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Re: (meteorobs) An evening with the Quadrantids
Bruce, just a short note of thanks, for your inspiring
description of your Quadrantids observing session. I'm
living in what you'd conside the "balmy south" (42N!).
So it is a real motivator to hear from someone further
North, who still manages to take advantage of all the
opportunities weather offers, to collect good data.
And for that, clearly enjoys himself in the process! :)
Clear and E-free skies to you,
Lew Gramer
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-meteorobs-digest@atmob.org
> [mailto:owner-meteorobs-digest@atmob.org]
> Sent: Wednesday, January 08, 2003 9:53 AM
> To: meteorobs-digest@atmob.org
> Subject: meteorobs-digest V4 #1069
>
>
>
> meteorobs-digest Wednesday, January 8 2003 Volume
> 04 : Number 1069
>
>
>
> (meteorobs) An evening with the Quadrantids
> Re: (meteorobs) Matrox Meteor I card.
> (meteorobs) Re: Quadrantids from East Central Georgia
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Date: Tue, 7 Jan 2003 02:20:35 -0700
> From: "Bruce McCurdy" <bmccurdy@telusplanetdot net>
> Subject: (meteorobs) An evening with the Quadrantids
>
> This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
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>
> Now that is what I call a very civilized meteor shower. Imagine, a =
> productive session of meteor observing from 7 to 11 p.m. On a
> moonless =
> Friday evening, no less. I wouldn't have thought it possible. =20
>
> Although initial forecasts suggested North America was unfavourably =
> situated for the Quadrantids peak, there are advantages to
> living way up =
> here in the Far North (54=B0 N. latitude), and one of them is
> that the =
> Quads radiant is nicely circumpolar. As Bob Lunsford wrote to me,=20
> "There are not many folks who can say they have actually seen
> evening =
> Quadrantids." Well, I can, now.=20
>
> After virtually skunking us for the Leonids and Geminids, the
> weather =
> cooperated almost perfectly. Kim Youmans might not agree, but
> at only a =
> few degrees below freezing it was a balmy January evening
> requiring only =
> four or five layers. (This ain't Georgia. The last time
> people in these =
> parts observed the Quads, it was minus 26.) It cleared off
> about 6:30 =
> p.m. local time (MST), and clouded up again shortly after 11,
> but in the =
> interim I got four solid hours in, doing the Quads on the
> fourth day of =
> the new year (UT).=20
>
> Anyways, my count was of course greatly diminished by the
> altitude of =
> the radiant, which transited the northern (!) meridian right in the =
> middle of the session, around 9 p.m. local time. It therefore
> remained =
> at a near constant 13-15=B0 altitude throughout the session as it =
> rotated across the bottom of its arc from northwest to northeast, =
> reducing observed rates to a quarter of the derived ZHR. =20
>
> There were four of us at the Blackfoot observing site, the primary =
> dark-sky site of the Edmonton Centre RASC. In alphabetical order, we =
> were Alister, Bruce, Chris, and Dave, which by my reckoning
> gave us half =
> an octave of observers. Alister and I were there specifically
> to count =
> meteors, and since he arrived first he got the fabulous
> Winter Hexagon =
> replete with guest planets while I turned to the northern horizon. A =
> huge single curl of mild aurora split the sky from north to south =
> horizons, receded for a while, then came up again in the
> neighbourhood =
> of the radiant, eventually forcing me to turn to the east and south. =
> Midway through the evening a ripple of cirrus cloud passed through, =
> slightly reducing our limiting magnitude. =20
>
> While counts were fairly modest, I was impressed by the
> quality of the =
> individual meteors, with a good half of them warranting individual =
> descriptions on my microcassette recorder. None were
> excessively bright, =
> but their intermediate speeds prompted descriptors like
> "majestic" or =
> "stately", and several of the nicer ones lasted a second or
> more as they =
> arced across a significant segment of the sky. A number of them were =
> distinctly orange in colour, including one beauty that passed midway =
> between Betelgeuse and Aldebaran and resembled both, in
> brightness and =
> colour. Due to the situation of the radiant, many passed
> above the tree =
> tops in a virtually horizontal fashion and most of the rest
> were rising =
> up in the sky. I got the impression I was seeing the top half of the =
> shower, but of course it would have been much less than that.=20
>
> As usual I counted in ten minute bins, observing continuously
> without =
> distraction for all but two or three minutes. All non-Quads
> were counted =
> as "sporadic" although I know this isn't strictly correct.
