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(meteorobs) Observing Session Jan 14/15 + ACR observed.



Friday night, I was surprised by a lengthy period of completely clear
skies, at my home, in the "lowlands" of Maui, HI. Normally, this time of
year is quite showery and cloudy, especially on the windward side of the
island. So, I took advantage of this opportunity and observed for 2.9hr
Teff from my backyard, saving a 40-50min drive up to the "house of the
(billions and billions) of suns" !

I began observing at 1am local time, with moonlight during the first
half of the session. The remainder of the night was 6.3 LM,
consistently. I would say the results were quite typical of a period of
low activity dominated by sporadics and a few minor radiants. There were
periods of "clumps" of activity, and other times devoid of any meteors
for a long while.

Interesting observations were as follows: 
The first 1.00 Teff had 3 DCA, but it decreased to 1 DCA and 0 DCA, in
the subsequent 1.9 Teff. This seemed unusual because the radiant stayed
very high during all of this time. Maybe this is just normal "random"
behavior of low hourly rates?

Highlight of the night was a dramatic -1 COM, passing just south of Leo,
which left a short lasting train. Wish I had my camera on for that one !

Soon after the ACR radiant rose, 2 were observed, mag +2 and +4. They
were relatively swift, paths intersected near alpha Crux, and they
passed the radiant distance/pathlength criteria, so shower association
is certain.

Any southern hemisphere observers out there to confirm the ACR?
Actually, they should be visible south of 25N, so possibly south Florida
observers (Norman?) could participate?

Clear Skies!
Mike Linnolt

REPORT FOLLOWS:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
OBS: Mike Linnolt (LINMI)
DATE: Jan. 15, 2000
TIME: 1100 - 1357 UT (1:00am - 3:57am HST Jan 14/15)
LOC: Haiku, Maui, HI (20° 50' N, 156° 20m W)
ELEV: 250m
Conditions: Clear. Temp 65F. RH 50-80%. Winds light.
METHOD: Paper


Observing Periods Summary:
==========================

# Period(UT) FOV       Teff   F    LM      DCA  COM  ACR  SPO
  ---------- ---       ----   -    --      ---  ---  ---  ---
1 1100-1201  various   1.00  1.00  5.7-6.3  3    1    0    3
2 1201-1302  09h +10   1.00  1.00  6.3      1    5    0    6
3 1302-1357  10h +00   0.90  1.00  6.3      0    2    2    5

Periods Detail:
===============

Period #1:
----------

Mag->_-3___-2___-1____0___+1___+2___+3___+4___+5___+6
-------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
DCA:.......................1..............2.......... = 3
COM:...........................................1..... = 1
ACR:................................................. = 0
SPO:............................1..............2..... = 3

DEAD TIME: 1 min

FOV: Changing due to attempts to avoid moonlight, mainly E to SE, +45.

Note: Moonset during middle of period, LM was 5.7-6.2 during first half,
6.2-6.3 during second half of period.


Period #2:
----------

Mag->_-3___-2___-1____0___+1___+2___+3___+4___+5___+6
-------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
DCA:.................................1............... = 1
COM:.............1........................4.......... = 5
ACR:................................................. = 0
SPO:.................................2....1....3..... = 6

DEAD TIME: 1 min

Note: Brightest meteor of the night occured at 3:00am local time and
was swift -1 COM which left train for 5 seconds. Surprising drop in
DCA activity compared to period #1, despite radiant elevation still
very high.

Period #3:
----------

Mag->_-3___-2___-1____0___+1___+2___+3___+4___+5___+6
-------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
DCA:................................................. = 0
COM:.......................1..............1.......... = 2
ACR:............................1.........1.......... = 2
SPO:.................................3....2.......... = 5

DEAD TIME: 1 min

Note: First ACR was mag +2 traversing near zenith, shortly after
radiant rose. Second ACR was hugging southern horizon, <10° altitude.

END OF REPORT.
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