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New to the group, need a telescope
Hi, I¡¯m new to the group and in the Ottawa valley. ?Im wondering if anyone has suggestions for good places to purchase a telescope or if anyone were selling a used one. ?I think I¡¯d like to get a dobsodian telescope so my little ones have a great experience looking at the night sky.?
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Re: Observation August 13/14 2021 (Perseids outburst!)
Hello Pierre,?
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Thank you for sharing your wonderful experience. It was a great read. Congratulations with the accomplishments based on your perseverence and dedication. Thank you,? Marco?
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Observation September 8/9 2021
I ventured out to Bootland Farm 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 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: 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 Clear skies, Pierre Martin Ottawa, Ontario |
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Observation August 15/16 2021
On the morning of August 16, I went to the Bootland Farm site (west of Ottawa) for a three hour meteor session. The sky was clear with average quality transparency (about 2.5/5). It was slightly hazy, possibly from some forest fire smoke in the atmosphere. It was a cool 12C, very dewy, but a decent night to be out. This was my final outing during the Perseids activity period.
Between 1:02am and 4:11am local time, I saw 68 meteors (30 Perseids, 9 kappa Cygnids, 6 Northern delta Aquariids, 2 anthelions, 2 Southern delta Aquariids and 19 sporadics. The Perseids were back to their normal activity, as they wound down, with hourly rates of 5, 11 and 14. The best meteor was a blue-green -1 Perseid with a three seconds train at 2:28am EDT. This has been a good year for the Kappa Cygnids. They have been pretty active with a handful of meteors per hour, typically with the best rates early in the night while the radiant is very high. I did not see any fireballs from them this year. During August 2007, they produced many large fireballs (aka flashbulb shower) that delighted observers! During other years, very few Kappa Cygnids are seen. Recent analysis appears to support a suggested 7-year periodicity in activity. August 15/16 2021, 05:02-08:11 UT (01:02-04:11 EDT) Location: Bootland Farm, Ontario, Canada (Long: -76 deg 29¡¯ West; Lat: 45 deg 23' North) IMO session: Observed showers: August xi Draconids (AXD) - 18:24 (276) +55 zeta Draconids (AUD) - 19:06 (287) +59 kappa Cygnids (KCG) - 19:08 (287) +52 Anthelion (ANT) - 22:20 (335) -10 Northern delta Aquariids (NDA) - 23:14 (349) +02 Southern delta Aquariids (SDA) - 23:24 (351) -14 Perseids (PER) - 03:30 (053) +59 eta Eridanids (ERI) - 03:15 (049) -10 05:02-06:02 UT (01:02-02:02 EDT); 2/5 trans; F 1.00; LM 6.38; facing SSE55 deg; teff 1.00 hr PER: five: 0; +3; +4(2); +5 KCG: five: +2; +3; +4(3) NDA: five: +1; +2; +4; +5(2) ANT: one: +3 Sporadics: six: +3; +5(5) Total meteors: Twenty-two 06:02-07:02 UT (02:02-03:02 EDT); 3/5 trans; F 1.00; LM 6.40; facing SSE55 deg; teff 1.00 hr PER: eleven: -1; +2(3); +3(2); +4(2); +5(3) KCG: three: +1; +2(2) ANT: one: +3 SDA: one: +5 Sporadics: five: +1; +3; +4; +5(2) Total meteors: Twenty-one 07:02-08:11 UT (03:02-04:11 EDT); 3/5 trans; F 1.00; LM 6.40; facing SSE55 deg; teff 1.15 hr PER: fourteen: 0; +1(2); +2(4); +3(2); +4(3); +5(2) KCG: one: +1 NDA: one: +4 SDA: one: +5 Sporadics: eight: +2; +3; +4; +5(5) Total meteors: Twenty-five Total meteors for this session: 68 Clear skies, Pierre Martin Ottawa, Ontario |
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Observation August 13/14 2021 (Perseids outburst!)
Hello all,
Here¡¯s my report on an extraordinary and surprising 2021 Perseid meteor outburst. This was a session that nearly didn¡¯t happen. On the afternoon of August 13, I looked at what the weather forecasts had in store for the coming night. It was pretty questionable. It was becoming cloudy, and a series of thundershowers were in the forecast for the evening hours. On the other hand, the weather forecasts showed a cold front approaching the region overnight. It appeared that locations roughly 80-100 km northwest of Ottawa would start clearing just after 1am local time. I was exhausted from the previous nights up watching and photographing the Perseids, so I was thinking that I would skip this night to get some much needed sleep. I went to bed early but I woke up just before 11pm. I rechecked the weather just out of curiosity, and I found that the satellite image was matching the model forecasts quite well. The nap made me feel more rested and I decided to go for it! The car was still mostly packed from the previous night so I was able to get ready quickly. I took off to Westmeath Lookout; a two hour drive! This was as far as I was willing to go, as it was already late. I left my east-end Ottawa home at 11:30pm and drove through terrible weather conditions. More than once, I went through a heavy downpour (at times with poor visibility as one wall of heavy rain hit after another). Along the way, I contemplated turning around and returning home as the weather seemed to be getting worse. But I pressed on, and made it to Westmeath Lookout, arriving there at 1:30am EDT. In a sharp contrast, the weather was so much nicer out there! It was dry, the wind was picking up significantly and the sky was clearing just as expected! Yeah!!! The air felt wonderfully dry and a mild 15C, which was great compared to the hot, muggy days we had throughout the summer. As the last few clouds receded to the east, I spent a few minutes just looking up and admiring the sky before setting up. I was awed by