(meteorobs) Observations from Southern California

[Robert Lunsford]

I'm a bit too tired to list my data again so I just directed you to the IMO 
site. This morning presented one of the most impressive skies I have seen. I 
jumped out of the truck and said WOW. An LM count overhead in Pegasus 
yielded a result of +7.11. Just the slightest hint of light pollution was 
visible to the northwest. I looked to the north and wondered what those 
bright stars on the horizon were. Suddenly it dawned on me its the Big 
Dipper. The bottom of the bowl was missing so that is what threw me off. I 
don't recall them being so bright just above the horizon. Overhead the stars 
appeared as if they were just out of reach. I have been up to the mountains 
several times since the 2006 Orionids, but the moon was always present so I 
really appreciated the dark skies.

I meant to arrive in time to start at 1am but I needed another hour of sleep 
to make the drive safely. Activity was pretty much constant the entire three 
hours. There were a lot of bright ones this morning with he best being -4. 
Both Perseids and sporadics were bright. There were a lot of borderline 
Perseids that could have been sporadics. I called them PER's and MetRec 
(which produced the video results) called them SPO's. There seemed to be a 
radiant in southern Perseus or northern Auriga. There were at least ten 
meteors from that region of the sky that were very Perseid-like.

If I can get some sleep today I'll try and start earlier tonight. I suppose 
to meet up with Joseph Assmus and family tonight on the summit of Mt. 
Laguna. It looks like another clear night. I was surprised that I was the 
only soul out at the viewpoint this morning. There is usually lots of people 
goofing off up there on the weekends. Maybe they are waiting until Sunday 
night?

Clear Skies!

Bob Lunsford
Chula Vista, CA