(meteorobs) Visual Observations July 28, 2008

[Robert Lunsford]

I was planning to observe on the morning of the 27th but I could not go to
sleep as planned. I was in no shape to drive or view so I ended up
recharging my internal battery that night. The next night I viewed at a
asphalt clearing on Wildwood Glen Lane in Descanso. I won't be using this
site while viewing alone again as some idiots that lived nearby were taking
a hike down the road at 3am, not a very smart thing to do in mountain lion
country. They did not bother me but I certainly did not like the feeling of
these guys walking around behind me.

Well on to the activity. Without moonlight early in the session, the sky was
really impressive. The fog layer was only a few miles to the west so all the
light pollution from the city was blocked. The humidity was also higher than
normal but stars were still visible right down to the horizon. Activity was
fairly good from start to finish. There were a few periods of inactivity but
nothing like what I endured on the 26th. The Delta Aquariids were active
producing 17 meteors during the 3.75 hours. In years past I have seen this
many during one hour. The highest hourly count this morning was 5 for this
shower. Sporadic activity was really high, especially during the third hour
when 16 were seen.

The highlight of the night was not a meteor, but the brightest iridium flare
I have ever seen. I have seen predictions as high as -8 but none of them
ever looked brighter than -5. This one was easily -7 and would have easily
been seen in daylight if looking in the right direction. I was not expecting
this flare it generated a big wow!

Video data from this session will be posted ASAP.
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Observer: Robert Lunsford (LUNRO)
Date: 08-Jul-28 Mean Solar Long: 125.580
Beginning Time (UT) 0815
Ending Time (UT) 1200
Total TeFF: 3.75
 22% Illuminated Moon rose at 0930 UT

LOCATION: Descanso, CA, USA
LONG: 116 35' 00" W LAT: 32 50' 00" N
Elevation: 630 m Bortle Scale: Class 3: Rural Sky
Beginning Temperature/Relative Humidity: 57F (14C) - 89%
Ending Temperature/Relative Humidity: 55F (13C) - 92%
METHOD: Visual Recording on Tape/Video Recording
--------------------------
Showers Observed
CAP 20:24 (306) -10    02-03-00-00    5   Total
ANT 21:08 (317) -14    02-02-01-00    5   Total
SDA 22:36 (339) -17    05-05-03-04   17   Total
PAU 22:44 (341) -30    01-00-00-01    2   Total
PER 01:44 (026) +53    01-03-04-02   10   Total
SPO                              04-09-16-09   38   Total

Hourly Counts               15-22-24-16    77 Total

---------------------------
Period 1   0815-0900 UT
F = 1.00 (0% Clouds) Mean LM 6.95
FOV 300 +00  TOTAL TeFF: 0.75
Mean Solar Long: 125.512

Meteor Data:
CAP 2,  ANT 2, SDA 5,  PAU 1,  PER 1,  SPO 4,  TOTAL 15

Magnitude Distribution
CAP +1 (1) +2 (1)  Mean +1.50
ANT 0 (1) +4 (1)    Mean +2.00
SDA +2 (3) +3 (2)  Mean +2.40
PAU +3 (1)             Mean +3.00
PER  +1 (1)             Mean +1.00
SPO +1 (2) +3 (2)  Mean + 2.00

----------------------------
Period 2   0900-1000 UT
F = 1.00 (0% Clouds)  Mean LM 6.69
FOV 315 +00  TOTAL TeFF: 1.00
Mean Solar Long: 125.549

Meteor Data:
CAP 3,  ANT 2, SDA 5,  PAU 0,  PER 3,  SPO 9,  TOTAL 22

Magnitude Distribution
CAP +3 (3)                                           Mean +3.00
ANT +2 (1) +4 (1)                                Mean +3.00
SDA  0 (1) +2 (1) +3 (2) +4 (1)            Mean +2.00
PER  -1 (1) +1 (1) +3 (1)                      Mean +1.00
SPO 0 (1) +1 (2) +2 (4) +3 (2) +4 (1)  Mean + 2.22

----------------------------
Period 3 1000-1100 UT
F = 1.00 (0% Clouds) Mean LM 6.53
FOV 330 +00  TOTAL TeFF: 1.00
Mean Solar Long: 125.589

Meteor Data:
CAP 0,  ANT 1, SDA 3,  PAU 0,  PER 4,  SPO 16,  TOTAL 24

Magnitude Distribution
ANT -2 (1)
Mean -2.00
SDA +2 (1) +3 (1) +4(1)                                           Mean +3.00
PER  0 (1) +1 (1) +2 (2)                                            Mean
+1.25
SPO -1 (1) 0 (1) +1 (1) +2 (4) +3 (5) +4 (1) +5 (3)  Mean + 2.62

----------------------------
Period 4 1100-1200 UT
F = 1.00 (0% Clouds) Mean LM 6.31
FOV 345 +00 TOTAL TeFF: 1.00
Mean Solar Long: 125.629

Meteor Data:
CAP  0,  ANT 0,  SDA 4,  PAU 1,  PER 2,  SPO 9,  TOTAL 16

Magnitude Distribution
SDA +2 (1) +3 (2) +4 (1)  Mean +3.00
PAU +2 (1)                        Mean +2.00
PER  +2 (2)                       Mean +2.00
SPO +2 (3) +3 (4) +4 (2)  Mean +2.89

----------------------------
Total Magnitude Distribution
CAP +1 (1)  +2 (1)  +3 (3)                                           Mean
+2.40
ANT -2 (1)  0 (1)  +2 (1)  +4 (2)                                  Mean
+0.80
SDA  0 (1)  +2 (6)  +3 (7)  +4 (3)                                 Mean
+2.65
PAU +2 (1)  +3 (1)
Mean +2.50
PER  -1 (1)  0 (1)  +1 (3)  +2 (4)  +3 (1)                       Mean +1.30
SPO -1 (1) 0 (1) +1 (5) +2 (11) +3 (13) +4 (4) +5 (3)  Mean + 2.53

Bob Lunsford