PM Thu. July 3 - AM Fri. July 4, 2014 - Meteor Observing

  Thursday evening the 3rd started out with the sky partly covered in low clouds, and these clouds persisted through midnight. I had been hoping to get in more meteor observing now that high pressure had moved in and cleared some of the humidity away, but I nearly gave up until after 2:00 AM. I looked outside to see that the clouds were gone, and it was very clear. An hour later I had the lawn chair set up on the patio, and I had my charts and my note-corder ready. It was chilly enough that I needed to put a sweatshirt on, and the cooler and drier air discouraged mosquitoes. I didn't need any repellent. The fireflies were also gone tonight; probably due to the chillier conditions.

  I ended up having a very productive night. I was able to observe and plot five meteors, and a couple of them were bright and impressive. I also spotted several interesting artificial satellites. Here are the details:

  SESSION = 3:05 AM - 4:35 AM (7:05 - 8:35 UT July 4)
  Center of Gaze = 23:00 + 35° (345° +35°)
  Effective Observing Time = 79 minutes (out of 90).
  Cloud Obstruction = 0% (No clouds at all the whole time. Very clear. No moonlight interference since the Waxing Crescent Moon set several hours earlier.)
  Tree / Other Obstruction = 10% or less.
  Visual Limiting Magnitude = 5.03

  5 Meteors Seen During This Session:

  Meteor #1 - 3:14 AM (7:14 UT July 4). Sigma Capricornid (SCA). (The more I check my plot it seems it came straight from this radiant, and the speed also matched.) +2.0 magnitude. Speed = 3. No wake or train and no notable color. This meteor went from just barely west of Delphinus to close to the center of the Northern Cross of Cygnus. I plotted this meteor on Page 6 of the BRNO Atlas.

  Meteor #2 - 3:29 AM (7:29 UT July 4). Sporadic. (See detailed notes.) 0.0 magnitude (As bright as Vega at least!) Speed = 3. Wake that lasted about a second. No long-lasting train. Unfortunately I caught this meteor on the edge of my field of vision as it passed between Cepheus and Cassiopeia heading north. It was the best one of the night! I plotted this meteor on Page 1 of the BRNO Atlas.

  Meteor #3 - Approximately 3:45 AM (7:45 UT July 4). Sporadic. + 3.0 magnitude, Speed = 3. No wake or train seen and no color noted. This meteor whizzed right through the constellation of Cepheus. Like meteor #2, there’s a slight possibility that this one could have been an ANT or SCA, but my plot’s accuracy this far away in the sky leads me to believe that I should probably just label it as sporadic. I plotted this meteor on Page 1 of the BRNO Atlas.

  Meteor #4 - 3:55 AM (7:55 UT July 4). Pi Piscid (I’m very sure of this). + 4.0 magnitude. Speed = 4. No wake or train and no color noted. This one zipped by quickly through the “forelegs” of Pegasus. It was so fast and dim that I barely saw it. I plotted this meteor on Page 6 of the BRNO Atlas.

  Meteor #5 - 4:01 AM (8:01 UT July 4). Sporadic. +1.0 magnitude (about as bright as Deneb). Speed = 3. This meteor had a noticeable wake for a second or more, but not a long-lasting train. This was the only meteor that showed any color tonight. I thought that it looked yellowish. It zipped from the “neck” of Pegasus to the Water Jar area of Aquarius. It wasn’t a long path but it was a very bright, showy meteor. I plotted the path on Page 6 of the BRNO Atlas.


  Several Satellites Seen During This Session, these were the Notable Ones:

  Satellite #1 - 3:40 AM - 3:41 AM (7:40 - 7:41 UT July 4). Flared to -4.0 magnitude (as bright as Venus at least!) when I saw it, several degrees below the "Water Jar" in Aquarius, then faded to +4.0 as it passed through Pegasus. Lost sight of it when I saw Satellite #2. (I did not plot this satellite, but see notes for Satellite #2 and detailed notes.)

  Satellite #2 - 3:41 AM - 3:43 AM (7:41 - 7:43 UT July 4). Flared to -4.0 magnitude (as bright as Venus at least!) when I was trying to grab the 7x50 binoculars to look at Satellite #1! The flare took place very close to where Satellite #1 had flared; several degrees south of the "Water Jar" in Aquarius. It faded rapidly at first and then gradually and I was able to follow it into the Great Square of Pegasus. At 3:43 AM it passed the star pair of Tau and Upsilon Pegasi about four times their distance to the east. By that time it was about +4.0 magnitude or fainter and I lost sight of it. I plotted this one on Page 6 of the BRNO Atlas and I believe this satellite was in the same orbit as Satellite #1 and followed a very similar path. (See detailed notes.)

  Satellite #3 - 4:05 AM (8:05 UT July 4). I spotted this one as a slowly varying object just north of the Great Square of Pegasus, pulsing slowly between about +3.0 and +4.0 magnitude. When it was within the Great Square and a little northwest of the stars Tau and Upsilon Pegasi, it briefly flared up at least as bright as Vega (0.0 magnitude) and then fell back to about +4.0 magnitude. I saw it pass just west of Tau and Upsilon Pegasi using the 7x50 binoculars, then it faded completely out of view and I lost it. It was headed toward the area of Pisces and Aquarius, and I kept looking, but saw no more flare-ups. I plotted this satellite on Page 6 of the BRNO Atlas, but it was from memory after the session was over, and I’m not entirely sure about the accuracy of the start and end of the path that I drew.

  Satellite #4 - Approximately 4:35 AM - 4:37 AM (8:35 - 8:37 UT July 4). I spotted this one as it flew between Cassiopeia and Perseus, headed toward the Great Square of Pegasus. It seemed to be +3.0 magnitude normally but flared up a little in brightness now and then. Just before entering the Great Square of Pegasus it flared briefly up to at least +1.5 magnitude in brightness. Then it dimmed and passed just east of the stars Tau and Upsilon Pegasi before fading out of sight. I plotted the path of this one on Page 1 of the BRNO Atlas, but this plot was from memory after the session was over and there may be errors to it.

  Here are the plots of the meteors seen tonight: