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(meteorobs) Re: early Oct meteor notes
>No observing from here for quite a while, but should be possible maybe by
tomorrow night. We're going to cool down into the 60's. There was a brief
visit that low when Fall started, was drier for 2 days despite still having
90oF by day. Josephine sent a severe thunderstorm across Fort Myers around
dawn, had brilliant lightning and wind gusts to 60. Had been gusting to 40
all night. The storm center was at least 250 miles from here so it covered
a large area. We did need the rain.
George on Oct 4/5 plotted some Delta Aurigids, I am sure, rather than Delta
Aquarids. Names do look very similar.
Silver to me would be a mix of white and gray with a brilliant metallic
luster. I've never seen a meteor like that. Already hard-pressed to see
pure white ones. All the showers have the same basic color distributions,
which will vary by observer. One small exception to me is the Geminids when
I see several nice green ones in a couple of nights, and no other shower
does that. Often in books and magazines we read that Quadrantids are not
blue, but "bluish"; Alpha Capricornids are yellow; and Taurids are "rich in
yellow fireballs." None of this is fully true. Fatigue doesn't affect my
color perception, but I wouldn't rule that out for other observers.
When the Pleiades cluster transits the meridian, almost at the zenith here,
3 bright stars are all visible in my south at 4 degrees elevation: Canopus
SSE, Achernar SSW, and Fomalhaut SW. The uniform elevations are striking.
And Achernar in azimuth appears almost exactly in between the other two.
I would sure like to see an unknown object of any type, just for some
serious amusement. Tom's unknown is very interesting. Sounds like the
motion of hummingbirds and dragonflies, but what would it be at night? Some
other insect peculiar to that locality? I don't know. The lack of unknown
sightings by meteor observers on this list illustrates just how well trained
this group is for identifying sky objects. I can't rank any other group
higher in this ability, not even pilots The combination of astronomical
knowledge with a lot of time in continually watching the sky is unbeatable.
This makes us most unwelcome around UFO buffs who get very angry if you try
to teach them anything; they consider you to be "close-minded" in your
attempts to "explain it away." If they want to be accepted by real science
they have to use scientific methods, and, above all, learn some basic
astronomy. Knowing where all bright stars and planets are at all times is
essential.
In 1984 January I did see something different, but so subtle the public
would never have noticed it. Around 5AM a gegenschein-like patch appeared
just above Corvus, due south. I didn't actually see it form, just glanced
that way and it was already there. It was about 5 degrees across and
circular. Over the next 20 minutes it slowly drifted northward, and I lost
it at the zenith. Perhaps something in a high polar orbit expelled a cloud
of fuel or gas.
I saw the 1995 Leonids so will have to send this to Mark.
Norman
Fort Myers, Florida
nmcleod@peganetdot com