[Prev][Next][Index][Thread]

(meteorobs) Geminid Summary: Dec 12/13



My pattern of cloudy skies for major showers in 1996 continued this morning.
Looking at the latest satellite pictures on the Internet, a bank of clouds
moving east from Columbia, SC was heading my way. So to see any Geminids at
all, early evening observations were called for. I began observing at 0056
UT (1956 local) with the Geminid radiant just below the horizon. By 0241 UT
(2141 local) the clouds had arrived. Teff for the session was 1.75, and
during this time I observed GEM(23); XOR(1); SPO(19).

The Geminids started off slow, with only one being seen during the period
0056 to 0132 UT (1956-2032 local). Beginning at 0133 UT, the Geminid
activity picked up substantially. Starting at that point, my Geminid rate in
10-minute intervals were:

0133-0143: 2
0143-0153: 1
0153-0203: 6
0203-0213: 6
0213-0223: 2
0223-0233: 2
0233-0241: 4 (8 minutes)

Early in the observation, from about 0056-0200, Geminid magnitudes seemed to
be on the 'fainter' side (+3 and +4), while after that period, more +1 and
+2  Geminids were observed.

Weather forecast for tonight looks great as this was a fast moving system
and is now off the coast of South Carolina.

Mark Davis
MeteorObs@charlestondot net