the clarity. The Milky Way was thick and showed a wealth of details against a sea of faint stars! A few Perseids and sporadics flashed by! WOW!! What a great view! So, I grabbed my chair, a blanket, my observing accessories bag, a small table, the coffee and snacks, and I made my way up the hill to setup. The camera bag stayed in the car for now. Westmeath Lookout is a beautiful and tranquil public sight seeing area, located within the Whitewater Region (a township on the Ottawa River in Renfrew County, eastern Ontario). It is popular for taking in panoramic views of the Ottawa Valley scenery from an elevated point, or for seeing sunsets or sunrises. There is a paved parking lot at the base of the hill, and a gazebo at the top. It is a fairly steep climb uphill by foot (better suited for light setups), but well worth it. The site has dark mag 6.7 skies overhead, and 360 degrees views of the horizons! With the clouds completely gone, the transparency was excellent. It was the best I had seen this year and I was excited! I setup my chair facing east, with the wind on my back. I signed on at 05:50 UT (01:50am EDT local time). Right away, I was seeing very good meteor activity, with Perseids coming in with one or two per minute. Then it was followed by a few minutes of absence. The lulls were however few and far in between before more meteors would appear. I presumed that the excellent sky transparency helped with the visibility of the meteors, but I was suspicious that something unusual might be happening. Then, in just 7 minutes between 06:26 UT (02:26am EDT) to 06:33 UT (02:33am EDT), I saw 18 meteors (with as many as 14 Perseids)! This was a far stronger rate than what I would expect to see a full day after the annual maximum. One of the Perseids was a -3 that flared with an 8 seconds train! I was now convinced that an outburst was in progress! I took a pause from visual observing, quickly went back down the hill to my car to grab my camera bag, and a small tripod, and back uphill I went. Meteors flashed left and right on the periphery of my vision, and a sense of excitement and adrenaline kicked in! I quickly setup my camera (a Canon 6D with a 14mm f/2.8 lens) towards the north where the sky was darkest. I didn¡¯t have my dew heaters and batteries, so instead, I improvised by putting a couple of hand warmers in a sock, and wrapping it around the lens to keep dew from forming on the optics. I set the interval-meter to run continuous 20 seconds exposures for the rest of the night. I settled back on my chair at 06:55 UT (02:55am EDT) to resume visual observing. The meteor action continued ¡ª in fact, it got better and better! After 07 UT (3am EDT), the Perseids were going crazy!!! Multiple meteors per minute was becoming common! Perseids went left and right, up and down all over the sky! Just before 03:30am EDT, I muttered in my tape recorder... ¡°What the heck is going on? Ohhh and there goes another one!!!¡±. I started counting the seconds in between meteors, and I would typically get to 15 or 30 seconds before I would see another. In some instances, two or three meteors would flash one after another, all within a second! The outburst peaked at about 08:15 UT (04:15am EDT). My highest 10-minute count was 42 Perseids with a radiant elevation of 61 degrees! Then, the outburst started declining just as morning twilight grew stronger past 08:30 UT (4:30am EDT). The Perseids brightness was on the average/faint side, and no major fireballs occurred. A small proportion of Perseids stood out. At 06:26 UT (02:26am EDT), a -3 Perseid flared and left an 8 seconds train. At 07:27 UT (3:27am EDT), a similar -3 Perseid produced a terminal flash and left a 3 seconds train. In three hours of observing 05:50 UT (01:50am EDT) to 09:08 UT (05:08am EDT), I saw 394 meteors (340 Perseids, 9 kappa Cygnids, 7 Northern delta Aquariids, 2 anthelions, 2 eta Eridanids, one alpha Capricornid, one August xi Draconid and 32 sporadics). My visual hourly rates for the Perseids were 64, 162 and 114! These rates make the 2021 Perseids the most active Perseid meteor shower that I¡¯ve seen in my 33 years of observing! Sporadics were quite active with hourly rates of 14, 12 and 6. Talk about a stunning night, it was something really special! My only wish is that more people would have seen this display. I observed as long as I could before the morning twilight was too strong, ending just after 5am local time. I was still full of energy, and I was eager to find out if anyone else had seen the outburst within the meteor community. I sent a message to Koen Miskotte, long time amateur astronomer specialized in meteors from the Dutch Meteor Society, alerting him on what I had just seen and asking if he was aware? Koen responded a short time later that he hadn¡¯t yet seen other reports. He looked at the preliminary worldwide radiodata at and then he wrote back to me with... ¡°WOW radio data got crazy!". It confirmed a strong, sharp outburst near solar longitude 141.47 above North American longitudes. Koen was interested in calculating a preliminary visual ZHR using my counts, producing a preliminary summary article, and sharing visual data with Peter Jenniskens (SETI Institute and NASA Ames Research Center). So as soon as I arrived home, I got busy listening to my voice recordings, noting all the times and numbers of meteors seen. I then shared my 5-minute interval counts with Koen (included further below). That same day, Koen posted a ¡°first results" summary on the MeteorNews website, and shortly after that, P. Jenniskens also wrote a summary. The ZHR as calculated by Koen was 245 ¡À 37 and there may have been two peaks. By averaging the values, the ZHR calculates at 210 ¡À 20. Six observers saw the outburst, but