> The two best =
> bins (five Quads each) occurred consecutively between 0250 and 0310, =
> however because they occurred in separate hours the bunching is not =
> apparent in the following:
> *******
> Time (UT) Avg. LM Quads Sporadics ZHR
>
> 0200-0300 6.4 13 14 58
> 0300-0400 6.3 10 3 45
> 0400-0500 6.2 3 5 17
> 0500-0600 6.2 11 6 57=20
>
> Total 6.3 37 28 45 =20
>
> *******
> One surprise was that half the sporadics occurred in the
> first hour. Is =
> there any reason sporadics might be more common in the early evening =
> hours? I can't think of one, other than possibly a more alert
> observer. =
> As mentioned, half the meteors in the second hour came in the
> first ten =
> minutes, and pickings were very slim for the next two hours before a =
> nice rebound in the last hour.=20
>
> Alister also conducted car radio counts, although I don't know his =
> results I do know they were in the single digits in most
> bins, at maybe =
> two or three times the visual rate.=20
>
> At my home radio system, the recently-christened Northern Claw =
> Radiometeor Observatory, I had hourly counts of 8, 6, 10, and
> 19 in the =
> same period as my visual watch, but the antenna is pointed southeast =
> which I think is not so efficient for a radiant in the north. Radio =
> counts continued to rise to 25, 15, and 21 in the subsequent
> three hours =
> (0600-0900 UT) long after the predicted peak, suggesting that
> the angle =
> of antenna offset to the radiant is an important
> consideration for which =
> allowances need be made. In general it was a much quieter
> radio shower =
> than the Geminids, at least near as I can tell with my current =
> configuration. =20
>
> regards, Bruce McCurdy, Edmonton, Canada =20
>
> - ------=_NextPart_000_00AD_01C2B5F3.5CE2C100
> Content-Type: text/html;
> charset="iso-8859-1"
> Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
>
> <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
> <HTML><HEAD>
> <META http-equiv=3DContent-Type content=3D"text/html; =
> charset=3Diso-8859-1">
> <META content=3D"MSHTML 6.00.2800.1126" name=3DGENERATOR>
> <STYLE></STYLE>
> </HEAD>
> <BODY bgColor=3D#ffffff>
> <DIV><FONT face=3DVerdana size=3D2>Now that is what I call a very =
> civilized meteor=20
> shower. Imagine, a productive session of meteor observing
> from 7 to 11 =
> p.m. On a=20
> moonless Friday evening, no less. I wouldn't have thought it =
> possible. =20
> </FONT></DIV>
> <DIV><FONT face=3DVerdana size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
> <DIV><FONT face=3DVerdana size=3D2>Although initial forecasts =
> suggested North=20
> America was unfavourably situated for the Quadrantids
> peak, there =
> are=20
> advantages to living way up here in the Far North (54=B0 N.
> latitude), =
> and one of=20
> them is that the Quads radiant is nicely circumpolar. As Bob =
> Lunsford wrote=20
> to me, </FONT></DIV>
> <DIV><FONT face=3DVerdana size=3D2>"<FONT face=3D"Times New Roman" =
> size=3D3>There are=20
> not many folks who can say they have actually seen evening =
> Quadrantids." =20
> </FONT></FONT><FONT face=3DVerdana size=3D2>Well, I can, now. =
> </DIV></FONT>
> <DIV><FONT face=3DVerdana size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
> <DIV><FONT face=3DVerdana size=3D2>After virtually skunking
> us for the =
> Leonids and=20
> Geminids, the weather cooperated almost perfectly. Kim
> Youmans might not =
> agree,=20
> but at only a few degrees below freezing it was a balmy
> January evening=20
> requiring only four or five layers. (This ain't Georgia. The
> last time =
> people in=20
> these parts observed the Quads, it was minus 26.) It
> cleared off =
> about 6:30=20
> p.m. local time (MST), and clouded up again shortly after 11,
> but in the =
> interim=20
> I got four solid hours in, doing the Quads on the fourth
> day of the =
> new=20
> year (UT). </FONT></DIV>
> <DIV><FONT face=3DVerdana size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
> <DIV><FONT face=3DVerdana size=3D2>Anyways, my count was of course =
> greatly=20
> diminished by the altitude of the radiant, which transited
> the northern =
> (!)=20
> meridian right in the middle of the session, around 9 p.m.
