(meteorobs) Eta Aquarids from Oregon 2014 May 5/6

[Wes Stone]

I woke up to clear skies on the morning of May 6th. As I was setting up at 3:15am PDT (10:15 UT), I saw a magnitude +2 Eta Aquarid earthgrazer, which I took to be a good sign. I observed from 10:22-11:45 UT, and saw a smattering of Eta Aquarids against a fairly rich sporadic background. Unfortunately, the shower was not nearly as active as it was in 2013 (but I had better success than most of my past Eta Aquarid attempts). I live at latitude 42.6 N, so this shower is always a pretty marginal event.

In 1.2 hours Teff, I saw 11 Eta Aquarids (mean magnitude +1.5) and 10 sporadics (mean magnitude +2.5). Skies were decent, with a limiting magnitude of 6.8 at the beginning of the watch. Twilight gradually took its toll. Limiting magnitude was still 5.7 at the end of the watch, but I saw no meteors during the last 15 minutes.

The Eta Aquarids were fast, typically with wakes and short trains. The best of the morning was a long-pathed –3. I didn’t see much color in the Eta Aquarids.  

Wes Stone
Chiloquin, OR
http://skytour.homestead.com/met2014.html

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