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(meteorobs) Oct. 21 Observations
-- [ From: Robert Lunsford * EMC.Ver #2.5.1 ] --
Sorry I did not get this posted sooner but I had to go to work directly
after observing plus I had to get some badly needed sleep. We were lucky
weatherwise as a partly cloudy day turned into a beautiful clear night.
It was good to get together with Ron Rennie and Joseph Assmus again plus
the Orionids cooperated by putting on a good show. I was able to record
98 shower members during a 5 hour watch. The count would have exceeded
100 had the moon not interfered during the first hour plus rates
plummeted during the last hour of observing. The highest Orionid rates
occurred between 10:45-11:45 UT (3:45am-4:45am PDT) when 34 were seen.
The brightest shower member was a blue -4. I have no time to figure the
average magnitude but I would estimate it between 2.5 and 3.0. There
were many 3rd and 4th magnitude Orionids only 4 to 5 degrees in length.
I plotted some sporadics during the first 3 hours but lost interest when
Orionid activity increased plus I wanted to keep warm. Sporadic rates
were low except for the 3rd hour. We all noticed the dropoff in activity
during the last hour after such a good 4th hour. The best meteor of the
night was a long-lasting 1st magnitude South Taurid that faded and grew
brighter several times. It had a very distinct orange color that was
much deeper than Betelgeuse ( which it happened to pass a few degrees to
the south).
07:45-08:45 UT 0.99 6.31 1 EGE 1 NTA 12 ORI 1 STA 6 SPO
08:45-09:45 UT 0.99 6.41 1 EGE 24 ORI 1 STA 3 SPO
09:45-10:45 UT 0.99 6.45 2 EGE 20 ORI 2 STA 11 SPO
10:45-11:45 UT 1.00 6.32 1 EGE 34 ORI 1 STA 5 SPO
11:45-12:45 UT 1.00 6.12 8 ORI 1 STA 4 SPO
F was 1.00 all 5 hours. TeFF was reduced during hours 1-3 due to
plotting. Data was recorded on cassette recorder. I was facing due south
at an elevation of 70 degrees the entire session.
Beginning Temperature/Relative Humidity: 46 F (8 C) 17%
Ending Temperature/Relative Humidity: 43 F (6 C) 15%
Bob Lunsford
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