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(meteorobs) Oct 1 Meteor Observations
-- [ From: Robert Lunsford * EMC.Ver #2.5.3 ] --
I was out for a bit over 5 hours this morning from the Descanso
Observatory. The sky was nice and dark and activity wasn't bad either. A
zodiacal band was evident and stretched from the eastern horizon
westward past the meridian. The Gegenshein (or counterglow) as easily
seen as a large circular enhancement of the zodiacal band located just
west of Saturn. In fact, I would not be surprised if the light of Saturn
enhanced it a bit.
I counted a total of 68 meteors this morning. The DAO (October Delta
Aurigids) or DAU (for IMO reports) was the most active shower producing
11 meteors. Activity from the Taurids (which were actually located this
morning on the Pisces-Aries border) has also commenced. 2 NTA's and 1
STA's were seen which I combined as October Arietids. The Taurids
actually do not reach the Taurus border until November when they reach
maximum activity. I was surprised nothing was left over from the Piscids
..
Two other areas of possible activity were also noted from plots. One was
located in Cassiopeia at 2:00 +62 and produced 5 medium-slow meteors.
The other was located near 7:30 +36, where the borders of Auriga, Gemini
, and Lynx meet. 8 fast meteors were seen from this area including a 45
degree long meteor that occurred when the radiant was low in the
northeast. George Zay, if you could check your plots of the last two
nights and see if you can verify this activity, I would appreciate it.
0726-0830 UT 0.96 6.50 1 DAO 1 OAR 12 SPO 14 TOTAL
0830-0930 UT 0.94 6.41 2 DAO 7 SPO 9 TOTAL
0930-1030 UT 0.93 6.40 1 DAO 1 OAR 9 SPO 11 TOTAL
1030-1130 UT 0.91 6.46 1 DAO 1 OAR 10 SPO 12 TOTAL
1130-1232 UT 0.90 6.39 6 DAO 15 SPO 21 TOTAL
The data includes: Universal time for each block of time, actual percent
of an hour spent watching (reductions were due to plotting), average
limiting magnitude for each block of time, and shower activity seen. SPO
= sporadic (random meteors).
The sky was clear the entire morning. There were no obstructions and no
breaks were taken. I faced due east at an altitude of 70 degrees all
morning.
Beginning Temperature/Relative Humidity: 54 F (12 C) 74%
Ending Temperature/Relative Humidity: 56 F (13 C) 77%
Bob Lunsford
San Diego, California USA