(meteorobs) Meteor Observations From California July 28, 2004

[Robert Lunsford]

I thought I had better clear off this tape and get this posted
before heading out for tonight's Perseids.

This night had moonlight the first hour. The South Delta
Aquarids were the strongest shower followed closely by the
Perseids. Sporadic rates were on the low side. There was no
sign of activity from the Antihelion radiant or the Alpha Cygnids.
The moon set was probably the highlight of the session. I looked
for aurora in the north after moonset and saw no signs of it. I
guess I should have been out the previous night and looked
toward the east.

Oh Well!

July 28, 2004

0830-0930 UT  1.00  6.45   3 CAP  0 NDA  0 PAU  2 PER
                                            1 SDA   0 SIA   1 NPX   0 SPX
                                            2 SPO 9 TOTAL

0930-1030 UT  1.00  6.68   0 CAP  0 NDA  0 PAU  3 PER
                                            7 SDA   1  SIA   2 NPX  0 SPX
                                            3 SPO 16 TOTAL

1030-1130 UT  1.00  6.68   1 CAP  2 NDA  2 PAU  4 PER
                                            6 SDA   1 SIA    1 NPX  2 SPX
                                            8 SPO  27 TOTAL

TOTALS:          3.00  6.60  4 CAP  2 NDA  2 PAU  9 PER
                                            14 SDA  2 SIA  4 NPX  2 SPX
                                            13 SPO  52 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 south at an altitude
of 50 degrees during the entire session. No breaks were taken.
 CAP = Alpha Capricornids,  NDA = North Delta Aquarids, PAU =
Pisces Austrinids, PER = Perseids, SDA = South Delta Aquarids, SIA =
South Iota 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 III

Beginning Temperature/Relative Humidity: 60 F (16 C) 49%
Ending              "               "             "        62 F (17 C) 40%

MAGNITUDES:

CAP:  0 (1)  +1 (0) +2 (0) +3 (1) +4 (2) +5 (0) +6 (0)  AVE: +2.75
NDA : 0 (0) +1 (0) +2 (1) +3 (1) +4 (0) +5 (0) +6 (0)  AVE: +2.50
PAU:  0 (0) +1 (0) +2 (0) +3 (1) +4 (1) +5 (0) +6 (0)   AVE: +3.50
PER :  -2 (1) 0 (1) +1 (2) +2 (3) +3 (0) +4 (2) +5 (0)   AVE: +1.56
SDA : 0 (2) +1 (2) +2 (2) +3 (4) +4 (2) +5 (2) +6 (0)  AVE: +2.57
SIA :  0 (0) +1 (0) +2 (1) +3 (0) +4 (1) +5 (0) +6 (0)   AVE: +3.00
NPX: 0 (1) +1 (0) +2 (1) +3 (0) +4 (1) +5 (1) +6 (0)   AVE: +2.75
SPX: 0 (0) +1 (0) +2 (0) +3 (0) +4 (1) +5 (1) +6 (0)   AVE: +4.50
SPO: 0 (0) +1 (0) +2 (4) +3 (5) +4 (1) +5 (3) +6 (0)   AVE: +3.23

Bob Lunsford
San Diego, CA USA