(meteorobs) Aug. 1/2 2014 SDA/PER obs from North Florida

[Paul Jones]

I managed to get out again this morning for the third straight morning in a
row here on my rooftop in St. Augustine, a very rare occasion for me
indeed, that's for sure!   It was sort of a "best of times/worst of times"
scenario this morning as the skies were some of the sharpest and blackest
I've seen around here in a long time.   We seem to have steered clear down
here of the smoky conditions our Midwestern contingent is having to deal
with. I do hope it breaks for them up there soon, this is a GREAT time of
the year for early morning meteor sessions.
But there were also thin high cirrus clouds slowly meandering west to east
 across my field of view much of the 1 1/2 hour watch.  They were thin
enough however, to see meteors right through them, so they didn't hinder me
very much. If you gotta have clouds, the ones you can see meteors right
through are by far the best kind to have...;o). They did win in the end
though and shut me down 30 minutes before I planned to.
No complaints though.  With an average LM of 6.8, I bagged 58 meteors in
just 90 minutes this morning!  The SDAs finally began to wane a bit, but
the PERs were back with a vengeance indeed, hitting almost 15 per hour for
me!  The SPOs were quite active as well.  In fact, the PER rate almost
exactly equaled the SPO rate for me this morning. Overall observed rates
were near 40 per hour, I can hang with that anytime. With faint meteors
popping all over the place, I had a hard time keeping up with the
activity.

Here's the data:

Date: Aug 1/2, 2014 Observer: Paul Jones, Location 5 miles SW of St.
Augustine, FL (Lat. 29.81 N, Long. 81.35 W), elevation: 30 feet.  Observing
condition: LM: 6.8, Cirrus haze and lightning - 10% obstruction, Facing:
south

0745 - 0845 UT (0345 - 0445 EDT) 1.0 Teff, no breaks

SDA: 6
PER: 14
SCA: 1
CAP: 1
PAU: 1
ERI: 2
SPO: 13
Total meteors: 38


0845 - 0915 (0445 - 0515 EDT), 0.5 Hour Teff, No Breaks

SDA: 2
PER: 8
ERI: 1
CAP: 1
KCG: 1
SPO: 7


Mags:

SDA: +1 (1). +2 (1), +3 (3), +4 (2), +5(1)
PER:  0 (2), +1 (3), +2 (5), +3 (5), +4 (4), +5 (3)
PAU: +4
SCA/CAP: +2 (2), +4 (1)
KCG: +1
ERI: +2 (1), +3 (2)
SPO: 0 (1), +1 (3), +2 (4), +3 (5), +4 (4), +5(3)

Trains:
PER: 8 of 22 meteors left trains
KCG: 1 of 1 meteor left a train
SCA/CAP: 3 of 3 meteors left trains
SPO: 5 of 21 meteors left trains

Finally, the SDAs appeared to be slowing down a bit this morning, but the
PERs are clearly picking up!  The CAP complex popped a few nice slow babies
also, and I was pleasantly surprised by the early kappa Cygnid.  It was a
long, slow +1, silvery white sparkler in Pegasus.  The "Gulf Stream
lightning" was apparent again as it is almost every night around here this
time of year, just not so bright as to be a nuisance.
As for meteor colors, I had a few PERs with distinct yellow and the
SCA/CAPs flashed some yellow as well.  I did notice a bit of the usual PER
"clumping" affect this morning too as often two would be seen in quick
sequence with one another, followed by long lulls.   I second Bob L.s
impression of the ERI radiant. it seems to be a might impressive little
minor shower indeed.  One has to go to almost dawn to see them pretty well
though.  They remind me of a mini version of the eta Aquariids in May.
I have one more morning to get out for before I must return to work on
Monday...(boo,,,hiss...:o(.  If the skies can be anything like they were
for me this morning, I will be "Up on the Roof" once again tomorrow!!

Clear skies all, Paul in the Ancient City (St. Augustine, FLA)
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