The Orionids 2020 from Florida, USA

By Paul Jones

Abstract
An observational report from the author on the Orionids in 2020.

October 14/15, 2020
Well for the first time in many months, I was actually able to gather some meaningful meteor observations this morning from the overflow parking lot at the St. Johns County Fairgrounds. After many months of sub-par weather during major meteor showers, it was great to be able to gather some data on the pre-maximum Orionids!
When I first got there just before 4:00 a.m., there was some haze and fog about that degraded the sharp sky a bit. However, that pretty much dissipated during the first hour and the skies were awesome for the second hour! Here’s a summary of the observational data I was able to get from this morning’s session.

Date: October 14/15, 2020, Observer: Paul Jones, Location: overflow parking area of St. Johns County Fairgrounds, St. Augustine, Florida (latitude: 29.76 N, Longitude: 81.45 W)

Observed for radiants:
ORI – Orionids, STA- South Taurids, OCM – October Ursae Majorids, EGE – epsilon Geminids, NUE – nu Eridanids, SPO – sporadics

0400 – 0500 EDT (0800 – 0900 UT), Teff: 1 hour, no breaks. Limiting magnitude of sky: 6.0, sky conditions: clear, Facing: southeast.
2 OCM: +1, +2
5 STA:+2(1), +3(2), +4(2)
4 ORI: 0(1), +3(2), +4(1)
8 SPO: -2 (1), +1(1), +2(1), +3(2), +4(3)

19 total meteors, 1 of the ORIs, both of the OCMs, and two of the SPOs left trains behind them.

0500 – 0600 EDT (0900 – 1000 UT), Teff: 1 hour, no breaks. Limiting magnitude of sky: 6.2. sky conditions: clear, Facing: southeast.
1 OCM: +3
2 EGE: +3(2)
2 STA: +2(1), +3(1)
8 ORI: +2(1), +3(3), +4(3), +5(1)
13 SPO: -3(1), +1(2), +2(1), +3(4), +4(3), +5(1)

26 total meteors, 1 of the ORIs, and 2 of the SPOs left nice trains behind them.

Overall, the Orionids performed well, considering they are almost a week short of their maximum (Oct. 21). Other than the first Orionid I saw (a bright zero magnitude one low in the SE), most of the other Orionids were classic faint, short and glittery little jewels very challenging indeed to catch visually.

Here’s a summary by hour of the highlights:

First hour:
-Two bright, long and surprising members of the obscure minor meteor shower the October Ursae Majorids, first ones I’ve ever seen!
-The bright zero mag ORI that left a train, low in the SE.
-A stunning faint, earthgrazing sporadic that started in Lepus and skipped across almost 100 degrees of sky going due north. I had it in sight for several seconds. It was awesome!
-A neat little spurt of South Taurids, including three within five minutes of each other!
-The bright, -2 sporadic that shocked the heck out of me as it blasted out of the northern sky heading due south. That one sure woke me up!

Second hour:
-The sky cleared out and faint meteors were popping all over the sky.
-The Orionids picked up in activity quite a bit with several short, faint meteors, going in every direction. Most were seen close to the radiant.
-Another very bright sporadic meteor blazed out of the northern sky, I just caught the end burst, estimated at -3 (almost a fireball).
-Two members of the epsilon Geminid minor meteor shower were noticed.

All told, it was a very varied and interesting session. I was pleasantly surprised. The activity was evenly distributed, with only a couple of lulls in the action. The addition of the bright planets (Venus and Mars), Sirius and all the other winter Milky Way bright stars scattered and blazing across the entire 180 degrees of the sky was fantastic!

