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(meteorobs) FW: Safari for the Leonids
Ahh, one of my NJAA meteor elves made it out, although clear skies were
closer to home (she must have listend to local weathercasters, instead of
the NJAA forecster, who was right for once :->) Look forward to your
report Anne! Nice story. Thought I'd forward this for the enjoyment of the
meteorobs crew as well.
Wayne
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From: Anne Gale
Sent: Wednesday, November 18, 1998 1:03 PM
Subject: Safari for the Leonids
Hi Guys!
Here's a little story about two overly-eager(or perhaps slightly
obsessed) meteor watchers:
I was already bummed from waking up at 3 a.m yesterday and hearing
raindrops on the window. When we got home from work last night it was
still quite cloudy and the forecast was just not that promising that
it would clear up. We wanted to SEE SOMETHING.
So, Steve fed the cat, I packed a bag and we headed south to where we
heard there was less overcast. When we hit clear sky (about exit 70
on the Parkway), we went east to the sea. We found an open motel in
Ship Bottom (Long Beach Island), scoped out a good observation site
at the wildlife refuge, got a snack and took a nap.
Popped up at 1:00 am, started dressing. Hubby looks out the window
and
curses. It's clouded over. Reset alarm for 2:00, more power nap. Up
at 2:00 - damn, still cloudy. Maybe we should should finish the night
in bed and call it a valiant attempt.
The Man wakes up at 4:50 (all by himself, no alarm). He looks out the
window and whoops with joy - stars, and plenty of them. Fastest
dressing of woman on record ensues. With recording gear in hand, we
head for the car. I point out the constellation in question and turn
to unlock. Steve spots a beauty. All bundled up and now feeling much
encouraged, we head for the nearest shoreline. We pull up to a dune,
find a convenient set of benches and set up shop. Not as much of a
spectacle as promised, but still better than most of my observing
sessions so far. 14 meteors recorded in 45 minutes, 1 of mag.-3, 1
with a significant train.
As the sky lightens and the stars fade, 3 hardy souls walk up from the
beach with their sleeping bags. They'd been there since 2:30. A lady
had driven down from Caldwell and went out on the beach with her
brother and sister-in-law just to see the show.
At 6 am we hit the road north, making it from LBI to Netcong in 2 1/2
hours during rush hour. Another nap,a shower and off to work. Some
people think we're cool for doing this, some think we're nuts. We
think it was a grand adventure. There's just something so fun about
dropping it all and hitting the road in search of something exciting.
So, that's our Leonid story. A friend told it had cleared up in the
north by 2 a.m. Was there good observing around the base camp
(Observatory, etc.)? How has Wayne's weather problem been?
A real report(you know, with numbers and everything) is in the works.
Happy observing,
Anne (and Steve)
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