(meteorobs) Ursids Obs. 12/22/08 - Greenbelt, MD

[George Gliba]

     Ursid Meteor Shower - Greenbelt, Maryland 390016N 0765233W
             December 21/22, 2008 - 00:09 to 01:09 UT

     I was out in the early part of the night in hope of catching
one or two Ursids at the Northway Fields in old Greenbelt, Maryland,
near the Greenbelt Observatory. As it was a work night and cold, I
decided to observe for only an hour. To my surprise, despite the
rather low altitude of the Ursid radiant (~25 degs), I was able to
see four Ursids from 00:09 to 01:09 UT. The best Ursids was a 0
magnitude yellow beauty seen at 00:59 UT, and a 1st magnitude yellow
-orange one seen at 01:08 UT. After I was done and starting my walk
back home, I saw a very nice 3rd magnitude blue-white Ursid with a
long trail that went above the Pleiades going south at around 01:20
UT. Below is a short summary of what was seen.


  Time (UT)   LM   %Obst. URS  ANT  SPO  Total  Comments
00:09-01:09   5.0    5%    4    1    3     8    some haze


Magnitude Distributions (00:09-00:09 UT - LM=5.0, some haze)

     0   1   2   3   4   total Ave.
URS  1   1   1   1   0    4    1.5
ANT  0   1   0   0   0    1    1.0
SPO  0   0   1   1   1    3    3.0

Clear Skies,
GWG