(meteorobs) Observation July 12/13 2013

[Michel Vandeputte]

Nice report, Pierre! 
I can only dream about such a lovely night sky over here in our small country...

Clear skies and enjoy the summer meteors! 




Michel Vandeputte
 

> From: pmartin at teksavvy.com
> Date: Sun, 21 Jul 2013 18:41:22 -0400
> Subject: (meteorobs) Observation July 12/13 2013
> 
> Hi,
> 
> We got a nice series of very clear nights during last weekend's moonless window.  The weather forecasts on the Friday night was very promising especially west of Ottawa, so I went to the Westmeath Lookout site.  Chris and Sanjeev joined me to observe as well.  When I got there at dusk, the bugs were a real nuisance for a while but they did not seem to bite.  A spectacular mag -7 very slow moving and persistent fireball was seen at 9:46pm by all, moving horizontally against the horizon low in the south-west.  This same meteor was seen by a number of other observers in the Ottawa area.  I also kept bust chasing some iridium flares (which were far less dramatic than the fireball).  The bugs gradually vanished as the air cooled down to about 12C at night.  Without a doubt, this was the best night of sky transparency that I had seen in a long time.  It reached 5/5 quality and at 6.8 near zenith, it was the deepest limiting magnitude that I had seen so far at this site.  I kept San
>  jeev and Chris company at the base of the hill through the evening hours.  Here's a few simple short exposures (12-15 sec) with camera on tripod and a standard lens that gives a sense of just how beautiful the night was:
> 
> http://pmartin.smugmug.com/Other/Westmeath-Lookout-July-12-2013/30660764_G3Tg8j#!i=2648307019&k=QrHCzM7
> 
> Later on, I went up the hill and settled into my lawn chair and sleeping bag to enjoy meteor observing.  Up there was a nice light breeze and panoramic horizons.  The sky stayed consistently gorgeous all night.  It was one of those nights where three hours of non-stop meteor watch seem to end quickly :)  Even saw some aurora activity to the north.  An entertaining watch, and nice seeing meteor activity on the rise again.  Things were pretty active especially during the first and third hour intervals.  Sporadics dominated but I also saw notable minor shower activity from the July Pegasids, Sigma Capricornids, Phi Piscids and C-Andromedids.  The antihelion source was active and I even saw my first Perseid of the year (though just a faint one).  Altogether, I counted 53 meteors in 3 hours until dawn.  The morning dawn forced me to sign off at 3:45 (local time) and take a snooze in the car before heading back.
> 
> 
> July 12/13 2013 2013, 04:45-07:45 UT (00:45-03:45 EDT)
> Location: Westmeath Lookout (Beachburg), Ontario, Canada 
> (Long: -76 deg 29'; Lat: 45 deg 23')
> 
> Observed showers:
> Antihelions (ANT) - 20:16 (304) -18
> Sigma Capricornids (SCA) - 21:12 (318) -05
> July Pegasids (JPE) - 23:20 (350) +12
> Perseids (PER) - 00:20 (005) +50
> Phi Piscids (PPS) - 01:24 (021) +30
> c-Andromedids (CAN) - 02:12 (033) +51
> 
> 
> Interval 1: 04:45-05:45 UT; clear; F 1.00; LM 6.78; facing SE50 deg; teff 1.00 hr.
> Breaks: None
> ANT: four: +1; +2; +3; +4; mean: +2.50
> JPE: two; +2; +3; mean: +2.50
> CAN: one; +3
> Sporadics: thirteen: 0(1); +1(2); +2(3); +3(1); +4(3); +5(2); +6(1); mean: +3.00
> Total meteors: twenty
> 
> Interval 2: 05:45-06:45 UT; clear; F 1.00; LM 6.78; facing SE50 deg; teff 1.00 hr.
> Breaks: None
> ANT: two: +3; +5; mean: +4.00
> SCA: two: +4(2)
> PER: one: +5
> CAN: one: +5
> Sporadics: six: +2(2); +3(2); +4; +5; mean: +3.17
> Total meteors: twelve
> 
> Interval 3: 06:45-07:45 UT; clear; F 1.00; LM 6.57; facing SE50 deg; teff 1.00 hr.
> Breaks: None
> JPE: four: -3; -1; +2; +5; mean: +0.75
> PPS: three: +2; +5(2); mean: +4.00
> SCA: two: +4; +5; mean: +4.50
> CAN: one: 0
> Sporadics: eleven: 0; +1; +2(2); +4(3); +5; +6(3); mean: +3.63
> Total meteors: twenty one
> 
> 
> Clear skies,
> 
> Pierre Martin
> Ottawa, Ontario
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