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(meteorobs) Re:Nov 7/8 fair + Slow periods
Did 4 hours Nov 7/8 1126-326 EST (426-826 UT) in sky 7.3. Best hour was the
first. Total meteors 54 for the night : 10 South Taurids, 12 North
Taurids, 1 N/S Taurid, 4 Leonids, 27 sporadics. South Taurids 2-3/hr, North
Taurids 1-2/hr except 7 the first hour, sporadics 6-7/hr. Rather uniform in
all categories. S Taurids 4.30m average was very faint, N Taurids 2.75,
sporadics 3.19. Brightest was a slow white-blue -1 sporadic.
There were 3 very slow Andromedid-like sporadics, but they didn't come from
either the classical Andromedid radiant or the 2 other Cook Andromedid
radiants. Had one suspected reentry, deep in the east a very slow orange +2
that was a moving ribbon of orange sparks rather than a single glowing
object. Standing up for a quick break and facing west, at 128 EST there was
an intense green flash that lit much of the sky and the trace of ground fog
forming. The lowest 4 degrees is blocked by trees, so I'm thinking there
was a fireball of -8m or so at the horizon out of my sight. The flash
lasted less than a second. Listening closely for a half minute and getting
silence indicates no transformer within 5-6 miles blew up. The color was
very characteristic of a brilliant meteor anyway.
The cold front has passed and it's already fairly clear, just after
midnight. We're going visiting in a nearby town for the day so will skip
observing tonight. Then we go to Naples for the second (of six) fireworks
shows, then I need to get a short nap before observing tomorrow night. Will
be in mid-40's by then, and for next 2 nights.
><< The second thing is, whether those quite times always appear at roughly
> the same time. I realized the following: My rates are always very high in
> the first 30 minutes of observation, and then they come down to a 'normal'
> level. I cannot help myself - it's not that I fall asleep so soon ;-) -
> Cheers, Sirko
>
> ** >>
>---------
> It is on some occasions that I will notice the activity
>to "die out" for about an hour or so with no real set patterns after
>somewhere near 3 am or 4 am. It's just a realization that there are dead
>periods longer than what I was expecting during this period causes me to feel
>more alert in an effort to make sure I'm not missing anything. Then the
>activity usually comes back to what I feel is normal by the last observing
>hour. Then there are some nights that I start my observing near midnight and
>1 am and still see a similar pattern at the same times.
>George Z.
This brings up another situation : individual varying perception during the
night. In a little study of our 1973 Florida Keys summer watch, one person
showed Sirko's pattern: good the first hour then less thereafter. Bill
Gates started off slow, peaked the third hour, then fell way off by the
fifth hour. Another person had George's pattern : slumping one particular
hour then recovering the next. I was the most level of the group, showing
a very minor steady increase through the night. Years later I determined
that Felix Martinez over 5 hours will have perception 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4,
2.0 ; where I am 1.0. Quite a surge the last hour. The individual varying
perceptions are quite consistent so could have some utility in rate
corrections among the most active observers.
Norman
Fort Myers, Florida
nmcleod@peganetdot com