> local time. =
> It=20
> therefore remained at a near constant 13-15=B0 altitude
> throughout =
> the=20
> session as it rotated across the bottom of its arc from northwest to =
> northeast,=20
> reducing observed rates to a quarter of the derived=20
> ZHR. </FONT></DIV>
> <DIV><FONT face=3DVerdana size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
> <DIV><FONT face=3DVerdana size=3D2>There were four of us at the =
> Blackfoot observing=20
> site, the primary dark-sky site of the Edmonton Centre RASC. In =
> alphabetical=20
> order, we were Alister, Bruce, Chris, and Dave, which by my
> reckoning =
> gave us=20
> half an octave of observers. Alister and I were there
> specifically to =
> count=20
> meteors, and since he arrived first he got the fabulous
> Winter Hexagon =
> replete=20
> with guest planets while I turned to the northern
> horizon. A huge =
> single=20
> curl of mild aurora split the sky from north to south
> horizons, receded =
> for a=20
> while, then came up again in the neighbourhood of the =
> radiant,=20
> eventually forcing me to turn to the east and south. Midway
> through the =
> evening=20
> a ripple of cirrus cloud passed through, slightly reducing
> our limiting=20
> magnitude. </FONT></DIV>
> <DIV><FONT face=3DVerdana size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
> <DIV><FONT face=3DVerdana size=3D2>While counts were fairly
> modest, I =
> was impressed=20
> by the quality of the individual meteors, with a good half of them =
> warranting=20
> individual descriptions on my microcassette recorder. None were =
> excessively=20
> bright, but their intermediate speeds prompted descriptors like =
> "majestic" or=20
> "stately", and several of the nicer ones lasted a second or
> more as they =
> arced=20
> across a significant segment of the sky. A number of them were =
> distinctly orange=20
> in colour, including one beauty that passed midway between =
> Betelgeuse and=20
> Aldebaran and resembled both, in brightness and
> colour. Due to the=20
> situation of the radiant, many passed above the tree tops in
> a virtually =
>
> horizontal fashion and most of the rest were rising up in the
> sky. I got =
> the=20
> impression I was seeing the top half of
> the shower, but =
> of=20
> course it would have been much less than that. </FONT></DIV>
> <DIV><FONT face=3DVerdana size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
> <DIV><FONT face=3DVerdana size=3D2>As usual I counted in ten minute =
> bins, observing=20
> continuously without distraction for all but two or three =
> minutes. All=20
> non-Quads were counted as "sporadic" although I know this
> isn't strictly =
>
> correct. The two best bins (five Quads each) occurred
> consecutively =
> between=20
> 0250 and 0310, however because they occurred in
> separate hours =
> the=20
> bunching is not apparent in the following:</FONT></DIV>
> <DIV><FONT face=3DVerdana size=3D2>*******</FONT></DIV>
> <DIV><FONT face=3DVerdana size=3D2>Time=20
> (UT) </FONT> <FONT face=3DVerdana =
> size=3D2>Avg.=20
> LM Quads
> Sporadics =
>
> ZHR</FONT></DIV>
> <DIV><FONT face=3DVerdana size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
> <DIV><FONT face=3DVerdana size=3D2>0200-0300 =
> 6.4 =20
> 13 =
> =20
> 14 =
> =20
> 58</FONT></DIV>
> <DIV><FONT face=3DVerdana size=3D2>0300-0400 =
> 6.3 =20
> 10 =
> =20
> 3
> =20
> 45</FONT></DIV>
> <DIV><FONT face=3DVerdana size=3D2>0400-0500 =20
> 6.2  
> ; &nbs=
> p;=20
> 3 &
> nbsp; =
> 5 =20
> 17</FONT></DIV>
> <DIV><FONT face=3DVerdana size=3D2>0500-0600 =20
> 6.2  
> ; &nbs=
> p;11 &nbs
> p; &nb=
> sp; =20
> 6 &
> nbsp; 57=20
> </FONT></DIV>
> <DIV><FONT face=3DVerdana size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
> <DIV><FONT face=3DVerdana size=3D2>Total =
> =20
> 6.3 =20
> 37 =20
> =20
> 28
>  =
> ;=20
> 45 <BR></FONT></DIV>
> <DIV><FONT face=3DVerdana size=3D2>*******</FONT></DIV>
> <DIV><FONT face=3DVerdana size=3D2>One surprise was that half the =
> sporadics occurred=20
> in the first hour. Is there any reason sporadics might be
> more common in =
> the=20
> early evening hours? I can't think of one, other than
> possibly a more =
> alert=20
> observer. As mentioned, half the meteors in the second hour came in=20
> the first ten minutes, and pickings were very slim for
> the next two =
> hours=20
> before a nice rebound in the last hour. </FONT></DIV>
> <DIV><FONT face=3DVerdana size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
> <DIV><FONT face=3DVerdana size=3D2>Alister also conducted car radio =
> counts, although=20
> I don't know his results I do know they were in the single digits in =
> most bins,=20
