(meteorobs) 2015 Pre-max Geminid obs from North Florida - the GEMS are warming up

Paul Jones jonesp0854 at gmail.com
Tue Dec 8 08:24:36 EST 2015


Greetings again all,
     After many, many nights of solid overcast and drizzly rain, we finally
had a front passage bring clear skies to us this morning.  I got out on the
meteor roof here in St. Augustine, Florida for a one hour look at the
Pre-max Geminid activity.
      Conditions were great: clear, sharp skies with the temperature just
below 50 degrees F., no wind,  but a lot of humidity (typical for Florida
all year round).  I thought about doing two hours, but having to go into
work, combined with thinking about how many observing hours hopefully lie
ahead made me decide to pace myself a bit and stick with just the one hour
for now.
       The overall activity was good with 9 GEMS and 18 others for 27 total
meteors between 0315 and 0415 local time.  The early part of the hour was
slow, but it picked up nicely at the end.  I had lots of faint, short
meteors, before finally seeing a nice +1 GEM and then soon after, a
gorgeous, blue-white -1 SPO streak through 30 degrees in Gemini and Auriga
near the end of the hour.

Dec. 7/8, 2015 Observer: Paul Jones, Location: 5 miles southwest of St.
Augustine, Florida. LM: 6.0, Sky Condition: clear, Facing: South

0315 - 0415 EST (0815 - 0915 UT), Teff: 1.0 hour, no breaks
9 GEM: +1, +3 (2), +4 (3), +5 (3)
3 HYD: +2, +3 (2)
2 DLM: +3, +4
1 MON: +4
1 ANT: +3
11 SPO: -1, +2, +3 (4), +4 (2), +5 (3)
27 total meteors

Shower Codes:
GEM: Geminids
HYD: Sigma Hydrids
DLM: December Leonis Minorids
MON: December Monocerotids
ANT: Anthelions

    Lots going on up there radiant-wise this time of year!  Keeping track
of everything is a distinct challenge!   This was a sort of warm-up session
for me to familiarize myself with the current radiant positions and meteor
characteristics.  The GEMS, of course, are easy to peg, as are the Sigma
Hydrids.  The rest of the radiants however, are not quite so distinctive,
but the more I get out hopefully, the easier it may become to recognize
them.  Seems like virtually all of them that Bob Lunsford listed for this
week are producing at least occasional activity.
     Looking forward to the weather prospects for us for the max period,
there is just no telling!  We have been quite warm around here so far and
when that happens this time of year, it is usually cloudy.  No strong cold
fronts seem to be on the horizon, either. Some form of road-tripping may
well be in my immediate future...  Will keep everyone posted.

Clear skies to all, Paul J in North Florida
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