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(meteorobs) Observation Nov 8/9 ZAYGE
Well, The winds subsided enough for me to get a full night of observing in.
It was still quite gusty...steady winds at around 15 mph with occasional
gusts at about 20 mph. It was also too windy for me to operate my camera
however. I didn't want to hop down from the observatory to advance the film
only to find my cot or sleeping bag somewhere out in the field...dot been there
...done that! Anyhow, the skies were clear all night. I probably had an
average LM of around 5.9. I started observing near 10 pm local and stopped
at 5:12 am local. The Taurids seemed to be quite active last night. I plotted
a total of 65 meteors within 6.5 hours. The break down is 22 NTA's, 9 STA's,
3 Leonids, and 31 sporadics. The 3 leonids were somewhat dim...4th magnitudes
that is, but were quite obvious that they were genuine. The most NTA's for
any one hour was 6. Besides the wind, there were some excitement in the
local area. At about midnight, I heard what I thought were police sirens real
close to the observatory. I didn't pay them much mind untilI I heard
gunshots. After thinking it over, I concluded that I was hearing a burglar
alarm going off at someone's house about 200 or 300 yards away and the
gunshots were probably warning shots. Most likely illegal aliens tried
breaking into someone's house or other building. Then less than an hour
later, there was an apparent brush fire within a half mile to mile away. The
smoke was heavy, and the fire put up a good glow for a little while. At least
the wind kept the smoke low to the ground and away from me. It was out in
about an hour. I had visions of a large fire with the winds, but it all
turned out nicely. Well, I would like to go out and observe tonight, but I
think I better make tonight a family night... But the next two nights I plan
on observing...that is Nov 10/11 and 11/12.
George Z.