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Re: (meteorobs) Perseids: Fraser Park (LA) CA 12/13 August 1999



Cindee,

Thanks for sharing your wonderful report!

As for you sighting in 1994, this indeed sounds like a Perseid
"earthgrazer". When a particular radiant is near the horizon the meteors
from it can only graze the upper regions of the atmosphere. This means
they can last much longer than usual and can shoot across much of the
sky before being extinguished. Different showers reach this point at
different times of the night. The Perseids are situated on the horizon
at sunset while the next major shower, the Leonids, reach this position
at 11pm local standard time. So if you are a fan of these rare meteors I
would suggest setting up early!

Also Cindee, thanks for providing details on the evening hours that I
missed. Your morning descriptions seem to match mine plus I also caught
a -6 fireball with a one minute train at 4:53 PDT. Perhaps this is the
same fireball your friends witnessed on Mt. Gleason.

Clear Skies!

Bob Lunsford
San Diego, CA


CindeeMcC@aol.com wrote:
> 
> 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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