(meteorobs) Observation May 23/24 2014

Pierre Martin pmartin at teksavvy.com
Mon Jun 2 22:35:54 EDT 2014


Hello all,

Here's my report for Camelopardalids (CAM) night.  Despite questionable weather and a variable forecast, I was able to get out under a dark sky near Pembroke and saw mainly clear skies all night (mag 6.4, 2.5/5 transparency).  Just a few passing/dissipating clouds.  The sky was never too cloudy to obstruct my field of view (usually to the north, and occasionally shifted elsewhere when clouds came by).  Raymond Dubois joined me for the entire night.  We both setup equatorial mounts and cameras.  I had my Canon 6D (with 35mm f1.4 lens) and a Canon 5D (with 50mm f1.4 lens) mounted on my GPDX mount.  I took my time setting up, ensuring that everything was working as it should.  I prepared a short wave radio with a long external antenna to capture the CHU Time signal, due to the possibility that a strong meteor outburst (in such a case, I'd turn on the radio and let my tape recorder catch the audio time signals as I spoke whenever I'd see a meteor).

Just as I was setting up my cameras, a few minutes before 11pm (local time EDT), I took a glance up and saw my first meteor of the night which happened to be a CAM...and wow....a gorgeous, very slow moving mag 0 meteor that crawled through the head of Draco!  It changed colours from orange to green and then it fragmented (an unusual nebulous appearance) towards the end of its path!  It was definitely one of the most beautiful meteors that I had seen in some time.  This was an exciting start; the meteor lined up perfectly with the expected radiant, and it was still a few hours before the predicted peak.  I wondered, could a strong outburst be on its way?  If so, what a thrill it would be to see more of these beautiful slow meteors.

I signed on just before midnight (local time EDT).  Within just a minute into my watch...WOW!!!... a fabulous mag -3 yellow-orange CAM in the north east!!! It crawled VERY slowly and left a 3 sec train!  I shouted out loud and felt a sense of excitement; this could be the beginning of something special?  Raymond exclaimed that one of his cameras definitely caught it.  The sky was clear and dark, the temperature was comfortable, the bugs were gone... things were looking good.

Unfortunately, the hours went by and the CAMs did not produce the big shower that many people were hoping for.  The CAMs picked up a bit towards the end of the night, just as Ken Whitnall and a friend were pulling in to join us... I saw seven CAMs within 27 minutes centred on 3am (local time EDT).  All of these meteors were dim.  I watched as long as I could still see some stars in the brightening morning dawn.  The ISS made an absolutely stunning high pass, shining at about mag -4.  Several other interesting satellites or space debris were seen.  At dawn, I packed everything including my unused shortwave radio, and drove back home.

All in all, only a very mild CAM presence but noticeable nonetheless (with 20 CAMs seen in all).  It was an enjoyable night under a dark sky.



May 23/24 2014, 03:55-08:20 UT (23:55-04:20 EDT)
Location: Soike Road (Cobden), Ontario, Canada 
(Long: -76.78 West; Lat: 45.68 North)

Observed showers:
Camelopardalids (CAM) - 08:08 (122) +79
Anthelions (ANT) - 17:04 (256) -23
Eta Aquariids (ETA) -23:20 (350) +05


Period 1: 03:55-04:55 UT; clear; temp 12C, F 1.00; LM 6.40; facing N60 deg; teff 1.00 hr.
CAM: two: -3; +4
Sporadics: four: +2; +3(2); +4
Total meteors: six

Period 2: 04:55-05:55 UT; clear; temp 10C, F 1.00; LM 6.40; facing N60 deg; teff 1.00 hr.
CAM: two: 0; +1
ANT: two: +2; +3
Sporadics: four: +2; +3(2); +4
Total meteors: eight

Period 3: 05:55-06:55 UT; clear; temp 8C, F 1.00; LM 6.40; facing N60 deg; teff 1.00 hr.
CAM: six: 0; +2; +3(3); +4
Sporadics: ten: +1; +2(4); +4(2); +5(3)
Total meteors: sixteen

Period 3: 06:55-08:00 UT; clear; temp 7C, F 1.00; LM 6.20; facing N60 deg; teff 1.00 hr.
CAM: eight: +3(4); +4(3); +5
Sporadics: six: +1; +2; +3(3); +4
Total meteors: fourteen

Period 4: 08:00-08:20 UT; clear; temp 6C, F 1.00; LM 5.25; facing N70 deg; teff 0.33 hr.
CAM: two: 0; +3
ETA: one: +3
Total meteors: three



Clear skies,
Pierre Martin
Ottawa, Ontario







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