unfortunately, three of them had poor observing conditions, or saw only part of the outburst. I was one of the few meteor observers in North America privileged with excellent sky conditions at the ideal time. STRONG OUTBURST PERSEIDS ON AUGUST 14, 2021 ~ 06-09 UT!: PERSEID METEOR OUTBURST 2021: On the following day, P. Jenniskens, posted the following 'Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegram¡¯ (CBET) to the broader astronomical community: More recently, a detailed collaborative article was published¡ THE BIG SURPRISE: A LATE PERSEID OUTBURST By Koen Miskotte (Dutch Meteor Society), Hirofumi Sugimoto (The Nippon Meteor Society) and Pierre Martin (Ottawa, Canada) The 364 exposures produced by my camera helped determine the photographic ZHR. I supplied Koen a list with the number of Perseids per image with a time indication. To determine the photographic ZHR, the 20-second counts were summed to 15-minute counts. Determining this requires constant weather conditions and a fixed camera that must be pointed exactly at the same point during the entire period (unguided) and settings may not be adjusted. The purpose of this ZHR determination was not so much to determine the ZHR but more to see where the maximum photographically took place. The photographic maximum occurred at at ¦Ë? = 141.470¡ã very close to the time of the visual and radio maxima. My images were also the basis of the composite that I created by co-adding all 282 captured into one image. It is not often that I submit my images to APOD (NASA Astronomy Photo of the Day) but a few people suggested that I should submit this one. On September 23, I received an email from Jerry T. Bonnell (UMCP) (one of the two authors and editors for APOD) letting me know that my image would run as APOD for the following day: Here is a high resolution version of the composite image on my photo gallery site: Photo details: Composite image of 282 Perseids captured between 06:50 UT (02:50am EDT) and 09:00 UT (05:00am EDT) on the night of August 13/14 2021. Canon 6D at ISO 6400, 20 sec exposures, Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 lens. Setup was mounted on tripod unguided. 364 continuous exposures were made of which 282 meteors were found, and digitally combined into this image (a few additional Perseids were found but are not included here due to sky rotation). Sporadics and other minor shower meteors are not included. Photographed near Westmeath, Ontario. It was a night that I won¡¯t soon forget! It was followed by a collaboration between the amateur and professional astronomical community, coordinating in a way to quickly disseminate data results of this unusual outburst. It is not yet clear what mechanism is behind this outburst (as well as the less dramatic ones seen in recent years, shortly after the traditional maximum). Perhaps further research by meteor dynamicists and future observations will provide answers. It goes to show that even the more well known meteor showers such as the Perseids can provide nice surprises. In this case, the effort and sleep deprivation was very much worth it! :) Observation August 13/14 2021, 05:50-09:08 UT (0150-0508 EDT local time) Location: Westmeath Lookout (Beachburg), Ontario, Canada (45¡ã 47¡¯ 34¡±, -76¡ã 51¡¯ 32¡±) Observer: Pierre Martin IMO session: Observed showers: August xi Draconids (AXD) - 18:24 (276) +55 zeta Draconids (AUD) - 19:06 (287) +59 kappa Cygnids (KCG) - 19:08 (287) +52 alpha Capricornids (CAP) - 21:10 (317) -05 Anthelion (ANT) - 22:20 (335) -10 Northern delta Aquariids (NDA) - 23:14 (349) +02 Southern delta Aquariids (SDA) - 23:24 (351) -14 Perseids (PER) - 03:30 (053) +59 eta Eridanids (ERI) - 03:15 (049) -10 Standard one hour visual periods (times in UT): 05:50-07:08 UT (01:50-03:08 EDT); 5/5 trans; F 1.00; LM 6.65; facing E55 deg; teff 1.00 hr PER: sixty-four: -3; -2; -1; 0(6); +1(7); +2(15); +3(7); +4(10); +5(15); +6(1) KCG: four: 0; +3(2); +4 ANT: two: +3; +4 NDA: two: +4; +5 CAP: one: +1 ERI: one: +4 AUD: one: +4 Sporadics: fourteen: +1(2); +2; +3; +4(5); +5(5) Total meteors: Eighty-nine 07:08-08:08 UT (03:08-04:08 EDT); 5/5 trans; F 1.00; LM 6.65; facing E55 deg; teff 1.00 hr PER: one-hundred-sixty-two: -3; -1(3); 0(9); +1(19); +2(37); +3(33); +4(32); +5(28) KCG: two: -1; +6 NDA: two: +3; +4 Sporadics: twelve: +1(2); +2; +3; +4(4); +5(3); +6 Total meteors: One-hundred-seventy-eight 08:08-09:08 UT (04:08-05:08 EDT); 4/5 trans; F 1.00; LM 5.81; facing E65 deg; teff 1.00 hr PER: one-hundred-forteen: -1(2); 0(4); +1(20); +2(23); +3(23); +4(27); +5(14); +6(1) KCG: three: +4(2); +5 NDA: three: +1; +3; +5 ERI: one: +1 Sporadics: six: +1; +3(2); +4(2); +5 Total meteors: One-hundred-twenty-seven Short visual periods (times in UT): 0550-0555 (0.0833 teff, LM=6.65); 6 PER, 1SPO 0555-0600 (0.0833 teff, LM=6.65); 3 PER, 2 KCG, 1 ERI, 1 SPO 0600-0605 (0.0833 teff, LM=6.65); 3 PER, 1 NDA 0605-0610 (0.0833 teff, LM=6.65); 1 ANT, 2 SPO 0610-0615 (0.0833 teff, LM=6.65); 6 PER, 1 KCG, 3 SPO 0615-0620 (0.0833 teff, LM=6.65); 4 PER, 1 KCG, 1 SPO 0620-0625 (0.0833 teff, LM=6.65); 3 PER, 1 ANT, 1 AUD, 1 SPO 0625-0630 (0.0833 teff, LM=6.65); 6 PER, 1 CAP, 2 SPO 0630-0635 (0.0833 teff, LM=6.65); 9 PER, 1 SPO 0635-0637 (0.0333 teff, LM=6.65); 2 PER, 1 NDA 0655-0700 (0.0833 teff, LM=6.65); 12 PER 0700-0705 (0.0833 teff, LM=6.65); 4 PER, 2 SPO 0705-0710 (0.0833 teff, LM=6.65); 11 PER, 1 SPO 0710-0715 (0.0833 teff, LM=6.65); 9 PER 0715-0720 (0.0833 teff, LM=6.65); 13 PER, 1 NDA, 1 KCG, 3 SPO 0720-0725 (0.0833 teff, LM=6.65); 15 PER, 3 SPO 0725-0730 (0.0833 teff, LM=6.65); 15 PER, 1 SPO 0730-0735 (0.0833 teff, LM=6.65); 11 PER 0735-0740 (0.0833 teff, LM=6.65); 9 PER, 1 SPO 0740-0745 (0.0833 teff, LM=6.65); 8 PER, 1 NDA, 1 SPO 0745-0750 (0.0833 teff, LM=6.65); 21 PER, 1 SPO 0750-0755 (0.0833 teff, LM=6.65); 16 PER, 1 KCG 0755-0800 (0.0833 teff, LM=6.65); 13 PER 0800-0805 (0.0833 teff, LM=6.65); 14 PER 0805-0810 (0.0833 teff, LM=6.65); 19 PER, 2 KCG, 2 SPO 0810-0815 (0.0833 teff, LM=6.65); 22 PER, 1 NDA 0815-0820 (0.0833 teff, LM=6.65); 9 PER, 1 KCG 0820-0825 (0.0833 teff, LM=6.55); 17 PER, 1 NDA 0825-0830 (0.0833 teff, LM=6.52); 16 PER, 1 ERI, 3 SPO 0830-0835 (0.0833 teff, LM=6.49); 9 PER, 1 NDA 0835-0840 (0.0833 teff, LM=6.45); 10 PER 0840-0845 (0.0833 teff, LM=6.25); 6 PER 0845-0850 (0.0833 teff, LM=5.90); 6 PER, 1 SPO 0850-0855 (0.0833 teff, LM=5.40); 3 PER 0855-0900 (0.0833 teff, LM=5.20); 6 PER, 1 SPO 0900-0908 (0.1333 teff, LM=3.80); 4 PER, 1 SPO Break: 0637-0655 (18 minutes) Total meteors for this session: 394 Clear skies, Pierre Martin Ottawa, Ontario |
