Introduction
A report is given of my observations on October 13/14. A total of 70 meteors were observed, during 5.08 hours of effective observing time. A total of 10 meteors were also photographed with my DSLR camera. A number of sources were active this night, and meteors from the DAU, EGE, LMI, ORI, STA and OCU were observed. The most active shower this night was the Southern Taurids with a total of 13 meteors, followed by the Orionids with 7 meteors.
Observations October 13/14
I started observations under good sky conditions at 22:00 UT. The weather forecast was good for the rest of the night, and I was excited to see what the following hours would bring. The first hour started out with good sporadic activity, with 4 meteors in the magnitude range 2 to 5 seen in 15 minutes. Also, a nice 2 mag DAU in Triangulum was seen in that period. Activity kept up for the next quarter, with 3 sporadics and 1 STA in the magnitude range of 4 to 6. After that a rather dull period followed, with only 2 sporadics and 1 STA the next half hour.
22:00 – 23:00 Teff: 1.00, F: 1.00, Lm: 6.23, RA: 45, Dec: +50
Spo: 0, 2, 3, 4(4), 5, 6 – 9 meteors
STA: 5, 6 – 2 meteors
ORI: 0 meteors
EGE: 0 meteors
DAU: 2 – 1 meteor
LMI: 0 meteors
OCU: 0 meteors
The weak sporadic activity from the last 30 minutes continued into the second hour, with only 5 meteors seen. The hour was saved by the STA with 3 meteors, among them a nice 1 mag into Cygnus. At 23:41 a 1 mag, white, fast meteor streaked into Gemini, matching all the criteria to be an October Ursa Majorid.
23:00 – 00:05 Teff: 1.017, F: 1.00, Lm: 6.23, RA: 45, Dec: +50
Spo: 3(2), 4, 5, 6 – 5 meteors
STA: 1, 4, 5 – 3 meteors
ORI: 0 meteors
EGE: 0 meteors
DAU: 0 meteors
LMI: 0 meteors
OCU: 1 – 1 meteor
With the rising altitude of the Orionid radiant, I was hoping the third hour of observation would reveal the first Orionid of the year. While waiting for this, a beautiful reddish 1 mag sporadic slowly glided through the arm of Perseus. 20 minutes later the STA decided to join in, revealing a yellow 0 mag meteor far from the radiant in UMA. This was quickly followed by another weak STA in Andromeda. A really active period then followed. A 5 mag Orionid in Auriga was almost immediately followed by a 4 mag STA in Taurus. Minutes later a 4 mag OCU was seen, making it the second shower member of the night. At 00:50 the battery of my camera went dead, but I decided to continue visual observations for a full hour before changing it. I was kind of hoping no bright meteors would appear in the now abandoned camera field, but of course it had to happen! 2 minutes before the full hour, a beautiful -1 mag Orionid flashed up in Taurus, right where the camera field would have been. Another 2 mag Orionid was also seen low in Gemini in the last 5 minutes of the period.
00:05 – 01:05 Teff: 1.00, F: 1.00, Lm: 6.23, RA: 60, Dec: +50
Spo: 1, 2, 3(2), 4, 5(4) – 9 meteors
STA: 0, 4(2) – 3 meteors
ORI: -1, 2, 5 – 3 meteors
EGE: 0 meteors
DAU: 0 meteors
LMI: 0 meteors
OCU: 4 – 1 meteor
After a short brake with some food and battery change, both my body and my camera were loaded with new energy. With rising radiant position for most of the observed showers, I was hoping the next hour would bring some rewarding moments. 3 minutes into the period a 3 mag OCU was seen on the Lynx – Auriga border. This meteor was soon followed by a 4 mag STA, and my first LMI for the night, a 5 mag in Auriga. 5 minutes later another nice 1 mag STA was observed in Cassiopeia. Taurid rates were really steady throughout the night, with 2 or 3 meteors observed each hour. Sporadic rates were also steady with 10 meteors this hour, with 1 and 0 mag meteors as highlights. The Orionids provided 2 meteors this hour, and I also saw my first EGE of the night, a 3 mag shooting up between Auriga and Gemini.
01:05 – 02:15 Teff: 1.066, F: 1.00, Lm: 6.18, RA: 60, Dec: +50
Spo: 0, 1(2), 3(3), 4(2), 5, 6 – 10 meteors
STA: 1, 2, 4 – 3 meteors
ORI: 2, 4 – 2 meteors
EGE: 3 – 1 meteor
DAU: 4 – 1 meteor
LMI: 5 – 1 meteor
OCU: 3 – 1 meteor
In the last hour a crescent moon and Venus was climbing, making a beautiful couple in the eastern morning sky, but reducing the Lm a little. There were no surprises this final morning hour. Sporadic rates were slightly reduced to 8 meteors, and both the Orionids and the Taurids yielded 2 meteors each. The highlight of the hour was a stunning -2 mag Orionid low in the southern sky. A successful 5 hour long observation period had come to an end, with a total of 70 meteors observed. And best of all, the weather forecast promised clear skies also for the coming nights.
02:15 – 03:15 Teff: 1.00, F: 1.00, Lm: 6.13, RA: 75, Dec: +45
Spo: 2(2), 3, 4(2), 5(2), 6 – 8 meteors
STA: 2, 5 – 2 meteors
ORI: -2, 3 – 2 meteors
EGE: 3 – 1 meteor
DAU: 0 meteors
LMI: 4 – 1 meteor
OCU: 0 meteors
