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(meteorobs) Observation Oct 20/21 1999
On Thursday morning, I was out at Casselman to watch some decent
activity after moonset. Again tonight, I had to deal with variable
clouds (ranging from no more than 5% to 20% of my FOV while I was
"on"). The first half hour after beginning was clear, and only after
that period I had to start taking notes of the thin patchy clouds
that moved slowly. Where it was clear, the sky was magnitude 6.3.
Despite the conditions, I managed to get two successful hours of teff
(actual observing time) until dawn.
The first hour produced 28 meteors. Of those, 19 were Orionids while
the rest were minor activity from both branch of the Taurids as well
as some sporadics. For the second hour, there was a sharp decline in
overall activity (only 15 meteors). This decline is most likely due
to the fact that many clouds covered the south and I had to bring my
FOV almost at the zenith where it was still clear. Obviously, this
meant looking at a much thinner part of the atmosphere above me and
so, less meteors were seen. There was two potential Leo Minorids
(LMI). The first is less reliable as I saw on the corner of my eye,
so I had to call it SPO. It was a brief but colorful magn. +2 streak
that moved just 2 degrees near the radiant located in Leo Minor. It
left a bright 1 sec train. Later on at night while on break (due to
heavier clouds), I casually spotted another swift LMI of magn.+3. The
Taurids complex produced just a few faint meteors. Another late Oct.
Delta Aurigid was seen. The Epsilon Geminids were not active.
This night had predominantly faint meteors, especially in the magn.
+3 to +5 range. The only negative magnitude meteor was a long -1
yellow Orionid that flashed on the edge of my field, and with 2 sec
tr left behind.
Full report and plots to be mailed at NAMN.
DATE: October 20/21 1999
BEGIN: 7:20 UT (3:20 EDT) END: 9:54 UT (5:54 EDT)
OBSERVER: Pierre Martin (MARPI)
LOCATION: Long: -75.063 West; Lat: 45.269 North Elevation:100m
City & Province: Casselman, Ontario, CANADA
RECORDING METHOD: talking clock/tape recorder
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
OBSERVED SHOWERS: 3-letter code; radiant position
ORI (Orionids) 06:24 +15
EGE (Epsilon Geminids) 06:50 +27
NTA (north Taurids) 02:52 +17
STA (south Taurids) 02:42 +11
DAO (Oct. Delta Aurigids) 06:55 +49
LMI (Leo minorids) 10:32 +38
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
OBSERVING PERIODS: 0 = none seen; / = shower not observed
PERIOD(UT) FIELD Teff F LM SPO ORI STA NTA DAO EGE
7:20-8:59 S60 1.00 1.11 6.30 6 19 2 1 0 0
8:59-9:54 S85 0.92 1.11 6.30 2 11 1 0 1 0
----------------------------------------------------------------
TOTALS: 1.92 8 30 3 1 1 0 = 43
----------------------------------------------------------------
MAGNITUDE DISTRIBUTIONS:
SHOWER -1 0 +1 +2 +3 +4 +5 +6 AVERAGE
SPO 0 0 0 2 1 2 2 1 +3.88
ORI 1 1 1 2 9 8 6 2 +3.50
STA 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 +4.33
NTA 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 +4.0
DAO 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 +5.0
--------------------------------------------
TOTALS: 1 1 1 4 11 11 11 3
--------------------------------------------
SKY OBSCURED:
10% from 7:45 to 7:46
20% from 8:25 to 8:56
10% from 8:56 to 9:10
20% from 9:10 to 9:22
15% from 9:22 to 9:25
5% from 9:25 to 9:50
15% from 9:50 to 9:52
20% from 9:52 to 9:54
------------------------
Total dead time: 39 minutes (break)
Dead time plots: no plots
Breaks: 7:46 to 8:25
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REMARKS
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