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(meteorobs) Re:Nov 10/11 meteors fair + more
Nov 10/11 observing 4.13 hours covering 1219 - 427 EST (519 - 927 UT) got 52
meteors : 12 South Taurids, 7 North Taurids, 1 ambiguous N/S Taurid, 4
Leonids, and 28 sporadics. North Taurids fell way off from just a day
earlier and South Taurids recovered to 4/hr, except none seen the third
hour. Leonids 1-3/hr, still not much. Sporadics 6-9/hr continue
consistent. Brightest was a yellow-white -1m North Taurid which was more
like a cream color. N Taurid average mag 2.14, South's 3.00, sporadics
3.50. The most interesting incident was a quick pair of very slow sporadics
: a blue-green 0m lasting 2 seconds going 5 degrees, then a break of 1
second, then an intense orange +2m with a three-degree orange wake going 25
degrees in 4 seconds. Their paths were only 10 degrees apart with the same
direction of travel.
There was a cirrus line in my SE the entire time 20 degrees up. It
undulated up a couple of times with small broken pieces getting almost
overhead briefly. I leaned northward to keep a clear field of view as
needed so no cloud interference deduction is necessary. Now at midday it's
cloudy, and the latest picture shows a cloud mass coming in from Cuba and
the Bahamas. Looks like my streak has ended. Better to have it now and get
it over with before the weekend.
This year corresponds to 1963 in the previous Leonid cycle. Nothing unusual
happened that year, but coverage wasn't as good as today. Back then I had
the night before max clear but didn't observe because of school. Friday
night was max, and the clouds poured in from the ocean in late afternoon.
Wipeout. Was the same way in 1962. In 1964 I finally saw the Leonids from
Tallahassee for the first time, and even then not much happened. Not until
1965 did it take off. So, will anything happen before 1998 this time? I
will be the most surprised individual if any increase at all takes place.
It would certainly be nice to see something good for a change. So far in
the 90's I haven't seen anything unusual.
The good Leonid year of 1974 has been overlooked in recent Leonid writeups.
I was in on that one, rates to 40/hr Nov 17 AM with numerous bright ones.
Surprises lasted for 8 years after the storm. I got out my rate list for
early Nov 1974. The night of 1974 Nov 10/11 I saw 76 meteors in the same 4
hours as above. Taurids were in a great year then, up to 13/hr total
Taurids. Leonids had 4 the final hour, 1-3/hr before, so no difference
there. Sporadics about the same also.
The Dec S&T has a Perseid writeup. I was astonished at the reports of a
good shower in there, people seeing 100/hr! They used only the highest
counts giving the impression of a great year. No way were the 1996 Perseids
great : the best I could do was only 28. At least not great from North
America. As usual there are undocumented high Perseid perceptions out there
that perpetuate the notion of Perseids being a "very strong and reliable"
shower. Get these people out for the Geminids and they would likely see
200-300/hr. That's the best of the year hands down. Even I see 80-85/hr
from the Geminids routinely.
Norman