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(meteorobs) Oct 20 Meteor Observations
-- [ From: Robert Lunsford * EMC.Ver #2.5.3 ] --
This was my first chance to observe in a couple of weeks so I drove up
to the observatory despite the Weather Channel stating that the cloud
ceiling was 3000 feet. As usual they were wrong and I broke through the
clouds at about 2500 feet with plenty of distance between them and the
observatory. The waning gibbous moon was shining brightly so I set up
facing north northwest to avoid the glare. I could only center my field
50 degrees high or the moon would have been a distraction to my upper
right. Rates were steady during all 4 hours. The sky was good as the
Milky Way was visible right up to Perseus which was only 30 degrees
distant from the moon. The highlight of the night was the first meteor
seen. Only seconds after starting a -4 Orionid fireball shot into the
western sky and left a nice 3 second train.
I cannot give an exact total at this point as I had a slight problem
with the cassette recorder during the first hour. I did not bother to
plug the microphone tightly and thought I was pausing the recorder after
each meteor. In reality it was recording continuously and I was startled
when it ran out of tape so quickly. I knew exactly what happened so I
flipped sides and recorded the last 3 hours in a normal manner. I'm
lucky that the built-in microphone picked up my recordings since the
remote was not working. After getting some sleep I will listen to the
first side of the cassette and obtain the missing data along with
hearing some cussing due to the fact it was cold but I was too lazy to
get out of the sleeping bag and run the extension cord down to the power
supply across the field. I arrived a few minutes late and wanted to
start counting exactly at 2:00 am and did not have time to set up the
extension cord. Besides, I would have missed that -4 Orionid fireball!
How cold was it? Well the roof had a nice layer of ice on it which was a
little slippery with the sandals I was wearing. It did not take long for
the thermometer I brought to fall below freezing and keep falling. By
the end of the night my nose, my blanket, and sleeping bag were covered
with frost. At 6am the temperature read 25 F, one of the coolest
mornings I have encountered up there.
Figures for the first hour are estimates.
0900-1000 UT 1.00 5.75 1 EGE 2 OAR 3 ORI 3 SPO 9 TOTAL
1000-1100 UT 1.00 5.77 1 EGE 5 ORI 4 SPO 10 TOTAL
1100-1200 UT 1.00 5.70 1 OAR 7 ORI 1 SPO 9 TOTAL
1200-1300 UT 1.00 5.37 8 ORI 0 SPO 8 TOTAL
The data includes: Universal time for each block of time, actual
fraction of an hour spent watching, average limiting magnitude for each
block of time, and shower activity seen. EGE = Epsilon Geminid, OAR =
October Arietid (Taurids), ORI = Orionids, SPO = sporadic (random
meteors).
The sky was clear the entire morning. There were no obstructions and no
breaks were taken. I faced north northwest at an altitude of 50 degrees
all morning.
Beginning Temperature/Relative Humidity: 30 F (-1 C) 62%
Ending Temperature/Relative Humidity: 25 F (-4 C) 80%
Bob Lunsford
San Diego, California USA