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(meteorobs) Oct 17/18 Meteor Observations From California
I tried to watch for 3 hours this morning from the mountains of east of
San Diego. The sky was perfectly clear with an impressive limiting
magnitude but the observing conditions were still brutal. We were having
one of our patented "Santa Ana" conditions with winds from the east off
the desert. I was watching from the bed of my truck and it was rocking
back and forth all night long due to the wind gusts. Equipment was
constantly blowing away and plotting was a real chore. Several times the
clipboard was nearly blown from my hands.
The meteor activity was steady but mostly faint, especially from the
Orionids. The highlight of the night was a first magnitude sporadic that
shot 15 degrees westward through Lepus.
October 17/18 1999
0930-1030 UT 0.94 6.87 1 EGE 1 OAR/NTA 4 ORI 0 OAR/STA 6 SPO
1030-1130 UT 0.94 6.82 1 EGE 0 OAR/NTA 5 ORI 1 OAR/STA 7 SPO
1130-1230 UT 0.96 6.82 0 EGE 1 OAR/NTA 8 ORI 1 OAR/STA 4 SPO
TOTALS: 2.84 6.84 2 EGE 2 OAR/NTA 17 ORI 2 OAR/STA 17 SPO
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 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 was facing South at an altitude of 60 degrees during the entire
session. No breaks were taken. EGE = Epsilon Geminids, OAR/NTA = October
Arietids/Northern Taurids, ORI = Orionids, OAR/STA = October Arietids/
Southern Taurids, and SPO = Sporadic (random activity).
Beginning Temperature/Relative Humidity: 52 F (11 C) 11%
Ending " " " 52 F (11 C) 9%
MAGNITUDES:
EGE: +2 (1) +4 (1) AVERAGE: +3.00
OAR/NTA: -1 (1) +1 (1) AVERAGE: +0.00
ORI: 0 (1) +2 (1) +3 (5) +4 (7) +5 (3) AVERAGE: +3.53
OAR/STA: -1 (1) +1 (1) AVERAGE: +0.00
SPO: 0 (1) +1 (2) +2 (5) +3 (3) +4 (5) +5 (1) AVERAGE: +2.71
Bob Lunsford
San Diego, CA USA
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