October 15/16, 2020
I had a “rerun” two-hour meteor observing session from the SJC Fairgrounds this morning (4-6 a.m., 10/16/20). I say rerun because the overall meteor totals were almost identical to the previous morning, albeit a bit different on the itemized breakout. The first hour was sublime with beautifully dark, clear skies. However, the second half of the second hour was degraded by encroaching streaky cirrus clouds that cut into the meteor activity big time… All told, I had 41 total meteors this morning – 13 Orionids, 6 Taurids, 3 epsilon Geminids, 1 Oct. Ursae Majorid, 1 Nu Eridanid, and 17 sporadics. Here’s the summary of the observational data I was able to get from this morning’s somewhat “cloud crashed” session:

Date: October 15/16, 2020, Observer: Paul Jones, Location: overflow parking area of St. Johns County Fairgrounds, St. Augustine, Florida (latitude: 29.76 N, Longitude: 81.45 W )

Observed for radiants:
ORI – Orionids, STA- South Taurids, OCM – October Ursae Majorids, EGE – epsilon Geminids, NUE – nu Eridanids, SPO – sporadics

0400 – 0500 EDT (0800 – 0900 UT), Teff: 1 hour, no breaks. Limiting magnitude of sky: 6.5, sky conditions: clear, Facing: southeast.
1 EGE: -3
1 OCM: +2
2 STA:+2(1), +4(1)
1 “Other Taurid”: +3
6 ORI: +2(1), +3(2), +4(3)
8 SPO: +1(1), +2(1), +3(3), +4(3)

19 total meteors. The -3 EGE and a couple of the sporadics left trains behind them, the -3 EGE was an intense blue-white in coloration..

0500 – 0600 EDT (0900 – 1000 UT), Teff: 1 hour, no breaks. Limiting magnitude of sky: variable. sky conditions: 20% degradation – cirrus clouds, Facing: southeast
2 EGE: +3(1), +4(1)
1 NUE: +3
1 STA: +2(1)
1 “other Taurid”: +4
7 ORI: +2(1), +3(3), +4(3)
10 SPO: +1(1), +2(1), +3(4), +4(3), +5(1)

22 total meteors. 1 of the ORIs, and 3 of the SPOs left nice trains behind them.

Overall, there was a slight uptick in the Orionid activity; however, the meteors were mostly very faint and short, as Orionids usually are. The spectacular -3 EGE in the first hour was the highlight of the session for sure. I’ve seen many of these meteors over the years, but none have come close to being this bright. It was a real treat!

October 17/18, 2020
I had a very unexpected and appreciated 90 minute opportunity to see the Orionids this morning (4:55 – 6:25 a.m., Oct. 17/18, 2020). I happened to wake up at about 4:30 a.m., when I looked out and up, I was stunned to see a sky full of stars looking right back down at me! It had been raining for most of the night. So, I high-tailed it out to Fairgrounds overflow lot and was greeted by a very clear, dark sky adorned with stars and winter Milky Way. I sent my thank you prayers skyward…
There in those 90 minutes, I counted 49 total meteors with 24 of them being Orionids. They’re definitely picking up! I had a nice “mini-burst” of them with 6 being seen in just ten minutes (5:35 – 5:45 a.m.) during the first hour. No real bright meteors appeared this morning, most of the Orionids were classic – that is, short, fast, and faint. Only two of them even reached +2 in magnitude! Still, they count though. Here’s the summary of the observational data I was able to get from this morning.

Date: October 17/18, 2020, Observer: Paul Jones, Location: overflow parking area of St. Johns County Fairgrounds, St. Augustine, Florida (latitude: 29.76 N, Longitude: 81.45 W)

Observed for radiants:
ORI – Orionids, STA- South Taurids, OCM – October Ursae Majorids, EGE – epsilon Geminids, NUE – nu Eridanids, SPO – sporadics

0455 – 0555 EDT (0855 – 0955 UT), Teff: 1 hour, no breaks. Limiting magnitude of sky: 6.5, sky conditions: clear, Facing: south.
2 EGE: +3(2)
2 STA:+2(1), +3(1)
15 ORI: +2(1), +3(7), +4(5), +5(2)
10 SPO: +2(1), +3(4), +4(3), +5(2)

29 total meteors

0555 – 0625 EDT (0955 – 1025 UT), Teff: .5 hour, no breaks. Limiting magnitude of sky: 6.5, sky conditions: clear, Facing: south
1 EGE: +3
1 OCM: +3
2 STA: +2(2)
9 ORI: +2(1), +3(5), +4(3)
7 SPO: +1(1), +2(1), +3(3), +4(1), +5(1)

20 total meteors. 1 of the ORIs, and 2 of the SPOs left short trains behind them.

