(meteorobs) Nice QUA display from South-Eastern France, too

[Karl Antier]

Hi all,

Just to confirm the impressions expressed by Francisco. I observed the shower from Provence, near Manosque (South-Eastern France). The observing session report has been sent to the IMO, for those interested.
I managed this morning to observe 1h Teff in a hole between two clouds waves, just after moonset. lm was quite good, with a +6.3.
Rates were really good, as I could observe 50 Quadrantids in 1h, most of them being quite bright, althought I couldn't spot a single fireball. Some periods appear to be very busy, with sometimes up to 4-6 QUA in tens of seconds intervals, and other time less interesting (2 QUA in a 5 minute-period).
And, special thought to Richard, I wondered, going back home, if I really pushed the "Record" button of my recorder, or only "Play" one... Fortunately, I didn't made the mistake, but I nearly convinced myself I did not record anything while going back home, and I can understand what you feel now ;-)

I did not observe a lot the Quadrantids by the past, but I must say I was really nicely surprised by the display I saw this morning! I hope some other could catch the show!

Clear skies to all, and Happy New Meteor Year!
Karl









> Message du 04/01/12 15:45
> De : "Francisco Ocaña" 
> A : "Global Meteor Observing Forum" 
> Copie à : 
> Objet : (meteorobs) Nice Quadrantids display from Spain
>
> Hi all,
> 
> after a couple of showers with strong moon interference (Draconids and 
> Geminids) I could enjoy a long session in a moonless sky. The limiting 
> magnitude was around 6.8 in a place around 100km away from Madrid. It 
> was a very clear night, although cold (around -5ºC)!
> 
> In less than 2 hours of effective observing time I could see 94 QUA and 
> 16 SPO, with an average rate of 60 meteors/hour. Therefore the night was 
> not boring at all, with some periods well above a meteor per minute. The 
> average ZHR was ~60 (using r=2.1 ). This is the first time I have seen 
> the Quadrantids and it has been very enjoyable despite the moderate ZHR 
> and the abundance of faint meteors.
> 
> The sky brightness was also measured with a Sky Quality Meter 
> (Unihedron): zenith 21.28 mag/arsec^2 and in the FoV 21.24 (on avg). 
> The zodiacal light was clearly seen.
> 
> Not many QUA bright seen, only two fireballs. The highlight of the night 
> was not the brightest one, but an sporadic twin which members appeared 
> 40º appart. The one on the left was longer and slightly brighter (+2), 
> while the other was a bit shorter and dimmer (+3). I have only seen 
> twins belonging to major showers, but never such a striking event from 
> the sporadic source.
> 
> In the Fireball Detection Station at the Universidad Complutense de 
> Madrid, the recorded rates were very poor due to the moonlight and some 
> fog after moonset.
> 
> Happy 2012!
> 
> Francisco Ocaña
> Madrid, Spain
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