Continuing 2023 Orionid observations

Well, I (Paul Jones) got back out there again this morning (10/20/2023) for another go at observing early morning Orionids. I had intended to go to the Fairgrounds, but when I got there, thick fog had shrouded the sky almost completely. From experience, I knew that Matanzas Inlet (MI) would be fog-free, so I relocated there, finally arriving a bit before 4:30 am.

MI was indeed fog-free and in one hour (4:25 to 5:25 am) I had 14 Orionids, 2 epsilon Geminids, 2 Taurids and 8 sporadics for 26 total meteors. The best surprise came at 5:11 am as a beautiful -4 Orionid fireball slashed rapidly westward a few degrees below Jupiter. Orionid fireballs are rare, so seeing one like that really was a treat!

Earlier, on the ride up from Palm Coast, I caught a lovely -5, blue-green Taurid fireball fall into the northern horizon through the windshield. It was a two fireball night!!

I'm not sure where I'll end up observing from in the morning, the fog will no doubt descend on the Fairgrounds once again. Two other meteors were noteworthy this morning - a lovely -1 epsilon Geminid that shot south from the radiant early in the watch, followed soon after by a very nice zero magnitude Orionid streaking north from the radiant with a long path and it left a spreading smoke train behind it.

Although fog-free, the other MI scourge ended up got the better of me - no-see-um gnats! They were quite evident during the session and finally caused me to give up after just one hour. I may end up at my new CR 204 location again, as it seemed to stay fog free there this morning as well (and no gnats!!). More to follow...