(meteorobs) Perseid Report: South Carolina

[meteors at comcast.net]

My local astronomy club sponsored a Public Perseid Watch at one of our 
observing sites about an hour away from my home. I arrived early with 
hopes of taking a 2-hour nap, but instead, was greeted by other early 
arrivers. By 10:00 pm, all of the small group of seven was sufficiently 
informed of what, where and how to watch the Perseids, and were 
comfortably in their chairs or on blankets. Wanting to record meteor 
data, I set up a short distance away on the edge of the salt marsh.

Other than the incessant hum of mosquitoes, the pre-midnight observation 
was pleasant. The aerial acrobatics of the Nighthawks and bats kept 
everyone wide awake and gazing upwards. We were also treated to calls 
from three resident owls in the park - Barred, Screech and Great Horned. 
There was a chorus of Perseid talk coming from all of the nearby frogs, 
making it difficult to hear what others in my human group were saying. 
In the distance, and lost in the darkness, wading birds were being 
flushed by predators, presumably alligators. Almost as if planned, all 
of this animal activity ceased at midnight, and I continued meteor 
observing in earnest.

In total, I was able to observe for about six hours between 2200 and 
0430 hours local time. Two breaks were taken to stretch my legs and 
snack on beef jerky. The Perseid rate seemed to be about normal for me, 
but I did have the impression that there were far more bright meteors 
this year. My last two periods, from 0702-0832 UT, I recorded 16 
negative magnitude Perseids: (-5)2; (-4)1; (-3)3; (-2)4; (-1)6. Many 
were trained, and a few were colored.

Interesting meteors included a -2 Perseid at 0430 that left two short, 
close, and parallel trains; and what I believe was the fastest meteor 
I've seen, a 3rd magnitude sporadic traveling SE to NW across the sky.

All in all, and enjoyable watch! Below is my full report.

-- 
Mark Davis, South Carolina, USA
meteors at comcast.net

-------------------------------------
2015-08-12/13
Location: Roxbury Park, South Carolina
80 21 02 W, 32 40 51 N  1m

Showers Observed
ANT 333 -09
KCG 285 +59
PER 048 +58
SDA 351 -12
SPO

Period     RA   Dec  Teff    F    Lm    ANT  KCG  PER  SDA  SPO
0200-0330  300  +05  1.50  1.00  5.85    1    2    6    0    4
0330-0430  300  +05  1.00  1.00  5.85    0    0    10   1    5
0430-0530  315  -15  1.00  1.00  5.72    0    0    22   0    6
0545-0645  315  -15  1.00  1.00  5.88    1    0    35   1    6
0702-0732  000  -10  0.50  1.00  5.88    1    0    24   0    3
0732-0832  000  -10  1.00  1.00  5.88    0    0    37   1    5

Magnitude Distribution
     Interval     -6    -5    -4    -3    -2    -1    +0    +1    +2 
+3   +4    +5    +6    +7    Tot
ANT     0200-0832     -     -     -     -     -     -   1.0   1.0   1.0 
  -     -     -     -     -    3.0
KCG     0200-0832     -     -     -     -     -     -     -   1.0   1.0 
  -     -     -     -     -    2.0
PER     0200-0330     -     -     -     -     -     -     -   2.0   1.0 
2.0   1.0     -     -     -    6.0
PER     0330-0430     -     -     -     -     -   1.0   1.0   2.0   3.0 
2.0   1.0     -     -     -   10.0
PER     0430-0530     -     -     -     -   2.0   1.0   2.0   6.0   7.0 
3.0   1.0     -     -     -   22.0
PER     0545-0645     -     -     -     -   2.0   1.0   4.0   9.0   8.0 
6.0   5.0     -     -     -   35.0
PER     0702-0732     -   1.0   1.0   1.0   3.0   3.0   2.0   4.0   3.0 
4.0   1.0   1.0     -     -   24.0
PER     0732-0832     -   1.0     -   2.0   1.0   3.0   5.0   7.0   8.0 
4.0   6.0     -     -     -   37.0
SDA   0200-0832    -     -     -     -    -      -    -    2.0   1.0 - 
    -      -     -     -    3.0
SPO     0200-0832     -     -   1.0     -   1.0     -   3.0   3.0   9.0 
7.0   4.0   1.0     -     -   29.0