Yesterday was the first really good rain day of the monsoon at my home. Even though it rained all evening, it cleared up a few hours before midnight and stayed that way till dawn. Still, I was only able to observe 7 meteors and that’s with 2 cameras running. I’m a little perplexed as to why the meteor rates continue to be so low. 7 meteors in a night would be considered low for a single camera during the low activity months of February and March. July should be much better.
Perhaps this year is just a low activity year or the weather conditions (clouds, high humidity, dew) is worse than I realize. Also the Moon is bright during the prime meteor watching hours and that can only enhance the effects of a murky sky. Hopefully things will get better as the late July showers ramp up and the Moon leaves the morning sky. We’ll have to wait and see.
Obs Date (UT) TotTime TOT SPO ANT CAP TUS 2009-07-09 05h 56m 7 6 1 0
TUS – Camera in Tucson operated by Carl Hergenrother
SDG – Camera in San Diego operated by Bob Lunsford
TotTime – Total amount of time each camera looked for meteors
TOT – Total number of meteors detected
SPO – Sporadics (meteors not affiliated with any particular meteor shower)
ANT – Antihelions
CAP – Alpha Capricornids
The Transient Sky - Comets, Asteroids, Meteors 