[Prev][Next][Index][Thread]
(meteorobs) Re: visual Beta Taurids
I have seen only one Beta Taurid in my life, from the Florida Keys at
latitude 25N, longitude 80.75W. The date was 1976 June 27/28, at 530 AM EDT
(UT - 4h). It was a yellow-orange 0m lasting 4 seconds, crossing the
southern meridian covering 40 degrees in 4 seconds, and it had a sparkly
two-degree wake. Definitely like a Taurid earth-grazer seen broadside.
Twilight was not too advanced yet, and the horns of Taurus were about 5
degrees below the ENE horizon.
One excellent opportunity to see a Beta Taurid was during the 1973 June 30
total solar eclipse. I was off the coast of Africa on the m.s. Canberra
with 5m 42s of totality around 1030AM local time. No luck with meteors ; I
did see 5 stars and 2 planets (Venus and Saturn) so the visual limit was
around 1.0 despite a very dusty sky.
Thinking about the flare vs. meteor problem, I would expect most flares to
be no more than a handful of degrees up. Seems extremely unlikely that a
meteor would slowly rise from the horizon upwards for only 5 degrees or
less, although it's not impossible. A flare ought to show a slow apparent
upward motion, then halting and turning down if it lasts long enough. Any
lateral motion should show some curving. If it is red or red-orange, I
would immediately call it a flare as I don't see red meteors. The term
"red" has various meanings among observers ; I consider it to be crimson.
Mars is not really "The Red Planet" to me ; it is more like 90% orange +
10% red.
Norman
Norman W. McLeod III
Asst Visual Program Coordinator
American Meteor Society
Fort Myers, Florida
nmcleod@peganet.com
To UNSUBSCRIBE from the 'meteorobs' email list, use the Web form at:
http://www.tiacdot net/users/lewkaren/meteorobs/subscribe.html