(meteorobs) Eta Aquarids from Oregon, May 4/5

[Wes Stone]

I got out for about 1.5 hours of observing this morning. I didn't quite make 
my planned 3:15am start time, but as I was setting up I did see my first Eta 
Aquarid (a +3 earthgrazer) at 3:15 (1015 UT). A couple of minutes later, I 
saw a brighter one as I started my watch.

Activity was pleasantly high, with a few lulls (droughts of 10, 8, and 11 
minutes) and one big spurt (5 Eta Aquarids and 1 sporadic in 1 minute around 
1118 UT). For the first half-hour (radiant elevation 5-10 degrees), the Eta 
Aquarids all showed earthgrazer characteristics, with long paths and 
persistent trains even on the fainter meteors. A memorable orange ETA of -1 
shot for about 70 degrees directly overhead and faded out behind me.

I ended up seeing 24 Eta Aquarids and 10 sporadics. Skies were average for 
most of the watch, with a little dip in the limiting magnitude as the moon 
rose above the ridge to the east and quick deterioration due to twilight 
during the last 18 minutes of the watch (which only produced 4 meteors). The 
Eta Aquarids were not especially bright, with nothing brighter than -1 and a 
mean magnitude of 2.2.

This morning's session went much better than my previous attempts to view 
the Eta Aquarids (the best "highlight" I could find in my logs was a grand 
total of 6 ETAs in 45 minutes in 2002).

Observer: Wesley Stone (STOWE)
Location: Chiloquin, OR (42d 35m N, 121d 52m W)
Method: Counting/Tape Recorder
Date: 2013 May 4/5

Interval 1: 1017-1059 UT
Teff: 0.694h
F: 1.11
LM: 6.62
Total Meteors: 13
ETA 9 [-1, +1(3), +2, +3(2), +4(2)]
Spo 4 [+1, +3(2), +5]

Interval 2: 1059-1129 UT
Teff: 0.493h
F: 1.11
LM: 6.55
Total Meteors: 17
ETA 13 [-1(2), 0, +1(2), +3(4), +4(2), +5(2)]
Spo 4 [-1, +2, +3(2)]

Interval 3: 1129-1147 UT
Teff: 0.298h
F: 1.11
LM: 6.29
Total Meteors: 4
ETA 2 [+3(2)]
Spo 2 [+1, +2]




--
So he slept on a mountain.
In a sleeping bag underneath the stars
he would lie awake and count them.
And the gray fountain spray of the great Milky Way
would never let him die alone.
--Wilco