Since I was not able to get out on Oct. 16/17, 2020 morning due to clouds, there was a noticeable increase in Orionid activity during this morning’s session. Unlike my two previous sessions however, there were no very bright meteors of any kind observed this morning.
One thing I noted this morning was that since the Orionid radiant was positioned high on the meridian during my session, (actually, almost on my zenith), the Orionids could be seen shooting out all over the entire sky, spraying out in all directions from the source in the upraised club of Orion. I really had to maintain my attention at a high level to catch them as they were appearing basically everywhere within the entire dome of the night sky. It really hit home to me on how important developing one’s peripheral vision is to spotting meteors better.
I’ve been observing the Orionids for decades, and one of the many fascinating aspects of this meteor shower to me is its tendency to produce striking and somewhat prolonged, what I call, “mini-bursts”! There will be sudden, marked ramp ups in the number of Orionids seen for periods of time that can last anywhere from a few minutes up to perhaps half an hour. Most of the meteors that occur during these “mini-bursts” are exceptionally faint and short, rarely above +4 in magnitude and they are rarely seen more than twenty degrees from the radiant. Their paths are mostly less than two degrees long also. Such was the ten-minute or so, “mini-burst” I saw from them this morning.

October 18/19, 2020
Once again, Mother Nature chose to clear the skies out beautifully, so I was able to get in an insane 2 1/2 hour pre-dawn Orionid meteor watch from the Fairgrounds this morning (4:00 – 6:30 a.m., Oct. 18/19) under superbly clear, dark skies! The Orionids really “lit up” this morning, both in terms of quantity and quality.
In total, I had 95 meteors in the 2 1/2 hours with 47 of them being Orionids! Orionid counts were: 14, 23, and 10). I had at least a dozen Orionids of zero magnitude or brighter, including a stunning, yellow-white, -4 fireball at 5:22 a.m. that almost occulted Sirius and left a train hanging on the sky for several seconds – WOW! I also picked a orangey-white, -3 South Taurid near-fireball off the western horizon, just before 6:00 a.m. I was completely blown away by what I saw this morning… Here is the complete report.

Date: October 18/19, 2020, Observer: Paul Jones, Location: overflow parking area of St. Johns County Fairgrounds, St. Augustine, Florida (latitude: 29.76 N, Longitude: 81.45 W)

Observed for radiants:
ORI – Orionids, STA- South Taurids, NTA – North Taurids, CTA – chi Taurids, EGE – epsilon Geminids, NUE – nu Eridanids, OER – omicron Eridanids, LMI – Leonis Minorids, SPO – sporadics

0400 – 0500EDT (0800 – 0900 UT), Teff: 1 hour, no breaks. Limiting magnitude of sky: 6.5, sky conditions: clear, Facing: south
2 EGE: +3(2)
3 STA:+1(1), +2(1), +3(1)
1 NUE: +4
14 ORI: 0(1), +1(1), +2(2), +3(4), +4(3), +5(3)
10 SPO: +1(1), +2(1), +3(3), +4(3), +5(2)

30 total meteors. 3 of the 14 ORIs, 1 of the 3 STAs, and 2 of the 10 SPOs left short trains behind them.

0500 – 0600 EDT (0900 – 1000 UT), Teff: 1 hour, no breaks. Limiting magnitude of sky: 6.5, sky conditions: clear, Facing: south
1 EGE: +2
1 OCM: +3
4 STA: -3(1), +1(1), +2(2)
23 ORI: -4(1), -1(3), 0(3), +1(2), +2(3), +3(5), +4(3), +5(3)
1 OER: +3
13 SPO: 0(1), +1(2), +2(1), +3(4), +4(3), +5(2)

43 total meteors. 10 of the 23 ORIs, 2 of the 4 STAs, and 2 of the 13 SPOs left trains behind them. The -4 ORIs train lasted for about 4 seconds in the sky and the meteor was blue white in color. The -3 STA was seen about 2 degrees above the western horizon and was orange white in color, with a slight train.

