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(meteorobs) Re: Oct 19/20 Orionids good + notes
Finally had a good night in SW Florida, after a cold front cleared us out.
The last front combined with Hurricane Lili nearby kept it mostly cloudy for
over a week. Two earlier attempts at observing were both cut short by
clouds returning after less than 2 hours. Oct 11/12 301-403 EDT (701-803
UT) 15 total meteors sky 7.2, only 4 Orionids. Then Oct 15/16 226-402 EDT
(626-802 UT) 22 total meteors sky 7.3, 6 Orionids and 6 South Taurids among
others.
Oct 19/20 has the Orionids already at normal maximum strength. Sky was
superb at LM 7.4, best I've seen in 2 or 3 years. In 4.12 hours I recorded
111 meteors: 78 Orionids, 6 South Taurids, 4 North Taurids, 2 ambiguous N/S
Taurids, 1 Epsilon Geminid, 1 Delta Aurigid, and 19 sporadics. That's a
very healthy total for someone with normal perception. I didn't plot and
had no impression of anything else going on.
It was the coolest of the new season, just below 60 degrees. I have a
heavy wool blanket my aunt gave me a few years ago; it works well even in
the 40's. The asphalt pavement releases heat all night which helps too. My
cushions are warm on the bottom side when I pick them up to leave. On
nights in the 30's it is unlikely I will go out unless there is a major
shower max. Just a few bugs left, the coolness helps slow them down.
For 4 hours 226-626 EDT (626-1026 UT) total rates were 18,28,28,34;
Orionids were 13,20,16,26. The last was a record for the date; it was made
possible by a blast of 6 meteors in half a minute at the start. I looked
east briefly and saw 4 meteors in 3 seconds, then overhead another close
pair just 20 seconds later. No simultaneous pairs seen all night.
Joan was with me, but too tired to watch much. She slept for 2 hours. At
228 (628 UT) after observing only 8 minutes we were looking straight up and
had a strobe flash only 4o off SW horizon. I saw a train fading at the
flash spot, so it was a white-blue -6 Orionid with 2-sec train.
Next-brightest meteor was a yellow -1 with 1-sec train. AVerage mag was a
faint 3.49 for 78 Orionids. My long-term average is 3.41. The faint
Orionids are back after an absence of several years. For mags -1 down to +6
I had 1,1,6,14,15,12,16,12. The good sky really let in a bunch of faint ones.
Tonight looks fine, and maybe the next as well. Perfect timing for a change.
,,,,
For a long meteor with the beginning point not well noted, there's no need
to worry about it for plotting. The direction is the important item, plot
to get that down with good accuracy.
Lew wrote:
>While we're on the topic, I had a beautiful, pure white part Angora cat when I
>was a kid, who had one pale blue eye and one cat-golden eye. What did I name
>her? Albireo, of course. :)
>
I remember this cat-- a striking sight with the different eyes. Lew's
mother said this is quite rare.
Hopefully Bob and others can observe in California. We have had very little
success at Orionids jointly.
I notice that very few messages come across on weekends, but scads of them
during the week. Must be a lot of e-mailing from work sites going on.
I didn't see Comet Tabur this morning, was hoping to find it cold. Will
have to cheat and look it up on a chart. There was a math teacher in high
school by the name of Mrs. Taber. Years later, when I was substitute
teaching at the school, the kids called her Saber-Toothed Taber.
Norman
Fort Myers, Florida