> at maybe two or three times the visual rate. </FONT></DIV>
> <DIV><FONT face=3DVerdana size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
> <DIV><FONT face=3DVerdana size=3D2>At my home radio system, the =
> recently-christened=20
> Northern Claw Radiometeor Observatory, I had hourly
> counts of =
> 8, 6,=20
> 10, and 19 in the same period as my visual watch, but the antenna is =
> pointed=20
> southeast which I think is not so efficient for a
> radiant in the =
> north.=20
> Radio counts continued to rise to 25, 15, and 21 in the
> subsequent =
> three=20
> hours (0600-0900 UT) long after the predicted peak,
> suggesting that the =
> angle of=20
> antenna offset to the radiant is an important consideration
> for which =
> allowances=20
> need be made. In general it was a much quieter radio
> shower than =
> the=20
> Geminids, at least near as I can tell with my current=20
> configuration. </FONT></DIV>
> <DIV><FONT face=3DVerdana size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
> <DIV><FONT face=3DVerdana size=3D2>regards, Bruce McCurdy,
> Edmonton,=20
> Canada </FONT></DIV>
> <DIV><FONT face=3DVerdana size=3D2> </DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>
>
> - ------=_NextPart_000_00AD_01C2B5F3.5CE2C100--
>
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> ------------------------------
>
> Date: Tue, 07 Jan 2003 18:38:42 -0800
> From: Wayne Watson <mtnviews@earthlinkdot net>
> Subject: Re: (meteorobs) Matrox Meteor I card.
>
> I wish I had a I or a II myself. I've pretty much given up
> looking for one. I'm not quite sure
> what all the bells and whistles are in Metrec, but, because
> of the difficulty in getting a Matrox,
> I'm thinking about writing some similar s/w myself for a more
> accessible board. It'll be awhile
> though, since I'm not familiar with the h/w technology yet.
>
> I did get a posting on this group (see Meteor Detection
> s/w...) from someone who gave me the e-mail
> address of someone who wrote something that might be helpful.
> No reply yet. Also see my follow up
> that mentions a URL
> <http://www.nitehawk.com/rasmit/low_light.html> I found
> that it contains links
> to s/w that might eventually be helpful. There's some
> software tool called K3CCD
> <http://www.pk3.host.sk/Astro/> that may be helpful in this
> regard, but I haven't checked it out. I
> suspect it only applies to a QuickCam. Still, it might have
> some helpful clues for other video card
> s/w development.
>
> Ed Majden wrote:
>
> > Do you know of anyone using a Matrox Meteor I card for
> video capture
> > preferably in Canada but the USA would be okay also? I
> friend of mine and I
> > are having problems getting a "used" Meteor I card to work.
> No video seems
> > to be getting through. We were wondering if anyone has had
> similar problems
> > and what they did to resolve it. We want to use this card
> for MetRec and
> > also image capture with Linux/IRAF.
> >
> > Ed Majden
> > Courtenay B.C.
> >
> > The archive and Web site for our list is at http://www.meteorobs.org
> > To stop getting all email from the 'meteorobs' lists, use
> our Webform:
> > http://www.meteorobs.org/subscribe.html
>
> - --
> Wayne T. Watson (121.015 Deg. W, 39.262 Deg. N, 2,701
> feet), Nevada City, CA
>
> "Nothing exists except atoms and empty space;
> everything else is opinion."
> -- Democritus of Abdera
>
> Web Page: <home.earthlinkdot net/~mtnviews>
> Imaginarium Museum:
> <home.earthlinkdot net/~mtnviews/imaginarium.html>
>
>
> The archive and Web site for our list is at http://www.meteorobs.org
> To stop getting all email from the 'meteorobs' lists, use our Webform:
> http://www.meteorobs.org/subscribe.html
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date: Wed, 08 Jan 2003 09:49:35 -0500
> From: Mark Davis <meteors@comcastdot net>
> Subject: (meteorobs) Re: Quadrantids from East Central Georgia
>
> >All in all it was a very good observing session and given that I've
> >been able to catch the Quadrantids on three out of four attempts in
> >the past four years, I'm not disappointed at all.
>
> Hey Kim, you must have a lucky 4-leaf clover! I have only had
> one year
> with clear skies since 1987! This year I was up at midnight with 90
> percent clouds, so went to bed and woke up at 6 am to clear
> skies. Par
> for the course..... :(
>
> Mark
>
>
> The archive and Web site for our list is at http://www.meteorobs.org
> To stop getting all email from the 'meteorobs' lists, use our Webform:
> http://www.meteorobs.org/subscribe.html
>
> ------------------------------
>
> End of meteorobs-digest V4 #1069
> ********************************
>
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