0600 – 0630 EDT (1000 – 1030 UT), Teff: 0.5 hour, no breaks. Limiting magnitude of sky: variable6.5, sky conditions: 25% degradation due to twilight, Facing: south
1 EGE: +2
3 STA: +1(1), +3(1), +4
10 ORI: -1(1), 0(1), +1(2), +2(2), +3(2), +4(1), +5(1)
1 LMI: +3
7 SPO: 0(1), +2(2), +3(2), +4(1), +5(1)

22 total meteors.

The Orionids really picked up in activity from yesterday morning, although there was no noticeable “mini-burst” from them this morning that I saw, at least. The Orionid activity this morning was very even distributed with little obvious clumping effect. They also increased quite a bit in both brightness of the meteors and markedly in train production. There also seemed to be a slight uptick in the South Taurids as well. In addition to the several negative magnitude Orionid meteors, I also saw a stationary +1 Orionid meteor.
We are hoping that the trend towards clear pre-dawn hours will hold, as it has been a remarkable gift to be able to observe these past few mornings under such clear and dark skies.

October 24/25, 2020
I had an unexpected, two-hour meteor session for the post-maximum Orionids this morning. After five straight overcast mornings, I awoke at 3:30 a.m. this morning to find star-studded skies. I was out 4:00 – 6:30 a.m. at the Fairgrounds and had 77 total meteors with 42 of them being Orionids! They were still hitting pretty good this morning indeed.
There were several highlights during the watch – a stunning (what I believe was) piece of re-entering space debris that split the northern sky in a blazing deep orange streak, just after I settled down for the watch; a golden yellow, -2 Orionid shooting NE in Cancer the Crab; a vivid yellow, -1 member of the Leonis Minorid radiant; and a bright reddish, -1 member of the omicron Eridanid radiant hit just below Mars in the deep western sky. Overall Orionid counts for the two full hours were 17 and 22. Here is the complete report.

Date: October 24/25, 2020, Observer: Paul Jones, Location: overflow parking area of St. Johns County Fairgrounds, St. Augustine, Florida (latitude: 29.76 N, Longitude: 81.45 W)

Observed for radiants:
ORI – Orionids, STA- South Taurids, NTA – North Taurids, CTA – chi Taurids, EGE – epsilon Geminids, NUE – nu Eridanids, OER – omicron Eridanids, LMI – Leonis Minorids, SPO – sporadics

0400 – 0500 EDT (0800 – 0900 UT), Teff: 1 hour, no breaks. Limiting magnitude of sky: 6.5, sky conditions: clear, Facing: south
1 EGE: +3
2 STA: +2(1), +3(1)
17 ORI: +1(1), +2(3), +3(6), +4(4), +5(3)
9 SPO: -2(1), +1(1), +2(1), +3(4), +4(1), +5(1)

29 total meteors. 4 of the 17 ORIs, 1 of the 2 STAs, and 2 of the 10 SPOs left short trains behind them. The -2 sporadic may have been a piece of re-entering space debris, it was deep orange in color, very slow-moving, tracking due west to east, and ended in a shower of range sparks at the terminal burst. It did not line up with the Taurid radiants.

0500 – 0600 EDT (0900 – 1000 UT), Teff: 1 hour, no breaks. Limiting magnitude of sky: 6.5, sky conditions: clear, Facing: south
1 EGE: +2
1 STA: +1
1 OER: -1
1 LMI: -1
22 ORI: -2(1), 0(2), +1(2), +2(4), +3(5), +4(5), +5(3)
14 SPO: 0(1), +1(3), +2(3), +3(4), +4(2), +5(1)

40 total meteors. 9 of the 22 ORIs, 1 STA, OER, and LMI, and 5 of the 14 SPOs left trains behind them. The -2 ORI train lasted for about 2 seconds in the sky and the meteor was golden-yellow in color. The -1 OER was deep reddish-orange, and the -1 LMI was vivid yellow.

