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(meteorobs) Re: Nov 5/6 dull, Nov 6/7 meteors fair



Two more nights completed with comfortable mild weather.  Was about 70
degrees, cool enough to be very pleasant.  I observed with no extra clothing
and no cover.  Only spoiler has been mosquitoes mildly active again, have
had to fan away with a piece of cardboard.

Nov 5/6 was 3.65 hours and 41 meteors recorded: 6 South Taurids, 6 North
Taurids, 6 Leonids, 23 sporadics, sky 7.3 all.  Time was 1121 - 300 EST (421
- 800 UT).  Taurids very low rates, ranged 1 to  6  total/hour.  One N
Taurid was an intensely orange-yellow 0m.  A slow green-white -2 sporadic
was the night's best.  Sporadic average magnitude was 3.17, boosted by the
-2 and two yellow 0's.  Leonids made a little surprise with 4 the last hour
but none really interesting.  The moon  rose without getting my attention
right away, second night in a row.

Nov 6/7 was a super-spectacular night for the sky, running 7.4 throughout.
I passed the last lighted intersection on the way out and the sky was
already looking very dark.  Observing 1122 - 242 EST (422 - 742 UT) for 3.33
hours got these : 13 South Taurids, 8 North Taurids, 1 N/S Taurid, 1
Pegasid, 1 Leonid, and 19 sporadics.  South Taurids consistently 4/hr,
North's ranged 1 to 4/hr.  The best came early, at 1132 EST a green-white -4
North Taurid with brief flare and half-second train.  Later a beautiful
blue-white -1 North Taurid, color like an electric spark.  Magnitude
averages: South 3.78, North 2.00, sporadic 3.83.  No wonder Bob didn't see
very many, his sky was brighter plus he doesn't see very many faint meteors
period.  Final hour had 18 meteors alone, the best of the month so far.
Ground fog ended the session; was hoping for one more hour before quitting.

The only Leonid seen was a good one, mag just +3 but it went 40 degrees in
two full seconds, and the entire length had a train visible for an instant.
Went from eastern Aries down to Saturn.  The Pegasid came from the
second-slowest shower (velocity 11.2 km/s) on Cook's list  (335, +21, max
Nov 12) ; I have only a handful of these ever but there's no mistaking one
if you see it.

I studied some of the bright Messier objects while waiting for meteors.  M44
and M41 were fully resolved naked-eye; M35 and the Double Cluster partially.
Blocking out Sirius helped greatly on M41.  The sky everywhere within 20
degrees of the Milky Way was heavily peppered with faint stars.  Just within
Orion's upper body (Belt - Betelgeuse - Lambda - Bellatrix)  I counted 30
stars; only a few there are brighter than 6.5.  The gegenschein is
moderately bright and circular about 15 degrees across in Aries.  I went for
several years hardly ever seeing these conditions here (months at a time of
endless haze) so the present streak is the best in a long time for me.  But
I tend to see a half-mag or so better than most people side-by-side; they
might call this sky 6.8 or thereabouts.

Any meteor observers that live on junk food and/or smoke cigarettes, that's
not a good idea for your vision!  Needless to say, I do neither of these.
Joan handles the vitamins and other supplements plus feeds us quite well.
My only vices are cookies and any form of chocolate.  For many years Chips
Ahoy has been the official American Meteor Society cookie.  Each of us would
have a bag for observing.  We had a run on Entenmann's chocolate doughnuts
(dubbed "black doughnuts" by one local) for a few years.  Alas, I have
gained 70 pounds since high school (from 145 to 215), but I don't feel at
all uncomfortable.  I should drop back to 190 but like to eat bags of
cookies a bit too much.  If we get into a hard economy in the future with
food shortages, I will be on a forced diet.

One more mild night expected, then colder weather is coming.  That will
knock off the mosquitoes, but the sky doesn't need improving on.

Norman
Fort Myers, Florida




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