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Observation August 12/13 2021
For the predicted peak night, Raymond Dubois was interested in joining me at a dark sky site. We discussed our options and the weather forecasts ahead of time, and we considered a few different possibilities. Some early evening cirrus and late night patchy clouds were possible, but the forecast was generally pretty good. It was warm but less humid and muggy than the previous night. By early afternoon on August 12, it seemed that the area surrounding Renfrew (west of Ottawa) would be decent! So we decided to head to Shane Finnigan¡¯s place (near Renfrew) and setup on his property for the night. Chris Thuemen joined in as well for some observing with a telescope.
I arrived after suppertime, and setup out on the property next to the pumpkin vines. I had a really great view of the sky facing east with the Madawaska Optical Observatory (MOO) in front of me. Not too buggy, and pleasant out there with a temperature of about 20C. While Shane gave Chris a tour of the observatory, Raymond and I setup our tracking mounts, cameras and other paraphernalia. Overhead, the sky was very clear ¡ª better than I expected! I even casually saw a few long and colourful Perseids shooting up into the twilight sky. With my three cameras running exposures automatically, I signed on at 02:35 UT (10:35pm EDT) and observed until 08:30 UT (04:30am EDT) for a total of 3.88 hours effective time. The LM started off at 6.25 and gradually improved to 6.40 as the night went on. The session was interrupted by a few breaks either to check or adjust my cameras, or to wait out passing cloud cover. From about 2am to 3am local time, the sky was overcast due to a patch of cirrocumulus moving through quickly. Waiting it out paid off. The hour that followed was clear with a high radiant was quite productive in meteor activity. It then clouded over again just as the night was ending. I saw a total of 195 meteors (150 Perseids, 9 kappa Cygnids, 7 Southern delta Aquariids, 3 Northern delta Aquariids, one alpha Capricornid and 25 sporadics). The Perseids had decent rates that reached 50/hr late at night. I was quite pleased with the Kappa Cygnids I was seeing ¡ª this minor shower has been quite active this year, but it has not been a ¡°fireball year¡± for them. The Southern delta Aquariids continued to be mildly active. There were a number of very nice meteors and highlights! The brightest Perseid came at 10:49pm EDT¡ It was a 40 degrees long -4 fireball that shot towards Capricornus just as another fainter +3 Perseid went by! One of my favourite moments was at 12:19am EDT with two bright Perseids almost back to back high up in the sky¡ a 30 degrees long -1 from Pegasus to Aquarius, followed just a couple seconds later by a stunning 40 degrees long -3 beauty with a 15 seconds persistent train! We were all shouting ¡°woooow!!!!¡±. The late mag 0 blue-green alpha Capricornid that appeared at 3:19am EDT was a very pretty meteor tracing a long 30 degrees path between Andromeda and Aries. Last but not least, at 4:06am EDT, a foreshortened -3 bluish Perseid flared near the radiant and it left a 3 seconds train. My three cameras caught a total of 279 meteors. Quite a productive night, even despite the cloudy spells! Here¡¯s a collection of my four Perseids composite images taken on that night below on my Smugmug photo gallery. Several Kappa Cygnids were also captured. The first photo with the observatory in the foreground happened to be taken while Shane and Chris were inside, and I liked how it was lit. The roof is a unique semi-translucent design. The caption under each image gives the details for each image: The company of Raymond, Chris and Shane was fun! In between meteors, I enjoyed listening to Raymond telling about his recent northern June annular solar eclipse road trip. At the end of the night, I had a nice, long snooze in the car. I enjoyed this night very much! Shane is fortunate to have these dark skies just steps away from his home. August 12/13 2021, 02:35-08:30 UT (22:35-04:30 EDT) Location: Renfrew, Ontario, Canada (45¡ã25¡¯48"N 76¡ã38¡¯24"W) IMO session: Observed showers: August xi Draconids (AXD) - 18:24 (276) +55 zeta Draconids (AUD) - 19:06 (287) +59 kappa Cygnids (KCG) - 19:08 (287) +52 alpha Capricornids (CAP) - 21:10 (317) -05 Anthelion (ANT) - 22:20 (335) -10 Northern delta Aquariids (NDA) - 23:14 (349) +02 Southern delta Aquariids (SDA) - 23:24 (351) -14 Perseids (PER) - 03:30 (053) +59 eta Eridanids (ERI) - 03:15 (049) -10 02:35-03:35 UT (22:35-23:35 EDT); 3/5 trans; F 1.00; LM 6.25; facing SE55 deg; teff 1.00 hr PER: thirty-three: -4; -1(2); 0; +1(6); +2(3); +3(5); +4(4); +5(11) NDA: one: +1 Sporadics: six: +3(3); +4; +5(2) Total meteors: Forty 04:00-05:22 UT (00:00-01:22 EDT); 3/5 trans; F 1.00; LM 6.35; facing SE55 deg; teff 1.00 hr PER: thirty-nine: -3; -1; 0(4); +1(11); +2(6); +3(5); +4(5); +5(6) KCG: four: +1; +2; +4(2) NDA: one: +3 SDA: one: +4 Sporadics: seven: +1; +2; +3; +4(2); +5(2) Total meteors: Fifty-two 05:22-06:03 UT (01:22-02:03 EDT); 3/5 trans; F 1.00; LM 6.35; facing SE55 deg; teff 0.50 hr PER: thirteen: +1(5); +2; +3(4); +4(3) KCG: two: 0; +4 SDA: two: +3; +5 Sporadics: two: +1; +4 Total meteors: Nineteen 07:07-08:07 UT (03:07-04:07 EDT); 3/5 trans; F 1.02; LM 6.40; facing SE55 deg; teff 1.00 hr PER: fifty: -3; -1; 0(3); +1(7); +2(7); +3(9); +4(14); +5(8) SDA: four: +3(2); +4(2) KCG: three: +1; +3; +5 CAP: one: 0 Sporadics: nine: +3(4); +4(4); +5 Total meteors: Sixty-seven 08:07-08:30 UT (04:07-04:30 EDT); 2/5 trans; F 1.04; LM 6.40; facing SE55 deg; teff 0.38 hr PER: fifteen: 0; +1; +2(3); +3; +4(4); +5(5) NDA: one: +3 Sporadics: one: +1 Total meteors: Seventeen Total meteors for this session: 195 Clear skies, Pierre Martin Ottawa, Ontario |