0600 – 0630 EDT (1000 – 1030 UT), Teff: .5 hour, no breaks. Limiting magnitude of sky: 6.5, sky conditions: 25% degradation due to twilight, Facing: south
1 EGE: +2
1 STA: +1
3 ORI: +2(1), +3(2)
3 SPO: +3(2), +4(1)

8 total meteors

The meteor activity in the first hour was fairly mundane, outside of the amazing -2 sporadic that started the session. Most of the Orionids seen in that first hour were faint, short and very fast, as were a majority of the other meteors. I struggled at times to maintain alertness. All that changed quite a bit during the second hour however!
The Orionids picked up both in quantity and especially in quality, and the other radiant sources also contributed bright and colorful meteors in the very busy second hour. My alertness was restored and I was picking up more faint meteors in between the bright ones. At one point about mid-way through the hour, I had three meteors (1 ORI and 2 SPOs) all hit within two seconds of each other around the sky (almost simultaneous)! It’s always cool when that happens…;o). There were not any of the very peculiar Orionid “mini-spurts” noticed during the watch however.
The session left me wondering heavily about just how strong the Orionids rates had gotten at the maximum two mornings prior. Seeing over 20 per hour from them 48 hours after the predicted maximum is not unheard of though, and dovetails well with their characteristic “plateau-maximum” behavior.

October 25/26, 2020
We had another very nice 2 1/2 hour Orionid meteor watch this morning (4:00 – 6:30 a.m.) from the Fairgrounds. This time I was joined by several ACAC members and NEFAS friends under sharp, clear skies. The Orionids are finally beginning to wane now, although we still saw quite a few. All told in the 2 full hours, I had 51 total meteors with 26 of them Orionids. Hourly Orionid counts were 14 and 12. I also had 8 Taurids. Highlights of the watch were: a slow, -4 sporadic fireball at 4:19 a.m., a bright yellow -3 North Taurid, a lovely -3 Leonis Minorid seen casually after 6:00 a.m., and two bright Orionids (a -2 and a -1). Here’s the full report.

Date: October 25/26, 2020, Observer: Paul Jones, Location: overflow parking area of St. Johns County Fairgrounds, St. Augustine, Florida (latitude: 29.76 N, Longitude: 81.45 W)

0400 – 0500 EDT (0800 – 0900 UT), Teff: 1 hour, no breaks. Limiting magnitude of sky: 6.5, sky conditions: clear, Facing: south
4 STA: +2(2), +3(2)
14 ORI: +1(1), +2(2), +3(5), +4(3), +5(3)
8 SPO: -4(1), +2(1), +3(3), +4(2), +5(1)

26 total meteors. 3 of the 14 ORIs, 1 of the 4 STAs, and 2 of the 8 SPOs left short trains behind them. The -4 sporadic fireball hit at 4:19 a.m., deep in the SE sky and left a nice train. Too far south to be a Taurid and too slow to be an OER.

0500 – 0600 EDT (0900 – 1000 UT), Teff: 1 hour, no breaks. Limiting magnitude of sky: 6.5, sky conditions: clear, Facing: south
3 STA: +1(1), +2(2)
1 NTA: -3
12 ORI: -2(1), -1(1), +1(2), +2(3), +3(3), +4(2), +5(1)
9 SPO: 0(1), +1(3), +2(3), +3(4), +4(2), +5(1)

40 total meteors. 6 of the 12 ORIs, 1 STA, the -3 NTA, and 5 of the 9 SPOs left trains behind them. The -2 ORI train lasted for about 2 seconds in the sky and the meteor was golden-yellow in color, as was the -1 ORI. The -3 NTA was deep yellowish-orange.

The second hour this morning was again very interesting. Again, there was an uptick in the number of bright meteors of all types. The hour started out with me seeing 5 ORIs in the first ten minutes, then the ORIs almost disappeared for most of the hour, then we had another brief spurt of them just before the end of the hour.
The last half hour (6 – 6:30 a.m.) produced the only LMI and EGE that I saw on the entire watch, although I was only causally observing. The LMI was a beautiful, reddish burst at about -3, almost directly overhead, that left a short train hanging on the sky. Only a couple more ORIs were seen that last half hour, as the decline in the activity from them became more and more apparent.