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Re: (meteorobs) Re: Leonid Meteor Storm Observed
In a message dated 98-11-18 19:36:24 EST, you write:
<< A meteor storm did occur during the 1998 Leonids, though you had to
> be at the right place at the right time to observe it. According to
> IAU Cirular 7052, Alan Fitzsimmons in La Palma, Canary Islands, observed
> about 1000 Leonids/hour on November 17 at 3:36 UT which increased to
> about 2000 Leonids/hour on November 17 at 4:34 UT. In other words,
> he observed the Leonids at a rate of over 1000 meteors/hour over a period
of
> one hour. >>
The 2000 Leonids/hour on November 17 at 4:34 UT is NOT valid. It turns out
that this is an ALL-SKY rate, based on the observations of (in Fitzsimmon's
own words) ". . . about six observers." He goes on to state that for a single
observer, this rate should be reduced by ". . . a factor of perhaps 3 or 4."
So it is more likely that for a single observer, the true hourly rate was
probably closer to 500. Hence it was probably more of a sub-storm rather than
a full-fledged storm.
-- joe rao
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