(meteorobs) Dec., 11/12, 2015 Pre-max Geminid obs from North Florida - finally picking up!

[Paul Jones]

Greeting again all,
      The Geminid Complaint Department must've heard me yesterday...;o).
They sure did kick it up a notch or two this morning.  I also chose a new
site just about 1/10 of a mile from my house that has better horizons in
every direction.
      I'll call it my "Heartwood" site, named after the housing subdivision
that land was cleared for, but never built on!  They even put in a paved
road for my lounge chair...;o).  These developers think of everything...;o).
     Overall, Geminid rates basically doubled for me from the morning
prior.  I also benefitted from the wider horizons as many of my brighter
GEMs were just above the horizon in almost every direction!
     The first hour was amazing as I had the -4 GEM light up the fog just
above the western horizon with an eerie yellow light.  Not long before
that, the -2 GEM flared low in the east.  A couple of nice GEM bursts of 2
or 3 in quick succession were seen also.
     The second hour some cirrus clouds threatened to roll in, but never
amounted to much obstruction at all.  I also saw the "wall of fog" lurking
off to my west, but fortunately, it stayed there.  Oddly, no negative
magnitude GEMs were seen in this hour.
     The last two hours saw the return of negative mag GEMs as I began to
catch more of them tracking east from the radiant as opposed to west of
it.  The -3 and the -1 GEM in the third hour were about two minutes apart
each one going eastward, one behind the other.  I saw many instances of
this "single file tracking" behavior from the GEMs this morning.
      Just before I gave up due to exhaustion, the earthgrazing sporadic
tore across the entire sky out of the deep south. It skipped and flared
along its several second trek and ended in a -2 terminal bust leaving a
train the entire time - WOW!!  Its path was at least 120 degrees long.
What a way to end an already amazing meteor watch!

Dec 11/12, 2015, Observer: Paul Jones, Location: Heartwood Subdivision, 5
miles southwest of St. Augustine, Florida

0130 - 0230 EST (0630 - 0730 UT) LM: 6.0, Clear, Facing: Southwest, Teff:
1.0 hour, No Breaks
35 GEM: -4, -2, -1, 0 (2), +1 (2), +2 (7) , +3 (10), +4 (7), +5 (4)
1 ANT: +4
1 HYD: +3
9 SPO: +2 (2), +3, +4(3), +5 (3)
46 total meteors

0230 - 0330 EST (0730 - 0830 UT) LM: 6.0, Clear, Facing: Southwest, Teff:
1.0 hour, No Breaks
36 GEM: 0 (3), +1 (5), +2 (8), +3 (11), +4 (7), +5 (2)
1 MON: +2
2 DLM: +1, +3
1 HYD: +3
10 SPO: +1. +2, +3 (4), +4 (2), +5 (2)
50 total meteors

0330 - 0430 EST (0830 - 0930 UT) LM: 6.0, Clear, Facing: Southwest, Teff:
1.0 hour, No Breaks
33 GEM: -3, -1 (2), 0 (2), +1 (3), +2 (7), +3 9), +4 (6), +5 (3)
3 DLM: +2 (2), +3
1 HYD: +3
1 EHY: +2
1 ANT: +3
10 SPO: 0, +1, +2 (3), +3 (3). +4 (2)
49 total meteors

0430 - 0530 ET (0930 - 1030 UT) LM: 6.0, Clear, Facing: Southwest, Teff:
1.0 hour, No Breaks
24 GEM: -2, -1 (2), 0 (2), +1 (3), +2 (5), + (5), +4 (4), +5 (2)
2 DLM: +1, +3
1 HYD: +4
1 ANT: +2
11 SPO: -2, +1 (2), +2, +3 (4), +4 (2), +5
39 Total meteors

One of the many things I love about observing the GEMs is the chance to see
a major meteor shower with the radiant almost directly on the zenith.  The
visual effect is amazing as one has meteors hitting anywhere within the 360
degree dome of the sky with great frequency.  Many times this morning, I
was wishing I had about six eyes all around my head to catch everything I
that was happening!  I guess I did pretty well though...

Back at it again tonight Good Lord Willing and Clouds Don't Rise...;o).

Clear skies to all, Paul J in North Florida
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