(meteorobs) November 17, 2004 Meteor Observations from California

Robert Lunsford lunro.imo.usa at cox.net
Thu Nov 18 14:25:57 EST 2004


I observed for three hours this morning from the Alpine Viewpoint, located
in the foothills of the Laguna Mountain range at an elevation of 850 meters.
As I began watching there were wisps of cirrus near the horizon but the sky
high above was good. During the next 2.5 hours there were times when thin
cirrus would drift overhead and diminish the limiting magnitude but I was
happy just to be able to see any activity. The first hour (1:30-2:30am PST)
saw good sporadic activity but not much else. The second hour
(2:30-3:30am PST) was less active despite the slightly better conditions.
The first half of the third hour (3:30-4:00am PST) was the best as the
Leonids came to life with six shower members. The remaining thirty minutes
offered little activity as the high clouds thickened. By 4:30am PST my
limiting magnitude was near +3.00. I had to be at work by 5:00am so it was
time to go anyway. The highlight of the night occurred at 3:24am PST when
a Leonid fireball shot downward toward the eastern horizon. The green
terminal burst was estimated at -6.

November  17, 2004

0930-1030 UT  0.93  6.23   0 AMO  2 ANT  1 LEO  0 NPX
                                             1 SPX  8 SPO  12  TOTAL

1030-1130 UT  0.95  6.39   1 AMO  1 ANT  2 LEO  3 NPX
                                             0 SPX  3 SPO  10  TOTAL

1130-1230 UT  0.95  5.45   0 AMO  1 ANT  7 LEO  0 NPX
                                             0 SPX  3 SPO  11 TOTAL

TOTALS:          2.83  6.02   1 AMO  4 ANT  10 LEO  3 NPX
                                             1 SPX   14 SPO  33 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. 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
east at an altitude of 50 degrees during the entire session. No breaks
were taken.  Time was lost for plotting and data entry. AMO =
Alpha Monocerotids. ANT = Antihelion radiant (Taurids), LEO =
Leonids, NPX = Northern Apex, SPX =  Southern Apex and SPO =
Sporadics (random activity).

Location: Alpine Viewpoint 116 40' W  32 50' N,  Elevation = 850m

Bortle Scale Estimate: Class 4: Rural / Suburban Transition

Beginning Temperature/Relative Humidity: 53 F (12 C) 60%
Ending              "               "             "        52 F (11 C) 60%

MAGNITUDES:

AMO:  0 (0)  +1 (0) +2 (0) +3 (0) +4 (1) +5 (0)  AVE: +4.00
ANT :  0 (0)  +1 (0) +2 (4) +3 (0) +4 (0) +5 (0)  AVE: +2.00
LEO:  -6 (1)  -2 (1)  -1 (1)  0 (2) +1 (2) +2 (2)
          +3 (0) +4 (1) +5 (0) +6 (0)                        AVE: +0.10
NPX: 0 (0) +1 (0) +2 (1) +3 (0) +4 (1) +5 (1)     AVE: +3.67
SPX:  0 (0) +1 (0) +2 (0) +3 (0) +4 (1) +5 (0)     AVE: +4.00
SPO:  0 (0) +1 (0) +2 (0) +3 (5) +4 (7) +5 (1)     AVE: +3.71

Bob Lunsford
San Diego, CA USA





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