(meteorobs) July 22, 2004 Observations from California

Robert Lunsford lunro.imo.usa at cox.net
Sun Aug 8 18:55:16 EDT 2004


This was my first session since the June Bootids. I watched from the Pine
Valley Viewpoint, on the west side of the Laguna Mountains. Stratus
clouds covered the coastal cities and the sky was impressively dark.
Several limiting magnitude counts exceeded +7.0. Meteor activity
was impressive and on the faint side. I don't believe I have ever had
such a faint average magnitude for my sporadic meteors (+3.68).
Perseids were active this morning as where the "Perseid Pretenders"
from the northern apex radiant.

July 22, 2004

0730-0830 UT  1.00  6.95  2 ANT  0 ACY  3 CAP  1 NDA  0 PAU
                                            1 PER   1 SDA  0 NPX  4 SPO  
                                            12 TOTAL

0830-0930 UT  1.00  6.90  0 ANT  2 ACY  6 CAP  1 NDA  0 PAU
                                            1 PER   1 SDA  3 NPX  5 SPO  
                                            19 TOTAL

0930-1030 UT  1.00  6.89  1 ANT  0 ACY  1 CAP  0 NDA  0 PAU
                                            1 PER   4 SDA  0 NPX  7 SPO  
                                            14 TOTAL

1030-1130 UT  1.00  6.88  0 ANT  2 ACY  2 CAP  0 NDA  1 PAU
                                            3 PER   0 SDA  1 NPX  15 SPO  
                                            24 TOTAL

TOTALS:          4.00  6.91  3 ANT  4 ACY  12 CAP  2 NDA  1 PAU
                                            6 PER   6 SDA  4 NPX  31 SPO  
                                            69 TOTAL


The first column gives the period watched stated in Universal Time (UT)
which is PDT + 7 hours. The second column gives the percent of that
particular hour actually spent observing the sky. Time was lost tonight due
to plotting and data entry on paper. The third column gives the average
limiting magnitude estimated during each period. The last several columns
list the activity seen during each period. I was facing north south at an 
altitude of 50 degrees during the entire session. No breaks were taken. 
ANT = Antihelions, ACY = Alpha Cygnids, CAP = Alpha
Capricornids,  NDA = North Delta Aquarids, PAU = Pisces Austrinids,
PER = Perseids, SDA = South Delta Aquarids, NPX = Northern Apex
and SPO = Sporadics (random activity).

Location: Pine Valley Viewpoint 116 29' 43" W 32 49' 49" N  ELE = 1300 m

Bortle Scale Estimate: Class II Typical Truly Dark Site

Beginning Temperature/Relative Humidity: 67 F (19 C) 39%
Ending              "               "             "        68 F (20 C) 35%

MAGNITUDES:

ANT:  0 (0) +1 (0) +2 (0) +3 (0) +4 (2) +5 (1) +6 (0)  AVE: +4.30
ACY : 0 (1) +1 (0) +2 (1) +3 (2) +4 (0) +5 (0) +6 (0)  AVE: +2.00
CAP:  -1 (1) 0 (2) +1 (1) +2 (1) +3 (1) +4 (5) +5 (1)   AVE: +2.33
NDA : 0 (0) +1 (1) +2 (1) +3 (0) +4 (0) +5 (0) +6 (0)  AVE: +1.50
PAU:  0 (0) +1 (0) +2 (0) +3 (0) +4 (1) +5 (0) +6 (0)  AVE: +4.00
PER :  0 (1) +1 (2) +2 (1) +3 (0) +4 (2) +5 (0) +6 (0)  AVE: +2.00
SDA : 0 (0) +1 (1) +2 (0) +3 (3) +4 (0) +5 (2) +6 (0)  AVE: +3.33
NPX: -1 (1) 0 (1) +1 (0) +2 (0) +3 (1) +4 (1) +5 (0)    AVE: +1.50
SPO: -3 (1) 0 (1) +2 (3) +3 (6) +4 (9) +5 (9) +6 (2)    AVE: +3.68

Bob Lunsford
San Diego, CA USA



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