[Prev][Next][Index][Thread]

(meteorobs) June 22 Observations



I observed from the Pine Valley Viewpoint for 3 hours this morning. The
moon was present low in the west for the first half hour of the session
but the excellent transparency allowed for good LM's of 6.5 despite the
moonlight. Once the moon set the LM jumped another .3 with nice dark
skies in the 6.7-6.8 range. The first hour produced 8 meteors, 3 which
intersected at 18:45 (281) +54. To my surprise it seems that the Xi
Draconid activity is continuing. Two of these meteors were seen just
seconds apart with an almost identical trajectory down through the
handle of the Little Dipper. The third member of this trio appeared 15
minutes later in southern Cepheus. The estimated velocity of these
meteors were 9,6, and 7 degrees per second indicating a medium velocity.
The magnitudes were 1,2,and 3. The second hour produced 12 meteors
including one more Xi Draconid candidate and a Sagittarid a long way
from home. The Xi Draconid was a faint 5th magnitude but very easily
plotted as it appeared near Kochab (Beta Ursae Minoris) as it shot by
the bowl of the Little Dipper. The estimated velocity of this meteor was
9 degrees per second. The last hour only produced 7 meteors including 1
Sagittarid. The highlight of the night was probably the twin Xi
Draconids but there was also a nice blue first magnitude meteor with a 2
second train seen in the west at 3:21am.

June 22, 1999

0830-0930 UT   0.94   6.72   0 JLY   0 SAG   3 XDR   5 SPO   8 TOTAL
0930-1030 UT   0.91   6.73   0 JLY   1 SAG   1 XDR  10 SPO  12 TOTAL
1030-1130 UT   0.95   6.52   0 JLY   1 SAG   0 XDR   6 SPO   7 TOTAL
 
TOTALS:        2.80   6.66   0 JLY   2 SAG   4 XDR  21 SPO  27 TOTAL

The first column is the period watched in Universal Time (PDT + 7
hours). The second column is the percent of an hour actually spent
watching the sky during this period. Time is lost for breaks, plotting,
and data entry. The third column is the average limiting magnitude
during each period with a minimum of 6 estimates. The last several
columns list the activity seen during each period.

I was facing north at an altitude of 50 degrees. No breaks were
taken during this session. JLY = June Lyrid, SAG = Sagittarid, XDR = Xi
Draconid, and SPO = SPORADIC (random activity).

Beginning Temperature/Relative Humidity:   54 F (12 C)  27%
Ending Temperature/Relative Humidity:      50 F (10 C)  34%


MAGNITUDES:

SAG   +2  (1) +3  (1)   AVERAGE  +2.50

XDR   +1  (1) +2  (1)  +3  (1)  +5  (1)  AVERAGE  +2.75

SPO   -1  (1)  0  (1)  +1  (3)  +2  (4)  +3  (4)  +4  (6)  +5  (2)
                                                          AVERAGE +2.67

Bob Lunsford

San Diego, CA  USA
To UNSUBSCRIBE from the 'meteorobs' email list, use the Web form at:
http://www.tiacdot net/users/lewkaren/meteorobs/subscribe.html

Follow-Ups: