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(meteorobs) May 3/4 Meteor Observations From California



I had to be at work by 0530 this morning so observations were limited to
0230 to 0430 local daylight time. I used my old Alpine Viewpoint site
which was the closest to work and still had a dark sky. The marine layer
was thick to the west resulting in good limiting magnitudes. The Eta
Aquarid activity was a bit stronger for the hours I was watching. Once
again most of the shower members were long and faint. The Antihelion 
(Sagittarids) were surprisingly active during the last hour. The
highlight of the night was a -6 ECL/SAG that was seen low in the
northeast in Pegasus. I was looking high in the sky when a bright flash
occurred down low. It must have been somewhat dim before the tremendous
terminal burst as I barely saw the actual meteor. It also produced a
nice train that lasted 10 seconds.

May 3/4 2000

0930-1030 UT  0.95  6.85  0 APX/SPO  0 ECL/SAG   3 ETA   7 SPO  10 TOTAL
1030-1130 UT  0.90  6.84  1 APX/SPO  4 ECL/SAG  10 ETA   4 SPO  19 TOTAL

TOTALS:       1.85  6.85  1 APX/SPO  4 ECL/SAG  13 ETA  11 SPO  29 TOTAL


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 east at an altitude of 60 degrees during the entire
session. No breaks were taken. APX/SPO = Apex radiant Sporadics, ECL/SAG
= Antihelion radiant (Sagittarids), ETA = Eta Aquarids and SPO =
Sporadics (random activity). 

Beginning Temperature/Relative Humidity:   48 F (9 C)  72%
Ending         "         "         "       46 F (8 C)  65%

MAGNITUDES:
APX:      0 (1) AVERAGE: +0.00
ETA:     +1 (2) +2 (2) +3 (4) +4 (4) +5 (1) AVERAGE: +3.00
ECL/SAG: -6 (1) +3 (1) +4 (1) +5 (1) AVERAGE: +1.50
SPO:     +1 (1) +2 (2) +3 (1) +4 (3) +5 (3) +6 (1) AVERAGE: +3.73

Bob Lunsford
San Diego, CA USA
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