The morning of July 18 was my first of a series to observe the summer meteor activity. At this time of the year, several minor shower radiants are active and the famous Perseids are slowly coming to life. It was a very mild 20C (68F) even late at night, so no sleeping bag was required. The mosquitoes were a pest but I managed to keep them under control with my thermacell. The sky was slightly hazy with average quality transparency (LM 6.4).
In an hour and a half, I saw 17 meteors (4 anthelions, 2 July gamma Draconids, 2 Perseids, 2 phi Piscids, 1 July Pegasid, 1 psi Cassiopeiid, 1 c-Andromedid and 4 sporadics). The meteors seen were not particularly bright but the nicest one was a +3 GDR that moved a long 20 degrees path and flared twice.
Observation July 17/18 2020, 06:00-07:30 UT (02:00-03:30 EDT)
Location: Bootland Farm (Stewartville), Ontario, Canada
(45°23’N 76°29’W)
Observed showers:
July gamma Draconids (GDR) – 18:24 (276) +50
alpha Capricornids (CAP) – 19:40 (295) -12
Anthelion (ANT) – 20:36 (309) -19
Northern June Aquilids (NZC) – 21:40 (325) -01
South delta Aquariids (SDA) – 22:00 (330) -21
epsilon Pegasids (EPG) – 22:29 (337) +16
July Pegasids (JPE) – 23:41 (355) +13
Perseids (PER) – 00:48 (012) +51
zeta Cassiopeiids (ZCS) – 00:58 (014) +53
eta Eridanids (ERI) – 01:37 (024) -19
49 Andromedids (FAN) – 01:37 (024) +48
psi Cassiopeiids (PCA) – 02:06 (032) +73
phi Piscids (PPS) – 02:06 (032) +31
c-Andromedids (CAN) – 02:40 (040) +51
July chi Arietids (JXA) – 02:45 (041) +11
06:00-07:00 UT (02:00-03:00 EDT); clear; 3/5 trans; F 1.00; LM 6.39; facing S50 deg; teff 1.00 hr
ANT: three: +4; +5(2)
GDR: two: +3(2)
PCA: one: +5
PPS: one: +3
CAN: one: +3
Sporadics: four: +4; +5(3)
Total meteors: Twelve
07:00-07:30 UT (03:00-03:30 EDT); clear; 3/5 trans; F 1.00; LM 6.39; facing S50 deg; teff 0.50 hr
PER: two: +2; +3
ANT: one: +5
JPE: one: +2
PPS: one: +3
Sporadics: none
Total meteors: Five
Clear skies,
Pierre Martin
Ottawa, Ontario
