Here’s my report for the Orionids.  I was only able to observe on one morning, four days after the peak.  Fortunately, the Orionids have a “plateau” of near-maximum rates that can last for a few days.  The morning of the 26th cleared, so I drove to Bootland Farm to setup for a few hours until morning dawn.  It was raining as I drove, but when I arrived at the site, the sky was all clear with a nice transparency!  A fast Orionid and a long, slow Taurid were casually seen in the north as I setup my chair.  A possible very weak aurora was visible, but without any discernible structure.  The temperature was cool near 0C, but comfortable.

Unfortunately, the sky was clear for only 20 minutes (with five Orionids seen) before a fast moving cloud completely obstructed the sky.  I took a look at the satellite imagery on my phone, and it appeared to be quite small, so I decided to wait and have a short snooze.  My patience paid off as 35 minutes later, just after 4am EDT, the sky was once again all clear, and I could resume observing.  I was treated to some nice activity.

The Orionids were surprisingly active over the next two hours until dawn, without visual hourly rates of 13 and 16.  Many were on the faint side, but a few reached the mag -1 to +1 range.  The nicest Orionid was seen at 5:02am EDT – a foreshortened mag 0 blue-green streak near the radiant that left a two seconds train.

The forty degrees long +1 Leo Minorid seen at 3:20am EDT, also with a two seconds train, was also quite memorable.

Observation October 25/26 2019, 07:10-10:05 UT (03:10-06:05 EDT)
Location: Bootland Farm (Stewartville), Ontario, Canada
(45°23’N 76°29’W)

Observed showers:
Andromedids (AND) – 00:43 (011) +24
Northern Taurids (NTA) – 02:50 (043) +19
Southern Taurids (STA) – 03:04 (046) +12
chi Taurids (CTA) – 03:42 (055) +25
Orionids (ORI) – 06:44 (101) +16
nu Eridanids (NUE) – 07:14 (109) +13
Leonis Minorids (LMI) – 11:00 (165) +35

07:10-07:30 UT (03:10-03:30 EDT); clear; 3/5 trans; F 1.00; LM 6.30; facing SE50 deg; teff 0.333 hr
ORI: five: +1; +4; +5(3)
STA: one: +4
LMI: one: +1
Sporadics: none
Total meteors: Seven

08:05-09:05 UT (04:05-05:05 EDT); clear; 3/5 trans; F 1.00; LM 6.30; facing SE50 deg; teff 1.00 hr
ORI: thirteen: 0; +1(2); +2(3); +3; +4(4); +5(2)
STA: three: +3; +4(2)
LMI: three: 0; +4; +5
NTA: two: +1; +3
NUE: one: -1
Sporadics: nine: +2; +3(5); +4(2); +5
Total meteors: Thirty-one

09:05-10:05 UT (05:05-06:05 EDT); clear; 3/5 trans; F 1.00; LM 6.30; facing SE50 deg; teff 1.00 hr
ORI: sixteen: -1; 0; +1(2); +2(2); +3; +4(6); +5(3)
NTA: one: +5
STA: one: 0
Sporadics: seven: +3(4); +4; +5(2)
Total meteors: Twenty-five

I packed it in just as the thin crescent moon with earthshine was clearing the tree line.  It was quite beautiful!

Clear skies,

Pierre Martin
Ottawa, Ontario