(meteorobs) Geminids I - 2007 Dec 7/8
Bruce McCurdy
bmccurdy at telusplanet.net
Sun Dec 16 21:53:43 EST 2007
As my project to observe every major meteor shower in 2007 draws to a
close, I find myself ever more obsessive in my pursuit. As the Geminids
approached I hoped to observe the rise and fall of the shower, preferably
every night from Dec. 10/11 to the 14/15. In the end only the first and
last of those nights was clear. But I found the clear skies beckoning a few
nights earlier on the 7/8, and I managed to get a couple of hours in,
snagging a few early Gems in the process. In total I had three sessions and
10 hours Teff over the course of one week.
For the first time this winter I had to deal with snow cover, which in
2006-07 stretched through six full months -- literally from the Orionids to
the Lyrids (and I have the audio tapes to prove it)! But by early December
winter was here with a vengeance, with temperatures dropping to -25° C. The
sky was "white" with ice crystals reflecting the bright ground, so limiting
magnitude was a modest 5.3-5.5. I took a few readings with our club's Sky
Quality Meter before it succumbed to the cold and called it a night. (It
worked fine again once it warmed up.) I faced SSW and watched Mars cruise
through my field of view during the session. The Red Planet was surrounded
by three radiants, although there was no Moncoerotid activity for me on this
night.
I was extrememly tired during this session, and saw a number of illusory
streaks that I dubbed the Phantasmagorids. In particular when I moved my
head and then stopped the stars seemed to blur for a split second before
stabliziling. I attributed this to observation of neurons in the act of
freezing. :)
Bruce
*****
Observer: Bruce McCurdy, MCCBR
Location: Range Rd 264/Sanctuary Road near Devon, AB @
53.371110, -113.787530
Time: 2007 December 8, 09:00-11:15 UT; Teff = 2.0 hours
Limiting magnitude = 5.3 to 5.5 (SQM = ~20.0)
Method: visual, microscassette recorder and talking watch
Comments in "quotations" are verbatim transcripts
/ = description of meteor in length and duration
~ = description of persistent train in length and duration
Active radiants:
Antihelion (ANT) 05:56 (089) +23
Monocerotids (MON) 06:36 (099) +08
Geminids (GEM) 07:08 (107) +33
Sigma Hydrids (HYD) 08:20 (125) +02
Coma Berenicids (COM) 11:16 (169) +27
09:00 - 10:10; clear; avg. LM = 5.5; facing south 60°; Teff = 1.0 hour
Time type mag comment
----------------------------------
09:00 start
09:02 GEM +2
09:07 GEM +5
09:16 SPO -2 bronze, v.swift
09:25 SPO +4
09:29 ANT +4
09:30 SPO +4
09:30 - 09:40 "Comet break"
09:41 SPO +4
09:44 ANT +2
09:44 GEM +4
09:46 HYD +2
10:06 SPO +4
10:07 HYD +3 near radiant, slow, v.pretty
10:09 SPO +2
***
2 ANT: +2, +4
3 GEM: +2, +4, +5
2 HYD: +2, +3
6 SPO: -2, +2, +4(4)
Total meteors: thirteen
***
10:10 - 10:20 break
10:20 - 11:20; clear; avg. LM = 5.3; facing south 60°; Teff = 1.0 hour
Time type mag comment
----------------------------------
10:26 SPO -1 "That one reminded me of a Perseid"
10:39 SPO +1 / 0.5 s, 10°; ~1.5 s, 10°
10:44 HYD +2 / 0.5 s; near radiant right by Alphard, wake
11:04 GEM -1 brief wake, blue-ish
11:06 ANT +4
11:10 SPO +3
11:12 SPO +2 swift; possible DLM??
***
1 ANT: +4
1 GEM: -1
1 HYD: +2
4 SPO: -1, +1, +2, +3
Total meteors: seven
*****
Observing summary:
Teff = 2.0 hours
3 ANT: +2, +4(2) [avg. = +3.3]
4 GEM: -1, +2, +4, +5 [avg. = +2.5]
3 HYD: +2(2), +3 [avg. = +2.3]
10 SPO: -2, -1, +1, +2(2), +3, +4(4) [avg. = +2.1]
Total meteors: twenty
*****
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