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(meteorobs) Aug 12/13 Meteor Observations From California
For a fourth consecutive night the weather cooperated so I was
anticipating viewing the Perseids at maximum activity. Joseph Assmus had
asked to join me tonight so we were to meet at my work at 11:30PM so
that we could ride up together. My daughter and I went to a concert
earlier that evening and when I arrived home Joseph had phoned and
wanted to begin watching earlier so he drove up alone. The spot we
planned to rendezvous was the Pine Valley Viewpoint. Upon arrival I was
amazed at the number of people parked by the road on a week night. After
dimming my lights I slowly drove into the area began called Joseph's
name to each group but no one responded. Perhaps he was running late so
I set up alone. The night was beautiful with a nice warm breeze from the
desert caressing my face, a far cry from the last three chilly nights! I
could hear many oh's and ah's while setting up and could not wait to get
started myself. The first 3 star counts (taken just before 1am)
confirmed an awesome sky tonight. The counts were 6.84, 6.81, and 6.84.
I also started photographing at 1am (8:00 UT). The initial activity was
excellent as I average more than a meteor a minute than first hour. My
only complaint was that often people would pull in and not dim their
lights. I was often forced to cover the camera lens with my hand to
avoid spoiling the exposure.
The second and third hours were letdowns as the rates were well below
those seen during the first hour. By 4am there were only 2 other cars
there. Those who stuck it out were well rewarded as the Perseid rate
doubled to 80 between 4 and 5am. There were only 8 one minute periods
that did not produce any activity. At 4:53 4 Perseids were seen
including a long, brilliant -6 sapphire blue fireball that produced a
one minute train. The several bursts within the streak were easily seen
as they were imprinted upon the smoky train. That meteor was definitely
the highlight of the 99 Perseids! I have read many messages that the
Perseids were dull this year. Well if you were out with me this morning
you would certainly not call the activity dull!
August 12/13 1999
0800-0900 UT 1.00 6.76 1 CAP 2 KCG 1 NDA 46 PER 2 SIA 11
SPO
63 TOTAL
0900-1000 UT 1.00 6.63 37 PER 1 NDA 7 SPO 45 TOTAL
1000-1100 UT 0.85 6.58 40 PER 1 NDA 1 SDA 10 SPO 52 TOTAL
1100-1200 UT 0.97 6.53 1 KCG 80 PER 1 NDA 9 SPO 91 TOTAL
TOTALS: 3.82 6.63 1 CAP 3 KCG 4 NDA 203 PER 1 SDA 2 SIA
37 SPO 251 TOTAL
The first column gives the period watched stated in Universal Time (UT)
which is PDT + 7 hours. The second column gives the percent of that
particular hour actually spent observing the sky. Time was lost for
plotting, photography, and data entry tonight. The third column gives
the average limiting magnitude estimated during each period with a
minimum of 4 estimates using at least 2 and preferably 3 different sky
areas close to my center of view. The last several columns list the
activity seen during each period.
I ws facing due east at an altitude of 70 degrees during the entire
session. No breaks were taken during this session. CAP = Alpha
Capricornids, KCG = Kappa Cygnids, NDA = North Delta Aquarids, PER =
Perseids, SDA = South Delta Aquarids, SIA = South Iota Aquarids, and
SPO = Sporadic (random activity).
Beginning Temperature/Relative Humidity: 61 F (16 C) 22%
Ending " " " 66 F (19 C) 18%
MAGNITUDES:
CAP: +1 (1) AVERAGE: +1.00
KCG: -1 (1) 0 (1) +2 (1) AVERAGE: +0.33
NDA: +2 (2) +4 (1) +5 (1) AVERAGE: +3.25
PER: -6 (1) -5 (1) -3 (1) -2 (2) -1 (4) 0 (18) +1 (34)
+2 (50) +3 (47) +4 (36) +5 (8) +6 (1) AVERAGE: +2.18
SDA: +5 (1) AVERAGE: +5.00
SIA: +3 (1) +4 (1) AVERAGE: +3.50
SPO: 0 (1) +1 (2) +2 (6) +3 (10) +4 (10) +5 (8) AVERAGE: +2.96
Bob Lunsford
San Diego, CA USA
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