(meteorobs) Oct 23/24 2011 Orionid obs from N FLA - still goingstrong!

[Paul Jones]

Thank you, Michel.  That's an excellent question and I wish I had a good
answer...;o).   I'm sure in theory, if the skies are good enough to see many
more shower members than in lesser conditions, it would be reasonable to
expect much higher sporadic rates along with them.  I agree, that does not
seem to be the case in my data.  The sporadic rates I saw seemed to be not
that much out of line with "normal" at all.  It was only the Orionid rates
that were way up there.
I'm anxious to see everyone else's results are, too.  I can't really explain
it, I have always had high rates for the Orionids, ever since the 70s, but
nothing like this year!  Hopefully, someone else somewhere on Earth saw
them, too.  Otherwise, if not, I may begin to doubt my own senses...;o).

Clear skies, Paul in N FLA

On Mon, Oct 24, 2011 at 2:20 PM, Michel Vandeputte <
michelvandeputte at hotmail.com> wrote:

> **
> Great results Paul!
> But one thing I do not understand; if your Orionid rates are so high due to
> the good weather conditions; you should be able to see much more sporadic
> meteors or am I wrong??
>
> Kind regards,
>
> Michel
> Belgium.
>
> ps: very good observing conditions over the Low Countries with 4 clear
> nights in a row between October 20-21 and 23-24. I'll have to work out all
> my Orionid data but I think that the ORI rates were normal this year.
>
>
>  *From:* Paul Jones <jonesp0854 at gmail.com>
> *Sent:* Monday, October 24, 2011 5:42 PM
> *To:* Meteor science and meteor observing <meteorobs at meteorobs.org>
> *Subject:* Re: (meteorobs) Oct 23/24 2011 Orionid obs from N FLA - still
> goingstrong!
>
> I hear you on that, Wayne!  I think my good results this year were more
> luck than skill, especially in the weather arena!.  Yes, to the Orionids,
> seems like each 1/10 of a mag. in L. M. makes world of difference on their
> rates indeed.
>
> Take care, Paul
>
> On Mon, Oct 24, 2011 at 11:31 AM, Wayne Hally <meteoreye at comcast.net>wrote:
>
>>  Paul, what a difference 0.4 magnitude in LM seems to make. Here in NJ
>> (though I only had one morning of the 22nd so far) the Orionid rate was
>> only 4.4/Hr. Meanwhile, you were seeing dozens an hour.****
>>
>> ****
>>
>> I hate light pollution!!!****
>>
>> ****
>>
>> Wayne****
>>
>> ****
>>
>> *From:* meteorobs-bounces at meteorobs.org [mailto:
>> meteorobs-bounces at meteorobs.org] *On Behalf Of *Paul Jones
>> *Sent:* Monday, October 24, 2011 10:10 AM
>> *To:* Global Meteor Observing Forum
>> *Subject:* (meteorobs) Oct 23/24 2011 Orionid obs from N FLA - still
>> going strong!****
>>
>> ****
>>
>> Greetings again meteor folks,****
>>
>>       I managed to get out for yet another productive two hour Orionid
>> watch from my rooftop in St. Augustine this morning.  To my pleasant
>> surprise, I found the amazing 2011 Orionids still going strong and only
>> slightly weaker than the previous morning.  ****
>>
>>      All told in the same two hour time frame once again (4:15 - 6:15 a.m.
>> EDT), I had 81 total meteors with 53 of those being Orionids.  Still no
>> elusive Orionid fireball has shown up, even with all this brisk activity,
>> but that is not unusual.  Orionid fireballs are devilishly hard to come by!
>> ****
>>
>>      This morning's Orionids were perhaps a tad brighter on the average
>> than the two previous mornings and train percentage was high also, around
>> 40%.  I noticed a bit more color in this morning's Orionids also, mainly
>> varying shades of yellow.  The brightest Orionids I saw were zero magnitude,
>> nothing in the negative magnitudes.****
>>
>>      I had a couple of really pretty Taurids, too.  They were all long
>> pathed and a couple were first magnitude and showed an orangey tint to
>> them.  I saw only one Leo Minorid this morning but it was a lovely golden
>> first magnitude with a nice train.  I am impessed indeed with this minor
>> radaint as well!  The epsilon Geminids also were still present, but weakly.
>> ****
>>
>>     Here is the quick data from this morning:****
>>
>> ****
>>
>> Oct. 23/24, 2011 Location:  5 miles SW of St. Augustine, Florida****
>>
>> ****
>>
>> 0815 - 0915 UT (0415 - 0515 EDT)  L. M. 6.5, F - 1.0 Facing South****
>>
>> 21 Orionids****
>>
>> 3 Taurids****
>>
>> 1 epsilon Geminid****
>>
>> 11 sporadics****
>>
>> 36 total meteors****
>>
>> ****
>>
>> 0915 - 1015 UT (0515 - 0615 EDT)  L. M. 6.5 F - 1.0 Facing South****
>>
>> 32 Orionids****
>>
>> 3 Taurids****
>>
>> 1 Leo Minorid ****
>>
>> 9 sporadics****
>>
>> 45 total meteors****
>>
>> ****
>>
>> This morning's watch will end my 2011 Orionid observing and I must say it
>> has been a joy to behold!  A couple of thoughts on this shower:  I
>> think some folks may be getting out too early in the evening for them,
>> seeing little to no activity and may be giving up before the good stuff
>> starts!  ****
>>
>> The Orionids are a very challenging shower to observe, top notch sky
>> conditions are a must.  Also, I have noticed over the years that the
>> Orionids do not seem to really get very active until at least 0400 local.
>> Sometimes, it takes even to 0500 local for the shower to kick in.  This
>> combined with the fact that most Orionids are faint and short-pathed, it is
>> really to understand why some folks get weak results.  They are, in my
>> opinion, the most challenging major shower to observe.  Patience is
>> essential for them!****
>>
>> Now my task is to compile all my data and report it to IMO, then back to
>> Meteorobs.  ****
>>
>> ****
>>
>> Clear skies all, Paul  ****
>>
>> _______________________________________________
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>> meteorobs at meteorobs.org
>> http://lists.meteorobs.org/mailman/listinfo/meteorobs
>>
>>
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