(meteorobs) Mojave Geminids Day 1

[Robert Lunsford]

I began the three hour drive near 2pm on Wednesday December 12. The 
temperature was 70F plus the sky was perfectly clear from home but as I 
drove north I could see some cirrus on the northern horizon. These clouds 
gained in altitude as I drove further north. The snow in the mountains north 
and east of Los Angeles was beautiful. I should have left earlier as the 
traffic was heavy all the way through San Bernardino ( approx. the first 100 
miles). The traffic thinned as I drove into the San Bernardino mountains and 
down into the desert towards Victorville. The temperature on the desert side 
of the mountains was twenty degrees cooler than the coast. The sky was now 
filled with cirrus, many of them artificially created contrails left behind 
by the many flights between LA and Vegas. I reached my destination east of 
Barstow a little after 5pm and it was getting dark. I met Robin Gray at the 
campsite and we soon started a campfire to keep warm. The fire also provided 
a source to make some quick carne asada burritos. As it became totally dark 
the sky improved and it appeared we would be in for a fine night of meteor 
watching. We caught a quick nap near 7pm and rose just after 11pm. There 
were just a few patches of clouds so we started counting near the bottom of 
the hour. In that first hour I counted 57 meteors, 46 of them being Geminid 
meteors. By the end of this hour we noticed the clouds thickening in the 
north and the west. We weren't alarmed as we could continue through thin 
cirrus. Unfortunately we soon noticed the jets passing above these clouds 
indicating that they were much lower than anticipated. These altostratus 
clouds struck us around 1:15am and we were forced to stop counting. I sat in 
the chair another half hour but conditions were still worsening. I thought I 
would check out Mars through the telescope while there were still brakes in 
the clouds. By the time I was set up both Mars and Saturn were gone. I then 
napped in the back of the truck, checking the sky every hour but the sky 
remained overcast the remainder of the night.

Totals for the night 12/13/07: 2.00 hours 79 Meteors, 62 GEM, 2 COM, 2 HYD, 
2 MON,  11 SPO
Temperature/Relative Humidity: 27F/81%

Bob Lunsford