(meteorobs) Memories of a September Morn...

Robert Lunsford lunro.imo.usa at cox.net
Sun Aug 26 23:34:41 EDT 2007


Back in 1994, I had seen them once, perhaps twice. The Alpha Aurigids were 
nothing extraordinary. They were Perseid-like, usually swift and bright. Not 
more than a handful appeared each year. They were usually expected to show 
up on September 1, sometimes the last night of August. On this particular 
night in 1994, I arrived at my viewpoint earlier than usual. I don't know 
why, I certainly was not expecting anything unusual. My observing buddy 
George had already napped and had a thirty minute head start in observing. 
I'm certain he had not seen anything unusual up to that point. It was near 
12:30am local time and the stars of Auriga were low in the northeast. The 
sky was pristine that night, nothing unusual as we were located 3000 feet 
above all the lights and haze of San Diego. George faced east that night as 
he always did. It was the darkest part of the sky. Being thirteen years ago, 
I cannot recall if we were observing from his observatory or the ground. 
Since it was early in our partnership I believe we were watching from the 
ground. This was a time before our encounters with illegal aliens and 
mountain lions. I decided to face northeast and let the Alpha Aurigid 
radiant swing through my field of view as it rose toward the zenith. It was 
not too long into our session were saw what had to be the meteor of the 
night. It started near the hill in the northeast and shot directly overhead 
toward the southwest. I don't know if we had coined the term "earthgrazer" 
back then but it sure was one of them. It wasn't a particularly bright 
meteor, perhaps magnitude 0 or +1. It was though distinctly blue and had a 
faint halo surrounding the head of the meteor. It did not have a persistent 
train but produced a trail that was visible for ten degrees behind the 
meteor. This meteor seemed to last forever as it lasted a full three 
seconds. This is much longer than your average meteor that vanishes in a 
half second or less. I think I recall saying "hey, that was an Alpha 
Aurigid". George may have said it first but we both agreed it was an AUR.

OK, the forty mile trip was worth it tonight. I can go the remainder of the 
morning without seeing another meteor and still be satisfied. For the next 
five minutes or so there was a deep discussion of whether that first AUR was 
fast or slow. Back then we rated velocity on a 1-5 scale. The duration was 
much longer than usual but it also covered approximately ninety degrees in 
three seconds (pretty darn fast!). All this chit-chat ended quickly when 
another earthgrazer, identical to the first, appeared. It did not take us 
long to realize that something special was going on. Soon after another one 
shot high then one low along the eastern horizon. This was really getting 
exciting! If the display is this good now wait until the radiant gets 
higher. Most of them shot directly overhead. I saw a few that George missed 
low in the sky and he saw some the started higher in the sky and shot beyond 
the zenith. To see something like this, totally unexpected, was the best 
thing to happen. It made up for all those long winter nights freezing our 
fannies and seeing practically nothing.

During the first hour we recorded approximately fifteen of these meteors. 
They were all bright and long-lasting. Suddenly during the second hour it 
was as if someone turned the spigot off. Only three were seen the second 
hour and just a dribble the remainder of the night. Well so much for an 
all-night display. It was cool while it lasted and certainly better than 
what we expected.

Later we would learn we witnessed the down slope of this outburst, the first 
since 1986. It also seems that George and I were the only ones to witness 
this display. That's surprising as the radiant was much better placed for 
east coast observers. We should remember that this was a time before 
widespread use of the internet and meteorobs. A time when we relied on WGN 
(the IMO journal), Meteor News, and Sky&Telescope for news on meteor 
showers. We have come a long way since 1994 with instant news and precise 
predictions of upcoming outbursts. Well, we shall see just how "precise" we 
have become as another Alpha Aurigid outburst is predicted for this upcoming 
Saturday. This one favors the west coast (sorry east coast, you missed your 
chance in 1994!). I'll be out there, now armed with an intensified video 
camera in addition to the regular charts and clipboards. Regardless of what 
happens you will be the first to know.

Clear Skies!

Bob Lunsford 



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