, I managed to get out to Bootland Farm.  I  
just didn't want to miss a chance of seeing SOME signs of this very  
elusive shower.  I knew that seeing even just a few Draconids would be  
something special, as these are exceptionally slow moving and unusual  
looking meteors.

On arrival, I was a bit discouraged when I saw a sky full of cirrus.   
The strong gibbous Moon did not help matters either.  I watched  
casually for several minutes.  Suddenly, it happened... A slow moving  
mag +3 meteor appeared in the eastern side of Draco.... A DRACONID!!!   
My heart raced a little quicker, and I quickly finished setting up.   
With luck on my side, the cirrus thinned out enough to allow formal  
observation.  I started at 8PM EDT, facing the northern sky.  Just  
like the previous night, I used an umbrella to block the glare of the  
Moon behind me.

It took just three minutes into my session to see another Draconid  
(GIA), this time a mag +3 meteor crawling into western Hercules.   
Three more GIAs were seen before the end of the first hour, all  
plotted - all very slow moving and unmistakable.  Interestingly, not a  
single sporadic was yet seen.  The second hour had just one GIA but it  
was the definite highlight of the night... a GORGEOUS mag 0 blue-green  
meteor that crawled at a snails pace towards Cepheus.  It had a thick  
wake and was very well seen.  What a beauty!!!  But things were  
getting slower.  The third hour began with a mag +1 GIA low in the  
west.  The rest of the session was quiet.  It certainly looked like  
the Draconids were done.

My half-dozen total GIA count may be low, but I was pleased :)  There  
was just enough to show some presence.

Pierre Martin
Ottawa, Ontario



DATE: October 8/9 2011
BEGIN: 00:00 UT (20:00 EDT) END: 03:15 UT (23:15 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:
Draconids (GIA) - 17:28 (262) +54
SPO (sporadics)
----------------------------------------------------------

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

PERIOD(UT)___FIELD_____Teff___F______LM____SPO_GIA

00:00-01:02__275 +68___1.01___1.11___5.00___0___4
01:02-02:03__288 +67___1.00___1.11___5.00___2___1
02:03-03:15__300 +66___1.12___1.11___5.00___2___1

TOTALS:________________3.13_________________4___6  = 10

Notes: The first column (Period UT) refers to observing periods, in  
Universal Time. The second column (Field) is the area in in the sky  
where I centered my field of view. The third column (TEFF) Teff is  
simply the total time during the observing session spent actually  
watching the sky. Breaks and/or dead time are not included in the  
reported Teff. It is reported in decimal format such that a 60 minute  
observing session would be reported as Teff = 1.00. The column (LM) is  
the average naked eye limiting magnitude seen.  All following columns  
indicate the number of meteors for each shower observed.  For more  
info, see: http://www.namnmeteors.org/guidechap2.html
------------------------

MAGNITUDE DISTRIBUTIONS:

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

GIA___2___1___2___1___0_____+1.33
SPO___0___0___1___1___2_____+3.25

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):  10% from 00:00UT to 03:15UT (high cirrus  
clouds)

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

Dead time: 5.5 min breaks + 7.08 min (plotting)

Breaks (UT): 2:11-16, 2:03 (30 sec)

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.meteorobs.org/pipermail/meteorobs/attachments/20111129/063df7f9/attachment.html