This was the second night of Aurigid observations from my homeplace in Norway. The night arrived with a very transparent sky, and I hoped to observe an increase in the Aurigid rates from 2 nights ago. Some thin drifting clouds were present in the outskirts of my observing field the first hour, but not imposing a real problem.
After only 3 minutes, a beautiful, yellow/red, slow, -1-mag sporadic meteor glided through Cepheus. 13 minutes later there was time for another bright meteor, when a white, slow, -1-mag Antihelion appeared in Pisces. Only 6 minutes after this bright event, a red, medium speed, sporadic meteor of mag -1, streaked out from Cepheus towards Draco! The good observing conditions also allowed me to see the fainter meteors, and the sporadic rate the first hour came in at 10. 1 Aurigid of mag +4, and 2 Antihelions, were also seen this first hour.
The next hour the sky conditions improved further when the thin drifting clouds disappeared. The Aurigids stole the show the first minutes of the hour. After 2 minutes a +2 mag Aurigid shot through Aries. Only 4 minutes later a stunning, yellow, -2-mag Aurigid streaked from Andromeda into Pegasus, leaving a smoke train for 3 seconds. Another nice meteor appeared at 23:38 UT, when a +0-mag, yellow, fast moving sporadic, shot from Cassiopeia into Cygnus. A total of 12 sporadic meteors were seen this second hour, alongside with the 2 Aurigids mentioned.
The third hour started with a +1-mag Aurigid in Cassiopeia after only 4 minutes. This was the only Aurigid seen this hour. The sporadic rate climbed to 14, with a yellow, +0-mag meteor with a smoke train in Pegasus, as the brightest event. Also 1 meteor from the Antihelion source was seen this last hour. Altogether it had been an enjoyable night with good observing conditions, a good portion of bright meteors, and high sporadic rates!
A total of 43 meteors were seen during 3 hours of observation. Among these were: 36 SPO, 3 ANT, and 4 AUR.
Observed showers:
Aurigids (206 AUR)
Antihelion source (ANT)
21:55 – 22:55. Teff: 1.00, F: 1.00, Lm: 6.19, RA: 0.00, DEC: +60
SPO: 10 meteors. -1(2), +3(2), +4(4), +5, +6
AUR: 1 meteor. +4
ANT: 2 meteors. -1, +5
22:55 – 00:00. Teff: 1.00 (5 minutes break), F: 1.00, Lm: 6.23, RA: 15, DEC: +60
SPO: 12 meteors. +0, +1, +3(4), +4(3), +5(2), +6
AUR: 2 meteors. -2, +2
ANT: 0 meteors.
00:00 – 01:00. Teff: 1.00, F: 1.00, Lm: 6.23, RA: 30, DEC: +60
SPO: 14 meteors. +0, +1, +2, +3(2), +4(5), +5(3), +6
AUR: 1 meteor. +1
ANT: 1 meteor. +4