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(meteorobs) Mar 2/3 Meteor Observations From Florida [LUNRO]
I was in Florida for the AMS workshop and we decided to observe our
first night there. There was an approaching front which threatened to
cancel at least one of our other observing sessions so we decided to
observe even though most of us were quite tired.
The sky just 20 or so miles east of Tallahassee was surprisingly dark,
especially near the zenith. There was a perceptible layer of haze near
the horizon but it did not affect observing conditions when watching
high in the sky.
The activity was surprisingly good for a March morning. I managed to
plot 15 of the 19 meteors seen but none of them aligned with the known
active radiants this time of year. The highlight of the session was a
nice yellow -1 meteor that shot from the head of Serpens to just below
Alphecca and ended in central Bootes. Just as we were quitting a skinny
crescent moon was seen low in the southeast above Venus.
March 3/4 2000
0815-0915 UT 0.97 6.51 4 SPO 4 TOTAL
0915-1045 UT 1.14 6.51 15 SPO 15 TOTAL
TOTALS: 2.11 6.51 19 SPO 19 TOTAL
The first column gives the period watched stated in Universal Time (UT)
which is EST + 4 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 East at an altitude of 70 degrees during the entire
session. No breaks were taken. SPO = Sporadic (random activity).
Session Temperature: 48 F (9 C)
MAGNITUDES:
SPO: -1 (2) 0 (2) +1 (2) +2 (4) +3 (3) +4 (4) +5 (2) AVERAGE: +2.26
Bob Lunsford
San Diego, CA USA
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