I ventured out to the west of Ottawa on the morning of September 9, to observe near the peak of the minor September epsilon Perseids shower. On arrival, I was disappointed to find a completely overcast sky. Luckily, it cleared up after several minutes and I was able to get in a couple of hours of observing until dawn. The transparency was a solid 4/5 quality. It was very humid with some minor ground fog, but it didn’t seem to affect the sky too much. Owls and coyotes were heard in the distance most of the time.
Between 2:45am and 4:47am EDT local time, I saw 22 meteors (including 6 September epsilon Perseids, 3 nu Eridanids, one September Lyncid and 12 sporadics). The September epsilon Perseids had rapid, short paths and seemed to radiate from a point located a few degrees further to the south than the published position.
The highlight of the night was at 07:47 UT (3:47am EDT) with an exceptionally SLOW moving and vividly blue +1 sporadic! It was shaped like a tear drop and it crawled for several seconds below Gemini, persisting for a few more seconds, before fading away. It was about the speed of a fast moving satellite! A beautiful meteor!
September 8/9 2021, 06:45-08:47 UT (02:45-04:47 EDT)
Location: Bootland Farm, Ontario, Canada
(Long: -76 deg 29’ West; Lat: 45 deg 23′ North)
IMO session: https://www.imo.net/members/imo_vmdb/view?session_id=83181
Observed showers:
zeta Draconids (AUD) – 15:36 (234) +56
Anthelion (ANT) – 23:40 (355) -02
August beta Piscids (NDA) – 00:18 (005) +10
September epsilon Perseids (SPE) – 02:52 (064) +39
nu Eridanids (NUE) – 04:16 (043) -01
eta Eridanids (ERI) – 04:25 (066) -05
September Lyncids (SLY) – 06:36 (099) +55
06:45-07:45 UT (02:45-03:45 EDT); 4/5 trans; F 1.00; LM 6.48; facing SSE50 deg; teff 1.00 hr
SPE: three: +2; +4(2)
NUE: two: +3; +4
Sporadics: six: +2(2); +3; +4(2); +5
Total meteors: Eleven
07:45-08:47 UT (03:45-04:47 EDT); 4/5 trans; F 1.00; LM 6.45; facing SSE50 deg; teff 1.00 hr
SPE: three: +2; +4(2)
NUE: one: +5
SLY: one: +4
Sporadics: six: +1; +4; +5(3); +6
Total meteors: Eleven
Total meteors for this session: 22