(meteorobs) December 13, 2004 Meteor Observations from California
Robert Lunsford
lunro.imo.usa at cox.net
Wed Dec 15 22:37:55 EST 2004
Gee, it took nearly another six hours to complete this report as there are
tons of data! I had the great pleasure to observe with one of the meteorobs
originals, none other than Mr. Wayne Hally. We had observed together just
once before in March 2000, outside of Tallahassee, Florida. Another
long-time meteorobs member and veteran observer, Joseph Assmus, completed
the trio. The San Diego weather could not have cooperated more. There was a
dense marine layer, which is unusual for this time of year. The light
pollution from San Diego was held to a minimum. The sky was also transparent
as the Milky Way could be seen right down to the horizon. We watched from an
asphalt clearing in Descanso near the old Zay Observatory. The firestorm of
October 2003 completely burned all the vegetation in this area, allowing
good views in the southern half of the sky. Meteor activity was hot and
heavy the entire session. There very few minutes that did not produce any
activity. There was a nice mix of bright and dim meteors. The bright
Geminids were often colored. Orange was the predominate color but there were
also impressive golden and blue members. This was the best non-Leonid
session in many years. While the Perseids were impressive earlier this year,
the Geminids retained their "King of the Meteor Showers" title with this
display.
December 13, 2004
0600-0700 UT 1.00 6.54 2 ANT 0 COM 76 GEM 1 HYD 1 MON
0 PUP 10 SPO 90 TOTAL
0700-0800 UT 1.00 6.42 2 ANT 0 COM 69 GEM 0 HYD 0 MON
0 PUP 13 SPO 84 TOTAL
0800-0900 UT 1.00 6.30 2 ANT 0 COM 77 GEM 2 HYD 1 MON
1 PUP 6 SPO 89 TOTAL
0900-1000 UT 1.00 6.28 2 ANT 0 COM 85 GEM 2 HYD 2 MON
0 PUP 9 SPO 100 TOTAL
1000-1100 UT 1.00 6.23 1 ANT 2 COM 99 GEM 0 HYD 1 MON
1 PUP 13 SPO 117 TOTAL
1100-1200 UT 1.00 6.23 0 ANT 1 COM 99 GEM 1 HYD 0 MON
1 PUP 14 SPO 116 TOTAL
TOTALS: 6.00 6.33 9 ANT 3 COM 505 GEM 6 HYD
5 MON 3 PUP 65 SPO
596 TOTAL METEORS
The first column gives the period watched in Universal Time (UT)
which is PST + 8 hours. The second column gives the percent of that
particular hour actually spent observing the sky (1.00 = 100%, 0.99
= 99%). Time is lost for breaks and plotting. I was recording data on a
cassette recorder tonight so each hour was a full sixty minutes of
observing. No breaks other were taken as I was able to take the
recorder with me as I occasionally stood up and stretched. The third
column gives the average limiting magnitude estimated during each
period. The last several columns list the activity for expected active
radiants during each period. Quite often no activity is observed and
rates equal zero. Tonight I was facing south with my field of view
centered at 50 degrees altitude. ANT = Antihelion radiant (Xi Orionids),
COM = Coma Berenicids, GEM = Geminids, HYD = Sigma Hydrids,
MON = Monocerotids, PUP = Puppid/Velids and SPO = Sporadics
(random activity).