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Re: Bootland Farm observing site details
It will be a few days before we get observing weather at Bootland farm:
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<> attilla danko, , danko@..., attilladanko@... On Wed, Sep 22, 2021 at 12:53 AM Pierre Martin <pmartin@...> wrote:
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Bootland Farm observing site details
For those interested in going to the Bootland Farm dark sky site near Stewartville (south-west of Arnprior), you can find the maps and details for this location on the OAOG Groups.io files. ?It is a field on a private property with an open view of the sky:
/g/oaog/files/Maps/Bootland%20Farm The owner gives permission to all amateur astronomers (no need to ask permission or call), provided that we respect the few basic rules... - Setup only within the designated area for observing. - The double metal gate at the entrance isn't locked, but if usually closed. It does not need to be closed while people are using the site, but please close it at the end when you leave. - Pick up all your belongings. A few tips for this location...?There are no facilities whatsoever. It is just a field. Bring everything you might need. ?The area tends to be very dewy so bring the accessories needed. ?The field is a large rectangular grassy area that is maintained by the owner with room for about 10-12 cars/setups. ?Also, please note that permission is granted only for amateur astronomers. Clear skies! Pierre |
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Observation August 11/12 2021
I went to the Moosecreek site on the evening of August 11 for a short meteor session, one night before the predicted peak. It was a very warm 26C, muggy and hazy night. No need for any sleeping bag or blanket; it was actually uncomfortably warm. The breeze kept the mosquitoes away. I expected to last only about an hour before clouds would move in. As it turned out, I was about to observe for three hours starting just before 11pm and going until about 2am EDT local time. The sky quality was very poor, with muted constellations near the horizons and many bright stars that were barely visible. The sky was only observable overhead but occasionally affected by a few passing clouds. Distant lightning would flash to the east.
I was still able to count 46 meteors (32 Perseids, 4 Kappa Cygnids, one alpha Capricornid, one anthelion, one Northern delta Aquariid, one Southern delta Aquariid and 6 sporadics). Perseids hourly rates were low at 5, 9 and 18, but that was expected with the poor sky conditions and the relatively low radiant. Some nice, long Perseids were seen, and the brighter ones made some pretty neat halos in the hazy sky. The best meteor was a +1 sporadic earthgrazer at 10:58pm that shot 60 degrees heading to the west, with a one second train! Another highlight was a -1 yellow sporadic at 1:38am that moved slowly, starting near Ursa Minor and ending in Cepheus. I packed it in just as the sky was clouding over for good. August 11/12 2021, 02:43-05:55 UT (22:43-01:55 EDT) Location: Moosecreek, Ontario, Canada (Long: -75 deg 02' 57" West; Lat: 45 deg 15' 13" North) IMO session: Observed showers: August xi Draconids (AXD) - 18:30 (278) +46 kappa Cygnids (KCG) - 18:52 (283) +46 alpha Capricornids (CAP) - 20:42 (311) -07 Anthelion (ANT) - 21:52 (328) -13 Northern delta Aquariids (NDA) - 22:52 (343) -00 Southern delta Aquariids (SDA) - 23:02 (346) -15 Piscids Austrinids (PAU) - 23:36 (354) -20 Perseids (PER) - 02:50 (042) +57 eta Eridanids (ERI) - 02:51 (043) -12 02:43-03:47 UT (22:43-23:47 EDT); 1/5 trans; F 1.20; LM 5.44; facing NE70 deg; teff 1.00 hr PER: five: -2; -1; +2; +3(2) KCG: two: +2; +3 CAP: one: +4 NDA: one: +5 Sporadics: three: +1; +3; +4 Total meteors: Twelve 03:47-04:51 UT (23:47-00:51 EDT); 1/5 trans; F 1.25; LM 5.45; facing SE70 deg; teff 1.00 hr PER: nine: +1(3); +2; +4(3); +5(2) KCG: two: 0; +3 SDA: one: +2 Total meteors: Twelve 04:51-05:55 UT (00:51-01:55 EDT); 1/5 trans; F 1.06; LM 5.45; facing SE70 deg; teff 1.06 hr PER: eighteen: -4; -2; -1(2); 0; +1; +2(2); +3(5); +4(4); +5 ANT: one: +3 Sporadics: three: -1; +2; +4 Total meteors: Twenty-two Total meteors for this session: 46 Clear skies, Pierre Martin Ottawa, Ontario |
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Observation August 2/3 2021
A few nights later, I returned to Bootland Farm for a two hour meteor watch (from about midnight to 2am EDT local time). The sky conditions were much better than the previous session, with 3/5 transparency, and a quite nice summer Milky Way! The limiting magnitude was 6.48 in the first hour, but dropped to 6.31 when the crescent moon rose after 1am. There was a nice light breeze, no bugs and no dew - a really pleasant night to be out! Shortly after I arrived at the site, and while setting up, I saw a probable alpha Capricornid that crawled in Aquarius.
