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(meteorobs) Perseids: Fraser Park (LA) CA 12/13 August 1999
Hello again,
It's been a long time since I posted or even saw a shower. It was good to
steal some time away from work to see the show although I must say that I was
as disappointed as many others who have viewed previous Perseids displays.
I first saw the Perseids in 1994 at which time I was treated to the most
amazing celestial display of my life--more exciting than the total eclipse of
91 in Baja. How can I say that? Unfortunately I do not know the scientific
jargon and measurements (and to my dismay do not have the time to learn right
now) , but perhaps someone else saw it and could let me know how it would be
described and what you would call it. Earthgrazer seems insufficient.
I observed this massive meteor during the major peak of the Persids of 94
approximately 7:30pm PDT in the area near Mt. Wilson in Los Angeles CA. It
was soon after sundown & it was still quite light. I was observing the
orange glow beginning to develop on the mountain range in front of me. Then,
as if the angels were giving a gift just for me, immediately in front of me
shot this meteor 90 degrees to the horizon. If I were to put my hands out in
front of me to measure the visual image, I would say that the head of it was
the size of a basketball and the tail at least a foot. It was mainly a yellow
ocher color with streaks of red, orange, blue and purple. I wondered
afterward why I saw no fire. Visually, the impression was that it was very
close. By the time it reached 12:00 directly over my head, the end of its
tail was just beginning emerge from the moutain tops. It was enormous. And
only one other person in our group of 25 saw it because it was daylight and
no one was expecting anything. I feel blessed to have witnessed such a
grandiose display. Did anyone see it?
So in hopes of seeing another one, I started observing the Perseids at 7:15pm
PDT 8/12 near Fraser Park just north of Los Angeles. Except for light dust
that was kicking up from the 25mph wind, the sky was exceptionally clear, not
a cloud in sight the entire night. The detail of the Milky Way was more than
I had ever seen with the naked eye. All stars of the big dipper were bright .
8/12/99 (Times approx)
7:15-8:15 PDT--No earthgrazers, Nada
8:15-8:30 PDT--there were 5 small Perseids with minor trains.
8:30 PDT--I may have seen the same one Shelby Ennis described as "Best single
burn observed by a number of us in North America" as I believe he is 2 hrs
from here. It was wide width, but had a short run with a persistent trail of
3-4sec. Appox 90 degrees from the radiant, running north to south
8:30-9:30 PDT--4 with trains lasting 2-3 sec, other minor sightings from then
on averaging about 1 every minute
9:30-10:30 PDT-- minor sightings averaging about 1 every 1-2 minutes
10:30 -12 all but died.
8/13/99
12-1:00am PDT--Very little
1:30-3:00am PDT--It picked up gradually. The most impressive one of the
morning: a bright high altitude one with a train lasting 6-7 seconds spanning
about 150 degrees across the sky running NE-S. Three other high altitude very
bright ones with trains lasting 2-5 sec.
and spanning about 90 degrees. Rate was about 1-2 per minute.
3:00-4:30 Quite a few (lost count) with short trains with at the horizon
level in the N to WNW Quadrant. Frequency gradually dropping to 1 every
minute or 2.
Had to leave at 4:30 to get to work on time. So sorry I missed that -6
Perseid fireball with a one minute train that was reported at Mt Gleason.
All the help I got from you folks last year was of great assistance this time
round. Thanks again. I hope I got something on film, even if it wasn't a big
one. Oh, I've been spoiled for anything else, having seen that one!!
Cindee C. McCallister
Fraser Park
North of Los Angeles, California
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