(meteorobs) Perseids in NE Texas: fantastic sky, moderate show, and an extra

[Peter Brunone]

	Well, I was planning to have something to report, but my
recorder broke yesterday, and there was no way I was going to keep
looking down to write on a piece of paper!  In about 45 minutes
(03:30-04:15 Central US time, 09:30-10:15UT), we saw about 15 Perseids
and 4 or 5 sporadics.  About half the Perseids were -3 or brighter, with
no discernible colors.

	The view was stunning.  I never knew I could see the Milky Way
that close to Dallas.  LM must have been around 7 for that.  The
temperature was around 60 degrees Fahrenheit, which is unheard of for
August in Dallas.

	One unexpected treat came when I was looking through 10x50
binocs at a big cluster between Cassiopeia and Perseus; I saw what I
thought at first was a tiny meteor, heading east.  It kept going,
though, at constant velocity, and I thought it might be a plane, but it
didn't strobe.  I can only assume I managed to catch a satellite on its
merry way... Do some of them have an angular velocity similar to but
greater than ours?

Back to work for me...

Peter