I saw 30 meteors (8 Southern delta Aquariids, 7 Perseids, 4 kappa Cygnids, 3 alpha Capricornids, one anthelion and 7 sporadics). The swift Perseids coming in from the north-east would contrast nicely the slower Aquariids and Capricornids coming from the south. And the Kappa Cygnids were active. The brightest meteor was a -3 alpha Capricornid seen at 1:46am that was yellow, and travelled 20 degrees before fragmenting in Perseus. Nice! August 2/3 2021, 04:10-06:12 UT (00:10-02:12 EDT) Location: Bootland Farm, Ontario, Canada (Long: -76 deg 29¡¯ West; Lat: 45 deg 23' North) IMO session: Observed showers: kappa Cygnids (KCG) - 18:38 (280) +43 alpha Capricornids (CAP) - 20:28 (307) -09 Anthelion (ANT) - 21:24 (321) -16 Northern delta Aquariids (NDA) - 22:30 (337) -03 Southern delta Aquariids (SDA) - 22:45 (341) -16 Piscids Austrinids (PAU) - 23:14 (349) -22 July Pegasids (JPE) - 00:21 (005) +17 Perseids (PER) - 02:12 (033) +55 eta Eridanids (ERI) - 02:27 (037) -15 04:10-05:10 UT (00:10-01:10 EDT); 4/5 trans; F 1.00; LM 6.48; facing S50 deg; teff 1.00 hr SDA: six: +2; +3(2); +4(2); +5 PER: five: -1; +1; +2; +5(2) KCG: one: +4 CAP: one: +5 Sporadics: four: 0(2); +4; +5 Total meteors: Seventeen 05:10-06:12 UT (01:10-02:12 EDT); 4/5 trans; F 1.00; LM 6.31; facing S50 deg; teff 1.03 hr KCG: three: +3(2); +4 PER: two: 0; +3 CAP: two: -3; +3 SDA: two: +3(2) ANT: one: +5 Sporadics: three: +4(2); +5 Total meteors: Thirteen Total meteors for this session: 30 Clear skies, Pierre Martin Ottawa, Ontario |
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Observation July 30/31 2021
Hi all,
After several months of being away from observing, and having rather poor luck with weather for the late 2020 meteor showers maximums, it was good to finally be out again this summer. The period from late July and into August has long been my favourite time of the year for observing. It¡¯s hard to beat the mild nights, the drop in mosquitoes and the increasing meteor activity. The hot humid days, as well as the smoke in the atmosphere made observing more difficult, but things improved during the second half of the summer. Hard to believe that my first active meteor watch took until more than halfway through the year to happen! So on the evening of July 30, I drove to Bootland Farm. It is still a nice dark sky site on a private property south-west of Arnprior. The property owner maintains the usual large rectangular grassy area. The site is still available for local amateur astronomers between the months of Spring and Fall. I have been using this site since 2004. On good nights there, the Milky Way can look quite impressive. I enjoy the quietness and seclusion there, with a low tree line/decent horizons. On this particular night, the sky was okay but clearly affected by forest fire smoke in the atmosphere. The LP glows from Arnprior and Ottawa were more significant than usual, and some patchy cirrus clouds were present. I meteor observed for two hours from 11pm until 1am EDT (local time), with a LM initially at 6.35 but gradually declining to 6.01 due to the Quarter Moon rising at midnight. During that time, I saw 20 meteors (6 Perseids, 3 anthelions, 2 alpha Capricornids, one July gamma Draconid, one Southern delta Aquariid and 7 sporadics). The two alpha Capricornids were fireballs of mag -3 and -4. The first one was seen at 11:14pm EDT very low in the east and well into the treeline. It had a vivid blue-green colour and fragmented! It most likely would have appeared much brighter had it been overhead. The second alpha Cap fireball was seen just a few minutes before the end of the session. It was blue-white and produced a terminal flash in the circle of Pisces. Quite rewarding! July 30/31 2021, 03:00-05:00 UT (23:00-01:00 EDT) Location: Bootland Farm, Ontario, Canada (Long: -76 deg 29¡¯ West; Lat: 45 deg 23' North) IMO session: Observed showers: kappa Cygnids (KCG) - 18:38 (280) +43 July gamma Draconids (GDR) - 18:38 (280) +51 alpha Capricornids (CAP) - 20:28 (307) -09 Anthelion (ANT) - 21:24 (321) -16 Northern delta Aquariids (NDA) - 22:30 (337) -03 Southern delta Aquariids (SDA) - 22:45 (341) -16 Piscids Austrinids (PAU) - 23:14 (349) -22 July Pegasids (JPE) - 00:21 (005) +17 Perseids (PER) - 02:12 (033) +55 eta Eridanids (ERI) - 02:27 (037) -15 03:00-04:00 UT (23:00-00:00 EDT); 2/5 trans; F 1.00; LM 6.35; facing S50 deg; teff 1.00 hr PER: four: +1; +2; +3(2) GDR: one: +1 CAP: one: -3 ANT: one: +5 SDA: one: +5 Sporadics: five: +1; +4; +5(3) Total meteors: Thirteen 04:00-05:00 UT (00:00-01:00 EDT); 2/5 trans; F 1.00; LM 6.01; facing S50 deg; teff 1.00 hr PER: two: +1; +4 ANT: two: +1; +4 CAP: one: -4 Sporadics: two: +2; +5 Total meteors: Seven Total meteors for this session: 20 Clear skies, Pierre Martin Ottawa, Ontario |
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Re: June 10 2021 - Partial solar eclipse images
Nice timelapse.
