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(meteorobs) SoCal Leonid Report
Wayne and meteorobs members,
First, the shower is still going on producing higher rates of
meteors than non-shower days, so it isn't over yet. I got out for half
an hour after seeing a +4 meteor from inside. Saw three Leonids, one
Tuarus and two sporatics, all less than +2 magnitudes from about 03:15
to 03:45 local time for the night of 18/19 November.
Wayne, as for your question of shower rates, I wish the rate
had been 180 meteors an hour! But like most shower nights, up to three
meteors may be seen in any given minute that exceeds the average
hourly rate several times, that was what I was speaking about. I
didn't count but the hourly rate must have been more like 30 to 40 in
the best hours, a usual shower rate. It wasn't very great here in the
Western US but I did have 8 of 9 hours clear skies for the three
nights, much, much better than I expected in the days leading up to
the shower date.
The great meteor storm seen in Europe and the mid-east reminded
me of an old problem us recreational gold miners can have and it is
the effect an exceptional great day of recovery or a large 4 ounce
nugget can have on the miner, who may never be content again with
ordinary recovery or just small nuggets that were just fine before his
"good" fortune. This attitude can make the miner leave mining in
frustration. Well, my 4 oz nugget was 16 Nov.'98 with the night of
Leonid fireballs, Asaf and others had their great day of recovery the
other night with a fantastic meteor storm. We may be in for
exceptional Leonids for the next coulple of years to feed the desire
for great storms, but the best idea is to thank your lucky stars if
you experianced an exception event and learn to be content again with
ordinary meteor counts.
Dave English
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