Location: Descanso 116 37' 35" W 32 50' 18" N Elevation 1020m
Bortle Scale Estimate: Class 2: Typical truly dark site
Beginning Temperature/Relative Humidity: 49 F (9 C) 64%
Ending " " " 54 F (12 C) 61%
MAGNITUDES OF INDIVIDUAL METEORS PER RADIANT:
ANT: -4 (1) +1 (2) +2 (2) +3 (1) +4 (2) +5 (1) AVG: +2.00
COM 0 (1) +1 (0) +2 (3) +3 (0) +4 (0) +5 (0) AVG: +2.00
GEM: -6 (1) -5 (1) -3 (2) -2 (14) -1 (20) 0 (42)
+1 (67) +2 (103) +3 (119) +4 (105) +5 (31) AVG: +2.26
HYD: 0 (0) +1 (1) +2 (2) +3 (1) +4 (2) +5 (0) AVG: +2.67
MON: 0 (0) +1 (1) +2 (0) +3 (1) +4 (1) +5 (2) AVG: +3.60
PUP: 0 (0) +1 (0) +2 (1) +3 (1) +4 (1) +5 (0) AVG: +3.00
SPO: -2 (1) -1 (0) 0 (1) +1 (5) +2 (18) +3 (12)
+4 (21) +5 (7) +6 (0) AVG: +3.60
GEMINID RATES IN 5 MINUTE BINS AND MAGNITUDES
XXXX-XXXX should read XXXX through XXXX produced:
UT Time
0600-0604 7 GEMINIDS, 2 (4), 3 (2), 4
0605-0609 6 -1, 0, 1, 2, 4, 5
0610-0614 5 0, 2, 3 (3)
0615-0619 6 -2, 1, 2, 3 (2), 4
0620-0624 5 0, 1, 3, 4, 5
0625-0629 9 1, 2 (3), 3, 4 (4)
0630-0634 6 -1 (2), 2 (2), 3, 4
0635-0639 10 -1, 0 (2), 2 (4), 3 (2), 4
0640-0644 3 1, 2, 5
0645-0649 2 1, 5
0650-0654 12 -1, 0, 1, 2 (2), 3 (3), 4 (3), 5
0655-0659 5 0, 1, 2 (2), 4
0700-0704 8 -2, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 (2), 5
0705-0709 6 -2, 1 (2), 2 (2), 4
0710-0714 15 -1, 1, 2 (2), 3 (2), 4 (6), 5 (3)
0715-0719 4 1, 2, 3 (2)
0720-0724 4 1, 2 (2), 5
0725-0729 5 -1, 2, 3 (2), 5
0730-0734 7 1, 2, 3 (4), 4
0735-0739 4 0, 1, 3, 4
0740-0744 7 -2, 2, 3 (2), 4 (2), 5
0745-0749 3 1, 2, 3
0750-0754 3 -1, 2, 5
0755-0759 4 -1, 3 (3)
0800-0804 9 -1, 1 (2), 3 (2), 4 (4)
0805-0809 6 -5, -3, -2, 0 (2), 1
0810-0814 8 0, 2, 3 (3), 4 (2), 5
0815-0819 13 -1, 1 (2), 2 (5), 3 (3), 4 (2)
0820-0824 5 0, 1, 2, 3, 4
0825-0829 2 3 (2)
0830-0834 4 2 (3), 3
0835-0839 8 0 (2), 3 (3), 4 (2)
0840-0844 5 -1, 1, 3, 4 (2)
0845-0849 4 1, 4 (3)
0850-0854 8 1 (2), 2, 3, 4 (2), 5 (2)
0855-0859 5 0, 1 (2), 3 (2)
0900-0904 11 -1, 0 (2), 1, 3 (4), 5 (3)
0905-0909 5 -1, 1 (2), 4 (2)
0910-0914 3 -6, 0, 2
0915-0919 12 -2, -1 (2), 0, 1 (2), 2, 3, 4 (3), 5
0920-0924 7 1 (2), 3 (3), 4, 5
0925-0929 8 -2, 0, 2 (2), 3 (2), 4, 5
0930-0934 2 1,2
0935-0939 8 1 (3), 3 (3), 4, 5
0940-0944 7 1 (3), 2, 3 (3)
0945-0949 4 2 (2), 3, 4
0950-0954 11 0, 1, 2 (2), 3 (2), 4 (4), 5
0955-0959 7 2, 3 (2), 4 (4)
1000-1004 8 0, 2, 3 (3), 4 (3)
1005-1009 11 0 (3), 1 (2), 2 (4), 3 (2)
1010-1014 8 -3, -2, -1, 1, 2 (2), 3, 4
1015-1019 8 1 (3), 2, 3 (2), 4 (2)
1020-1024 8 -1, 0, 2, 3, 4 (3), 5
1025-1029 3 0, 4 (2)
1030-1034 9 0 (2), 1 (2), 2, 3 (2), 4, 5
1035-1039 10 0, 1 (2), 2 (4), 3 (2), 4
1040-1044 15 -2, 0, 1 (2), 2 (4), 3 (2), 4
1045-1049 4 -2, 0, 1, 4
1050-1054 4 1, 2 (2), 3
1055-1059 11 -1, 0, 1 (2), 2 (2), 3 (2), 4 (2), 5
1100-1104 17 -2, -1 (2), 0, 2 (5), 3 (4), 4 (3), 5
1105-1109 4 1, 2 (2), 4
1110-1114 5 0, 2 (3), 4
1115-1119 11 0, 1 (2), 2 (3), 3 (3), 4 (2)
1120-1124 8 1 (2), 2. 3 (4), 4
1125-1129 9 -2, 0, 2, 3 (4), 4 (2)
1130-1134 6 -2, 1 (2), 2, 3, 5
1135-1139 10 1, 2 (2), 3 (4), 4 (3)
1140-1144 3 2, 3, 4
1145-1149 6 0 (2), 2, 3, 4, 5
1150-1154 11 1, 2, 3 (3), 4 (5), 5
1155-1159 9 0 (2), 2 (2), 3, 4 (4)
Bob Lunsford
San Diego, CA USA
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