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(meteorobs) Novice GEM obs



I should be sleeping now....  But anyway, for various 
reasons I was was able only to go to a suburban site with 
LM of perhaps a bit better than +5.  (I could see 6 of 7 
Little Dipper stars steadily, with all of the asterism 
lower in the sky than Polaris [below 30 degrees], and the 
7th star came in and out.  Towards the end I noticed the 
Beehive near the zenith.  Not too bad for near a city, but 
far from ideal.  However, it was a beautifully clear sky 
which I wish I could have shared with all of you better 
observers in cloudy areas.)

So, in 80 minutes Teff during 07:45-09:55, I counted 101 
Geminids and 9 others (3 from Leo, 1 from Auriga, 1 from 
Orion, one very fast, long one, +3, from the far southeast 
to the northeast, plus some others).  Two of the GEMs were 
simultaneous, on similar tracks going straight down in the 
south.  Best periods:  8:05-15, 18 GEM, 1 other; 8:50-9:00, 
17 GEM, 0 other.  In "unofficial" time I saw at least 20 
more GEMs and 3 sporadics.  I watched mostly within about 
10 degrees of the zenith.  The observing site was 30.314W, 
97.866W, 270 meters.

The rate this year seems very comparable to last year, when 
I was at a dark site for quite a bit more time and saw over 
400 GEMs (if memory serves).  This year seems to uphold 
very well the general opinion around here that the Geminids 
shower is the best regular one of the year.

I continue to encounter what seems to be to be a problem 
-- significant numbers of meteors seen around the periphery 
of my field of view -- more than I see nearer to the center 
of the field.  It makes me wonder if I'm looking at the 
"wrong" spot.  This also makes it difficult to identify some 
of these meteors.  (Please pardon me if this is explained 
in a FAQ that I haven't managed to read yet.)

Ed Cannon - ecannon@mail.utexasdot edu - Austin, Texas, USA
http://wwwvms.utexasdot edu/~ecannon/meteorlinks.html

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