[Prev][Next][Index][Thread]

Re: (meteorobs) Re:June meteor notes

     No observing has occurred here recently, been mostly cloudy.  I was out
of town for a long weekend and wasn't ready for a night that cleared late
upon returning.  Trip to Alaska Jun 28 - Jul 13, then Chicago July 22 - Aug
7.  Will take in Atlanta fireworks Aug 4 on the way back.  Not interested in
any of the other events.  A cousin there invited us in for the night.  My
brother lives up there also.
     
     I'm also thinking Lew saw zodiacal light.  It ought to be visible from
higher latitudes occasionally.  From Florida it is routine every clear dark
night.  So much for being "elusive."  One time I saw it with a 5-day-old
moon at its peak; it was that bright.  Zodiacal band and gegenschein are
also routine.  The best night here for the recent bright March comet was the
Sunday night; it had a sixty-degree tail with the end lost in the
gegenschein.  The next night or two should have been the best for tail
length, but too hazy to make a trip out of town worthwhile.

     Mosquito season has arrived with a good many in town already.  Last
year we had none in town.  Lee County here has the world's largest mosquito
control force: a hundred or more spray trucks, a couple dozen helicopters,
and four DC-3's.  It is most interesting to have the DC-3 group pass by
spraying at tree-top level.  I didn't see them at all last year.  A sudden
and healthy roar for a few seconds followed by a blue haze of malathion
mixed with diesel fuel.  It disperses in a few minutes with all mosquitoes
dispatched.  Spraying takes place during morning twilight when there is
usually calm.

     In a group of people I tend to fare best with mosquitoes.  The burning
coils do work well for me.  Usually one is enough, placed upwind about 3 or
4 feet.  I also keep a sheet of cardboard handy for fanning; a pizza box lid
is fine.  Coils won't work well if wind is beyond a few knots.  No-see-ums
occur on the beach near sunset and in twilight only, not inland where I
observe.  You can't see these critters yet they have a bad bite.  

     Refining a webcrawler search for weather, use <goes-8 and image and
Mills> for quick arrival at a great site.  Excellent pictures of North
America and Europe here.

     I haven't plotted since 1981, just lost interest.  Maybe should try
some again.  Will use AMS charts which I'm totally used to.  I couldn't
change to anything else without a major loss in ability.  It's fine for new
observers to train on more recent charts and get used to them from the start.
Up to 1981 I did a lot of plotting.  On major shower nights I would face
south and plot all non-shower meteors.  In 1972 I traced out activity from
the Aquarids all the way through Perseid max and beyond.

     In June 1975 I had one freak hour before dawn with a rate of 29.  Need
to look up which night it was.  No good radiants that hour; just a bunch of
sporadics all over the place.

     I recorded elevation data in 1974-76.  By facing south it was very easy
to get altitudes.  Will look up the system I used back then.  I recall
anything above 65o has no correction needed, hence meteors up there I just
called "high."

Norman