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(meteorobs) Perseid Summation by Joe Rao
Below is a summation of the Perseids by Joe Rao in New York. His description
of the suddenness of activity pretty much matches mine...except the time on
the clock was earlier for me...but essentially the same UT time...the
increase seemed quite sudden...George Zay
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>>Fellow stargazers --
I have just returned from the Adirondacks of upstate New York. I was located
at the Daggett Lake Campground in central Warren County, near the hamlet of
Thurman, New York (which is not found on most maps). I had an opportunity to
watch for Perseids on two mornings: Sunday, August 10 and Tuesday, August 12
(the morning of peak activity). Monday morning, August 11 was very, very
hazy and Wednesday morning, August 13, cloudy skies and a moderate rain was
falling.
On August 12th....
Skies yielded a limiting magnitude of +5.5.
Between 2:50 and 3:50 a.m., despite some lingering cloud cover, I counted off
32 meteors, of which 30 were Perseids. They appeared pretty much as what I
observed on Sunday morning. . . many bright streaks. . . a few persistant
trains.
After 3:50 a.m., all hell broke loose!
In the following hour, I saw 65 meteors, of which 62 were Perseids. Not only
did I see more than double the previous hour's rate. . . but the character of
the meteors changed as well. Now, I was seeing many more meteors in the 0 to
-2 magnitude range. They appeared yellow-white in color; leaving many
persistant trains which lasted several seconds. One particular meteor left a
train that I was able to follow for a full minute through my wide-angle
(7x35) binoculars. Many of the trains seemed to disappear at the ends first.
. . being last visible in the middle part of their path. I also saw a near
radial (head-on) meteor of magnitude -1 near Gamma Persei, appearing as a
very short, but long enduring streak of perhaps a half-degree or less.
Then there was "the one that got away." At 4:23 a.m. EDT, I saw the tree
line to the north-northwest suddenly become illuminated as if someone shot
off a strobe. . . the effect actually came in two quick steps. . . the second
"flash" appearing a trifle brighter. I quickly turned around 180-degrees. .
. but the treeline behind me was too high and obscured whatever trail or
train might have been visible (in Cetus?). What can I say? The damn thing
must have been in the -8 to -12 magnitude range!
Meteors continued to be plentiful even though the sky was now rapidly
brightening with the onset of morning twilight. At 4:30 a.m. EDT, I saw
seven meteors in one minute. . . six of them Perseids. The "bunching" or
"clumping" effect was readily evident. . . I often would see two or even
three meteors within a minute, followed by a "lull." I cut-off observations
at 4:50 a.m. I was incredibly lucky to get this "window of opportunity,"
since when I woke up a few hours later, the sky was already steaked by high
cirroform (from the front to the south which was now moving back to the
north). The clouds thickened up Tuesday afternoon and rain fell from late
Tuesday night into most of Wednesday.
Nonetheless. . . the Perseids put on a very entertaining display and it would
certainly seem that the enhanced activity in the wake of Comet Swift-Tuttle
(now nearly five years behind us) still exists. From my vantage point, the
enhancement was evident both in terms of the sudden increase in activity. . .
as well as the increase in larger and brighter shower members.
-- Joe Rao<<