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attilla danko, , danko@..., attilladanko@... On Sun, Sep 19, 2021 at 10:43 PM Pierre Martin <pmartin@...> wrote:
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June 10 2021 - Partial solar eclipse images
Hello all,
Here¡¯s a collection of the images I took of the June 10 2021 partial solar eclipse sunrise (plus a few setup shots by Shane Finnigan). The photos were taken by a Canon 5D and 70-200mm f/4 lens as well as a Canon 6D and 400mm f/5.6 lens. These were taken in Arnprior, Ontario by the Ottawa River. Here¡¯s a time lapse movie. Continuous exposures from 5:27am to 5:34am assembled to create this movie. Canon 5D and 70-200mm f/4 lens. Clear skies! Pierre Martin Ottawa, Ontario |
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Observations December 21/22 2020 + January 2/3 2021
Catching up on observing reports : )
2020 URSIDS: There was a possibility that the 2020 Ursids might produce a series of predicted outbursts during the night of December 21/22. The weather appeared hopelessly cloudy within driving distance distance, but I decided to venture out anyway to the North Frontenac Dark Sky Preserve Site late at night, in a last ditch attempt to catch a possible clear break. It was a long shot. I arrived at the site near 1:30am EST, and the sky was about 95% cloudy (not much to be seen at all). I went ahead and setup my cameras, as the satellite image showed a small hole approaching in the west. It was very mild at 0C, and calm. Unlike the Geminids session, I opted to setup at the south end of the parking lot to gain a better view of the northern sky. In fact, all of the horizons were great from that spot, except for a low tree line in the west. Just before 2am, the sky showed a gradual sign of clearing trend to the west ¡ª I could see a few more stars. By 2:10am, I could see the Big Dipper, and stars down to mag +3 in the south-west. Ursa Minor became visible. It took until 2:50am for the sky to clear up just enough (20% clouds) to attempt signing on for a meteor watch. The sky transparency was poor with a limiting magnitude of only 5.6. I was able to observe for 25 minutes before it clouded over again. During that time, I saw only two meteors (a December Leonis Minorid and a sporadic). I was viewing far past the predicted timing of possible Ursids outbursts, and indeed, none were seen. UPDATE: The 2020 Ursids did in fact produce above average around 5 UT (midnight EST) as reported by the CAMS network in the US. No sensational outburst, but a significant number of Ursid orbits. December 21/22 2020, 07:50-08:15 UT (02:50-03:15 EST) Location: North Frontenac Dark Sky Preserve Site, Ontario, Canada (Long: -76 deg 56¡¯ 23¡± West; Lat: 44 deg 55' 04" North) IMO session: Observed showers: Anthelion (ANT) - 06:44 (101) +23 December Monocerotids (MON) - 07:10 (108) +07 alpha Hydrids (AHY) - 07:50 (117) -06 Geminids (GEM) - 08:02 (121) +31 sigma Hydrids (HYD) - 09:03 (136) -00 December Leonis Minorids (DLM) - 10:49 (162) +30 Comae Berenicids (COM) - 12:01 (180) +15 December chi Virginids (XVI) - 13:02 (195) -13 December sigma Virginids (DSV) - 13:46 (206) +05 Ursids (URS) - 14:22 (215) +76 07:50-08:15 UT (02:50-03:15 EST); 1/5 trans; F 1.25; LM 5.60; facing NW80 deg; teff 0.42 hr DLM: one: +2 Sporadics: one: +4 Total meteors: Two 2021 QUADRANTIDS: I did not have any luck with the weather for the 2021 Quadrantids peak, however the sky partly cleared briefly at the end of the night at my east-end Ottawa home. In a period of ten minutes between 10:35-10:45 UT (05:35-05:45 EST), viewing from my deck, with a 75% waning gibbous moon, 50% clouds, and a limiting magnitude of only about +4.5, I saw 14 Quadrantids!! The brightest ones were mag 0. These rates (better than one per minute) were impressive in the poor sky conditions. It appears that the Quadrantids had a strong double-peak structure as reported by radio observations: Clear skies, Pierre Martin Ottawa, Ontario |
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Observation December 14/15 2020
Hello all,
I have a queue of observing reports, and I realized that I completely forgot to share my 2020 Geminids report. So here it is :) The viewing conditions for the Geminids in 2020 were excellent, so Raymond Dubois and I intended to view them at a local dark site. Unfortunately, the peak night (December 13/14) was completely overcast, and had almost no hopes of clearing. We both made a last ditch attempt by meeting at a site about an hour¡¯s drive east of Ottawa, in the hopes that we might get a hole. Unfortunately, it was solid clouds for a couple of hours, until we eventually gave up and returned home. The following night was more promising with an early evening clearing trend to the south-west of Ottawa. After analyzing the weather, Raymond and I decided to go to the North Frontenac Dark Sky Preserve Site (NFDSP) near Plevna. I was the first one to arrive early in the evening, and Raymond arrived shortly after with his new truck. It was not too cold at -13C, but the gusts produced a -20C windchill so we bundled up well. Raymond and I setup our chairs behind the newly installed fencing (provided a nice wind blocking) while our cameras were out on the concrete pad. The fence also helps to block lights from other cars arriving into the parking lot area. I opted to keep it simple with my cameras by skipping the tracking and running them on fixed tripods, aimed at the same parts