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Re: Fireball Reporting (was Re: (meteorobs) Pre-Moon Observations)

Hello Lew and George,

                Yes, I intend to report my fireball(s) as soon as
exhaustion allows!  I am currently over-extended as my wife and I are
remodeling a house --  this in addition to nine hours of work each day
plus all these tempting clear skies at night which keep luring me away
from my sleep.  My plans were to log on to the IMO site first thing
tomorrow morning after sleeping in late (I plan on observing tonight!).
Then it's straight to the new house to start sanding floors! Oh, no!
             Indeed, I'm sure altitude correction is in order for the -4
SAG(?) as it did drop right down to the NNE horizon.  As for the -3
wannabe, it was on a similar trajectory, but never made it more than,
I'd guess, 45 or more degrees to the horizon.  I'll report it, however.
            Earlier in the week, you were mentioning the rarity of
fireball appearances.  One of the things I'm wanting to find out through
all this observing I'm doing this year is just that...how many would a
really active observer see.  The interesting thing is, though I've only
seen two since March (three if we're counting the -3), my friend Johnny
has seen four -- three of which I can vouch for -- and he only comes out
and casually observes with me occasionally.
           I also have to admit that, although it's been stated on the
list that new observers tend to over-exaggerate magnitudes, I feel I was
overly conservative during my first few weeks of logging and may have
actually downgraded one or two actual fireballs.  In particular, I'm
thinking about a really spectacular earth grazer I saw that *seemed* to
be fragmenting, was quite wide, VERY slow, and extremely close to the
horizon.  I gave that one a -2 but in retrospect, I feel now it probably
desreved a -4.  I have thought many times over the last few months how
beautiful that meteor would have been had it passed overhead...
      Time to hit the sack for a few hours...that old clear sky is
calling!
                    Outbursts, Everyone
                     Kim Youmans


Lew Gramer wrote:

> Kim Youmans wrote:
> >I enjoyed two more clear nights during the weekend. The meteors
> >were quite bright at times, and I was treated to a possible SAG
> >fireball, and a beautiful -3 wannabe.
>
> Hi, Kim! Thanks for forwarding your continued excellent reports,
> and congratulations on your obvious commitment to the observing!
>
> BTW, on the above, you should be aware that the IMO Fireball Data
> Center actually defines any meteor of *at least* mag -3 (corrected
> for altitude) as a fireball... So your -3 wasn't a wannabe, and
> you should be sure to report it (along with your -4) to:
>
>     http://www.imodot net/fireball/report.html
>
> PS: Folks, that altitude correction is important. If you see what
> looks like a -1 or -2 meteor low enough to the horizon, you have
> probably seen a fireball... Report it if you can!
>
> Clear skies,
> Lew
>
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