(meteorobs) Perseid observation Aug 12/13, Saddleback Mountain Me
Richard Kramer
kramer at sria.com
Mon Aug 16 14:01:50 EDT 2010
The Goal:
Observe the Persied peak from the summit of Saddleback Mountain, Maine, USA.
This summit provides an unobstructed, 360 degree view of some of the
darkest skies in the northeastern United States.
The Adventure
This expedition is the third of an indefinite series It is the first
time we've enjoyed reasonably good conditions on the evening of the
peak. A high pressure system was centered over our observing area
making for pleasantly light winds on the summit. Unfortunately,
humidity was high which was responsible for keeping the LM at around
5.5 instead of the 6.5+ of which this site is capable.
The hike to the 4116 foot (1255 m) summit of Saddleback Mountain
follows the famous Appalachian Trail (AT), a total of 5.6 miles (8.9
KM) with a vertical gain of about 2700 feet (900 meters). Since the
summit is very exposed with a potential for cold nighttime
temperatures and high winds, we packed gear sufficient to spend a
comfortable night under the stars down to 30 degrees F (0 deg C). In
order to avoid dealing with the need to purify the plentiful local
water (giardia and other parasites can be found in the streams and
ponds), we also carried enough water for the trip, about 16 pounds (7
Kg) each. With all this gear and water, our packs weighed in at
around 40 pounds (18 Kg) each. Along the trail, we met quite a few
hikers who began hiking the AT in March, starting some 2000 miles
(4000 KM) to the south in Georgia.
We drove up Wednesday and hiked in about 1.5 miles (2.5 KM) to spend
the night in a lean-to shelter near a spectacular cantilevered
granite boulder called Piazza Rock. Early that evening, we took a
print out of satellite passes (courtesy of the excellent heavens
above website, http://www.heavens-above.com/) to the top of Piazza
Rock for some informal observing through a 20 by 40 degree opening in
the tree canopy. Unfortunately, we were able to see only a couple of
satellites and no meteors during the 1/2 hour of openings we had
before clouds closed down the show.
Thursday, we had a leisurely hike along the remaining 4 miles (6.5
KM) to the summit. The weather was cool but humid. Biting insects
were virtually absent. Winds were light, from the north north east.
There was some thin high cirrus, and a discouraging amount of cumulous.
Since we arrived with plenty of time until sunset, we dropped our
packs on the summit and spent the afternoon relaxing, napping, and
picking the copious alpine cranberries. The sky was discouraging with
cumulous clouds obscuring more than 95% of the sky. As the sun set,
the cumulous was steadily diminishing and we could see significant
gaps in the clouds slowly approaching from the upwind direction. The
temperature was 56 F (13 C) at sunset, eventually dropping to an
overnight low of 42 F (6 C). The winds swung around to the southeast
and remained at 3 to 5 miles per hour ( 5 to 8 km per hour)
throughout the night and next morning.
As the sun set, we settled into our sleeping bags and began observing
informally, while waiting for the clouds to finish clearing. We
watched satellites and reacquainted ourselves with stars and
constellations which are lost under our Boston, MA area megapolitan
light dome. While waiting for the sky to clear, we saw a few
spectacular earthgrazing PER fireballs (at approx 0120 UTC).
We enjoyed a couple of hours of formal observing until a new line of
clouds moved in and shut us down for the rest of the night. Highlight
of the night was a -5 PER which left a 12 second train along a 50
degree long track.
We awoke under a heavy layer of dew to a glorious sunrise and a
spectacular, 360 degree, mountain filled view. The hike back to
civilization was pleasant, and we sighted a moose at close range at
the start of our long drive home.
Richard
-----
// Header section
night 2010-08-12/13
begin 2010-08-13 0215
end 2010-08-13 0420
observer "Richard" "Kramer"
location 70 30 00 W, 44 56 00 N
site "Top of Saddleback Mountain, ME" "United States"
reporter "kramer at sria.com"
// Shower section
shower PER 046 +58
shower KCG 286 +59
shower SPO
// Number section
// Interval RA Dec Teff F Lm PER KCG SPO
period 0215-0228 280 +40 0.210 1.00 5.39 C 6 C 0 C 0
period 0228-0245 285 +40 0.275 1.00 5.39 C 7 C 2 C 0
period 0245-0302 290 +40 0.275 1.00 5.39 C 10 C 0 C 1
period 0302-0319 295 +40 0.275 1.00 5.98 C 1 C 0 C 4
period 0319-0337 300 +40 0.290 1.00 5.98 C 11 C 0 C 2
period 0350-0405 310 +40 0.243 1.00 5.98 C 12 C 0 C 1
period 0405-0420 315 +40 0.243 1.00 5.98 C 8 C 0 C 3
// Magnitude section
// Show
Interval -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 +0 +1 +2 +3
+4 +5 +6 +7 Tot
distribution
PER 0215-0228 - - - - - 1.0 1.0 1.0 2.0
- 1.0 - - - 6.0
distribution
PER 0228-0245 - - - - 1.0 - 2.0 2.0 1.0
- 1.0 - - - 7.0
distribution
PER 0245-0302 - - - - - - 2.0 5.0 3.0
- - - - - 10.0
distribution
PER 0302-0319 - 1.0 - - - - - - -
- - - - - 1.0
distribution
PER 0319-0337 - - - - 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 1.0
2.0 - - - - 11.0
distribution
PER 0350-0405 - - - 1.0 2.0 - 2.0 2.0 2.0
1.0 1.0 1.0 - - 12.0
distribution
PER 0405-0420 - - - - - - 1.0 - 3.0
3.0 1.0 - - - 8.0
distribution
KCG 0228-0245 - - - - 1.0 - 1.0 - -
- - - - - 2.0
distribution
SPO 0245-0302 - - - - 1.0 - - - -
- - - - - 1.0
distribution
SPO 0302-0319 - - - - - - - - 1.0
2.0 1.0 - - - 4.0
distribution
SPO 0319-0337 - - - - - - - - -
2.0 - - - - 2.0
distribution
SPO 0350-0405 - - - - - - - - -
1.0 - - - - 1.0
distribution
SPO 0405-0420 - - - - - - - - 1.0
1.0 1.0 - - - 3.0
// Personal comments
Wind 5 mph (8 kph)
Temp 56 to 42 F (13 to 6 C)
slight haze due to humidity
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