of the sky all night long. Some residual clouds were present early in the evening, around 9 pm, otherwise the sky transparency was average quality and the winter Milky Way was beautiful. I signed on for a formal meteor watch just before 10pm EST, and I observed for nearly 5 hours, until just after 2am when the sky clouded over. I saw 72 meteors (35 Geminids, 7 Monocerotids, 6 December Leonis Minorids, 5 anthelions, 4 Comae Berenicids, 3 sigma Hydrids, one December Alpha Draconid and 11 sporadics). Geminids visual rates were below ten per hour but produced some fairly bright meteors up to mag -3. The most impressive meteor was a -4 blue-green Comae Berenicid that shot in Ursa Major and flared twice, leaving a ten seconds persistent train! The sky cleared up again before dawn, and I decided to do a bit of photography in other parts of the sky before going to sleep. Here¡¯s a collection of images that I took during this session, including two composite meteors images, a few stills of meteors, the winter Milky Way and the Zodiacal Light before dawn: Here¡¯s the time lapse of a Geminid fireball persistent train created with Canon 5D and Rokinon 24mm f/2.0 lens, ISO 3200. 20 sec exposures (real time span is 10 minutes from 9:46 pm to 9:56 pm EST): Observation December 14/15 2020, 02:50-07:15 UT (21:50-02:15 EST) Location: North Frontenac Dark Sky Preserve Site, Ontario, Canada (Long: -76 deg 56¡¯ 23¡± West; Lat: 44 deg 55' 04" North) IMO session: Observed showers: Southern chi Orionids (ORS) - 05:52 (088) +18 Anthelion (ANT) - 06:16 (094) +23 December Monocerotids (MON) - 06:49 (102) +08 Geminids (GEM) - 07:30 (112) +33 sigma Hydrids (HYD) - 08:36 (129) +02 December Leonis Minorids (DLM) - 10:20 (155) +34 Comae Berenicids (COM) - 11:24 (171) +20 December chi Virginids (XVI) - 12:40 (190) -10 December Sigma Virginids (DSV) - 13:16 (199) +07 December Alpha Draconids (DAD) - 13:46 (206) +56 02:50-03:50 UT (21:50-22:50 EST); 3/5 trans; F 1.00; LM 6.65; facing SE50 deg; teff 1.00 hr GEM: seven: -1; +2(2); +3(2); +5(2) MON: one: +4 Sporadics: two: +3(2) Total meteors: Ten 03:50-04:50 UT (22:50-23:50 EST); 3/5 trans; F 1.00; LM 6.70; facing SE50 deg; teff 1.00 hr GEM: nine: 0; +1; +2(4); +3; +4; +5 ANT: two: +2; +4 MON: one: +1 HYD: one: +4 DLM: one: +3 Sporadics: four: +3; +4(2); +5 Total meteors: Eighteen 04:50-05:50 UT (23:50-00:50 EST); 3/5 trans; F 1.00; LM 6.70; facing SE50 deg; teff 1.00 hr GEM: nine: -3; +1; +2(2); +3; +4(4) ANT: three: +1; +3; +5 MON: one: +3 HYD: one: +4 Sporadics: two: +3; +4 Total meteors: Sixteen 05:50-06:50 UT (00:50-01:50 EST); 3/5 trans; F 1.00; LM 6.70; facing SE50 deg; teff 1.00 hr GEM: seven: +1; +2(4); +4; +5 COM: four: -4; +2; +3; +5 MON: three: +2(2); +4 DLM: three: +1; +4(2) HYD: one: +4 Sporadics: two: 0; +4 Total meteors: Twenty 06:50-07:15 UT (01:50-02:15 EST); 3/5 trans; F 1.00; LM 6.70; facing SE50 deg; teff 0.42 hr GEM: three: +3; +4; +5 DLM: two: +3; +4 MON: one: +3 DAD: one: +3 Sporadics: one: +3 Total meteors: Eight Total meteors during this session: 72 Clear skies, Pierre Martin Ottawa, Ontario |
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Re: Interested in Ottawa-based mirror coating for telescope optics?
My theoretical understanding is that the coating lifetime is influenced by environment (chemical action) and handling (mechanical action). So if your mirror is in a well-sealed enclosure and you never touch it for cleaning, I'm guessing that it won't need re-coating for decades. If you own a dob and you observe often (i.e. lot's of environmental exposure), then you will eventually want to re-coat the mirrors.
My experience with a couple small reflectors that were poorly stored for many many years is that the coatings lose their reflectivity generally and develop uneven defects. I had a 4.5 inch mirror re-coated by Normand Fullum and it made a noticeable difference at the eyepiece. That coating was in pretty bad shape, initially. It would be fun to experiment with a few weathered mirrors and try and establish a 'before' and 'after' reflectivity. Something quantifiable would be best. For the moment, I've been given the blessing to use the equipment until further notice. It was ear-marked for Carleton University, but it's been sitting in a warehouse for years. I'll try and restore it over the next few months as a side project. First step is "coat some kind of glass with aluminum so it looks shiny". It's good to hear that there are at least a few locals who need things aluminized. -Adam |
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Re: Interested in Ottawa-based mirror coating for telescope optics?
A really interesting idea. My first thought was that a) I didn't even really know people?had mirrors recoated and b) I would probably never need that with something like an SCT. Maybe a Dob. And then on the Cdn Astronomy marketplace on FB, there was a posting this week for someone selling his 16" truss Dob and lo and behold, what does he say? The mirrors might need recoating. Which made me think, "Hey, there might be someone in Ottawa who can do that at some point." Paul |
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Re: Interested in Ottawa-based mirror coating for telescope optics?
¿ªÔÆÌåÓýI've got a 12" that needs recoating - once there have been some successful jobs done. Not sure I'm up for being a guinea pig. Bill On 8/27/2021 2:13 PM, Adam Bell wrote:
Hi Everyone, |
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