Two nights after my first attempt for the Draconids, I was able to observe with more success earlier on the October 8 evening. I went to the Moosecreek dark sky site which is 60 km east of Ottawa. Sky was decent with average transparency (3/5) and it was cool at 4C but without any wind. It is a nice quiet area with wide open flat horizons and it is just about as dark as one could expect it to be between Ottawa and Montreal. The T junction in the field is now wider than it used to be and it is OK to setup there rather than at the dead end. Unfortunately, the city light domes have gotten significantly worse compared to years past. The sky is still decent up high and when looking away from these sources of light pollution. It is also closer for me to get to this site than any of the ones west of the city.
In two hours, I saw 14 meteors (2 South Taurids, one Draconid and 11 sporadics). The highlight was at 9:14pm (EDT) with a +1 long 35 degrees blue South Taurid. I packed up just as the sky was clouding over, so my timing worked out well.
Observer: Pierre Martin
IMO Profile: https://www.imo.net/members/imo_user/profile/?user_id=8022
Session Link: https://www.imo.net/members/imo_vmdb/view?session_id=81647
Observation October 8/9 2020, 00:27-02:30 UT (20:27-22:30 EDT)
Location: Moose Creek, Ontario, Canada
(45°15’13″N 75°02’57″W)
Observed showers:
Draconids (GIA) – 17:32 (270) +56
Southern Taurids (STA) – 01:50 (028) +08
October Camelopardalids (OCT) – 10:57 (164) +78
00:27-01:29 UT (20:27-21:29 EDT); clear; 3/5 trans; F 1.00; LM 6.20; facing NW60 deg; teff 1.00 hr
STA: one: +1
Sporadics: six: +2(2); +3(2); +4; +5
Total meteors: Seven
01:29-02:30 UT (21:29-22:30 EDT); clear; 3/5 trans; F 1.00; LM 6.23; facing NW60 deg; teff 1.01 hr
GIA: one: +1
STA: one: +3
Sporadics: five: +2; +3(2); +4; +5
Total meteors: Seven
Breaks: 00:37-00:39 UT (2 min dead time)
