eta aquarids 2017 May 4-5-6

May 2017 - eta Aquariids Halley's comet debris. This year there is a prediction of possible enhancement from -615 debris 5-15 hrs 05-05

Lens and 1/2" ccd

Looking up video motion detection system from 8 floor. 

    This time I am running lighter laptop instead of a long video cable to the desktop in living hall. I have replacing the HP laptop with a solid state hard disk.  No more sluggish hard disk access and rid of junk software.

    The lap-top and set up with new 4mm f0.75 Pentax CS 1/3 lens ( was sitting in vendor exhibition shelf and i noticed a 0.75 f ratio ! I bought it for S$500.00) and Watec Ultimate 902H2.  Again still using the over decade's old  wing nut-wooden pieces  which forms the extension arm so I can poke out side the kitchen window.

   The set up is stable ( with 4 runs ) with AC powered 12 volt the ccd  and without any interruptions for continuously monitoring the sky from after midnight to daybreak.

IMO Live plot  courtesy 

From IMO live plot the peak is at 5-5-2017 18hrs UT which is 5-6-2017 2 am. The radiant will below the horizon at this hour so I can see  them typically late 3 am or 21 hr onwards.

May 05 2017. Saturn and Antares dotted the upper part of the co-adds frames with meteors. 

May 6 haul of meteors, better bunch together this time

May 04 2017

Tally sheet - was using this to do my co-adds in IRIS

 A gross look without confirming the trajectories of the detected meteor the hourly rate is about the same for the hourly interval. THe peaking is broad indeed.

Here is the visual HR formula will figure out how valid whether we can devise a equivalent form a video lens.

Actual Hourly Rate = =(ZHR x sin(h))/((1/(1-k)) x 2^(6.5-m)) where
h = the height of the radiant above the horizon
k = fraction of the sky covered in cloud
m = limiting magnitude