(meteorobs) Observation November 9/10 2015 (and images)

[Pierre Martin]

Hello all,
	I finally recovered enough from a bad case of flu to try my luck at seeing some of the very bright meteors that many have been reporting over the past couple of weeks.  So on Monday evening, I drove to Bootland Farm and I had the company of Shane as well as newcomer Hélène.  It was a gorgeous night, with very clear skies, and the light dome from Ottawa was much smaller than usual.  A faint auroral glow was noticed above the northern horizon, and the quiet night was occasionally interrupted by the sound of animals in the distance.  Just as I was settling in my chair, I spotted a bright flash low in the east that briefly lit up the sky…it was a -5 North Taurid!! WOW!! It left a beautiful glittering train that persisted for a few seconds.  Overall, I saw 42 meteors in about 3.5 hours.  Quite decent Taurids, especially in the second and third hours of my watch, but they seemed to taper off during the last 25 minutes.

Highlights...  During my watch, a second -5 NTA was seen, but this one was very low and distant above the treeline.  It wasn’t very well seen but it lit up a good part of the sky.  And finally, a long approx -4 or -5 Taurid appeared behind me in the western sky so I totally missed it.  But Shane saw it and he said that he was certain my camera caught it… and indeed it did!!  Talk about luck!!  

Here’s my imaging results with Canon 6D, 35mm lens at f/2.5, ISO1600...
1) Mag -4 or -5 Taurid fireball: 
https://pmartin.smugmug.com/Astronomy/20151109-Taurids/i-PTBF7Mt/A

2) Mag -2 Taurid:
https://pmartin.smugmug.com/Astronomy/20151109-Taurids/i-PW9773k/A

3) Time lapse video of the persistent trains left behind by the above two Taurids from 11:02pm to 11:21pm.  The meteors occurred less than one minute apart.  This is the first time that I manage to capture more than one persistent train in the same images!  For best results, playback at full screen: https://youtu.be/YsSR9fULi0o

4) Mag 0 Taurid. Canon 6D, 35mm lens at f/2.5, ISO1600, 20sec:
https://pmartin.smugmug.com/Astronomy/20151109-Taurids/i-fRxRKWk/A

5) Time lapse video of the northern sky (aurora, airglow, sats, aircraft and a couple of dim Taurids if you look carefully) from 12:20am to 1:50am: https://youtu.be/t06zu8bMAXM


Details for the formal watch...

November 9/10 2015, 02:10-06:30 UT (21:10-01:30 EST)
Location: Bootland Farm (Stewartville), Ontario, Canada 
(Long: -76 deg 29'; Lat: 45 deg 23')

Observed showers:
Andromedids (AND) - 01:32 (023) +30
Northern Taurids (NTA) - 03:40 (055) +22 
Southern Taurids (STA) - 03:40 (055) +15
Orionids (ORI) - 07:12 (108) +17
Kappa Ursa Majorids (KUM) - 09:52 (148) +43
Leonids (LEO) - 09:54 (149) +25
Nov. Iota Draconids (NID) - 12:00 (180) +41


Period 1: 02:10-03:15 UT; clear; 4/5 trans; F 1.00; LM 6.55; facing S50 deg; teff 1.00 hr (5 min dead time), temp +4C
STA: two: +4; +5
NTA: one: -5
Sporadics: six: +1; +2(2); +3; +4(2)
Total meteors: nine

Period 2: 03:15-04:35 UT; clear, 4/5 trans; F 1.00; LM 6.52; facing S50 deg; teff 1.00 hr (20 min dead time), temp +2C
NTA: seven: 0; +1; +2; +3; +4(3)
STA: two: -2; +1
AND: one: +3
Sporadics: five: +2; +4(2); +5(2)
Total meteors: fifteen

Period 3: 04:35-06:05 UT; clear; 4/5 trans; F 1.00; LM 6.45; facing S50 deg; teff 1.00 hr (30 min dead time), temp -1C
NTA: six: -2; +2; +4(2); +5(2)
STA: three: -3; 0; +4
AND: one: +1
Sporadics: four: +2; +3; +4; +5
Total meteors: fourteen

Period 4: 06:05-06:30 UT; clear; 4/5 trans; F 1.00; LM 6.45; facing S50 deg; teff 0.41 hr, temp -4C
NTA: one: +4
STA: one: +5
ORI: one: +4
Sporadics: one: +4
Total meteors: four


All in all, a really nice night. The winter constellations were beautiful!

Clear skies,

Pierre Martin
Ottawa, Ontario