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(meteorobs) Leonids from West Texas



Leonid Meteor Report
This report is belated due to our isolated location in the Davis
Mountains of West Texas.
On November 17, I recorded data on 586 meteors seen in 5 hours and 44
minutes, with 2 short 15 minute breaks. I estimate the peak occurred for
me at 10:38 UT to 10:40 UT with 19 meteors seen in 2 minutes.

November 16
 Last night we observed (Sunday night Nov 15 to  Monday Morning Nov 16
from Lympia Crossing with a lot of sporadics up until Midnight .
The show didn't really get going until after 3 am CST (9hrs UT).  At
4:20 am we observed  -6  and  -10  bolides that were definite Leonids
within 2 seconds.  At 5:05 CST one lit up the entire sky, we did not see
it; it appeared to come from the north behind the mountains, below the
horizon.  I was looking south; it looked like lightning off in the
distance, because the entire horizon lit up.  Kenneth Drake said that
the ground lit up green.  My husband Buster was looking north and he
said that the entire northern sky lit up. It was everywhere. The entire
place lit up. We have no idea how bright it was, but it was incredible,
as people saw their shadows on the ground, but no one saw the meteor.
I was putting some eyepieces away after that at 5:20 and one that
Kenneth and Buster saw lit up the entire inside of the van. It was like
daylight in the van; it exploded behind me in the west.  The average mag
was 0 to 1 magnitude with most of the fireballs in the Sirius Class
(-1.5) upwards past Jupiter in brightness and a large number in the
Venus Class (-4) and -6 and one at -10.  They left consistent smoke
trains sometimes 2 or 3 trains were visible at one time.  2 meteors in
the east-southeast within 2 seconds of each other lit up orange and left
parallel smoke trains.  The -10 left a smoke train that was visible for
15 to 20 minutes.  We observed it through a 14.5" telescope, where it
looked like a storm cloud, white with ribbons and ropy structure like
the Veil Nebula.  It was originally perpendicular to the horizon, then
as the upper atmosphere carried it; it ended up being parallel to the
horizon and stretched out for 20 degrees in length.    The meteor that
lit up the inside of the van, when I saw the train it left in
binoculars, it had a hook at its western termination end, then curled
around in a backwards "C" shape at its eastern end.  The meteors were
unbelievably fast, strobe like in brilliance and all of the true Leonids
left smoke trains.  Our limiting mag was close to 7, and the Triangulum
Galaxy was visible to the naked eye, without using averted vision. We
did not record numbers, and did not pay attention to the fainter ones;
we were so dazzled by the bright ones.

November 17
Not as many fireballs as last night, Nov 16.
I observed from 5700-foot elevation near McDonald Observatory along
with 8 other observers under perfect sky conditions on the evening
of Nov 16 and morning of Nov 17.  The following is from my tape 
recorded account starting at 6:22 UT to 12:06 UT Nov 17.

The numbers recorded are my own, with no calculation of ZHR.  These are
raw numbers.

6:22 UT to 7:22 UT (12:22 CST to 1:22 CST) Limiting Magnitude 7.0
Sky obscuration was 0.  Low cloud band hugging the horizon in the 
south less than 8 degrees in height. Temperature was in the 40's F.
Dewpoint 28 F.
The -5 bolide exploded at 6:59 UT. We observed the first meteor of the
evening at less than 1 minute after starting at 12:22 CST that was a -2
meteor.  Then the second one also a -2 covered 90 degrees of sky at
12:31 CST.  
36 Meteors seen

-5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 +1 +2 +3 +4 +5 Point meteor
1   0  0  4  2 9  8 10  1  0  0		1

7:23 UT to 8:24 UT  (1:23 CST to 2:24 CST) Limiting Magnitude 7.0
The -5 meteor left an incredible train over Arabella mountain that was
visible for 10 minutes naked eye.

67 meteors seen

-5 -4 -3 -2 -1 	 0 +1 	 +2 +3 +4 +5 Point meteor 
1  0   0  6  11	 8 28	 11  2	0 0	0


8:24 UT to 9:25 UT (2:25 AM CST to 3:25 CST)
-6 with long train @ 2:32 AM CST. At  9:00 UT (3:00 AM CST) I estimated
the radiant was 30 degrees in altitude. Limiting Magnitude 7.0.  No
clouds except a persistent narrow band on the south horizon that was 5
degrees  in height, but only 30 degrees in length. Very few faint
meteors seen. Short break at 3:15 am to 3:20 AM.
121 meteors seen 

-6 -5 -4 -3 -2  -1   0 	+1 +2 +3 +4 +5 Point meteor 
1  0  0	  1  8	23  17	21 50 0	 0  0 	0	

9:26 UT to 10:27 UT (3:26 CST to 4:27 CST)
165 Meteors seen 
I have not done the population breakdown for this hour yet but my
Preliminary data is as follows:
At 10:27 UT 3 meteors with short trains were seen in 1 second with
termination points just east of the radiant.
A -5 left a blue colored train at 10:10 UT.
A -4 left a shadow at 9:26 UT.
A -3 seen at 10:06 UT.
A -3 burst then turned blue at 10:20 UT

10:29 UT to 11:29 UT (4:29 CST to 5:29 CST) At 10:36 UT the sky was
getting light in the east from the strong zodiacal band that stretched
from the horizon to M67 (The Beehive) which was near the zenith. I have
not done a population breakdown for this hour yet.
118 meteors seen with 15 minute break at 11:00 UT.



11:40 UT to  12:06 UT (5:40 AM CST to 6:06 AM CST)

I quit recording at Moonrise.  54 meteors were seen in 26 minutes.
I have not done a population breakdown for this hour yet.
I estimate the peak occurred for me at 10:38 UT to 10:40 UT with 19
meteors seen in 2 minutes.
Barbara Wilson.
Bwilson2@ixdot netcom.com
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