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(meteorobs) May 29/30 Meteor Observations From California

I managed a two hour session from the mountains of San Diego county this
morning. Even though the coast and all its light pollution was under a
blanket of fog, the sky did not appear all that impressive. It's
possible that there was a thin layer of cirrus present giving the sky
its milky appearance. The rates were pretty low and unimpressive. There
was nothing brighter than magnitude 0. There were 4 meteors from the
apex, 3 from the northern branch and 1 from the southern. The antihelion
area (Sagittarids) was quiet with only 1 positive sighting. There was
another meteor listed from this source that could have been an Omega
Scorpid. It was slightly off on the path but had the correct speed for
this slow source.

The highlight of the session was the first meteor seen. It was a second
magnitude long meteor from the northern apex. It traveled 40 degrees in
2 seconds across northern Ophiuchus and Serpens Caput. 

May 29/30 2000

0930-1030 UT  0.97  6.57  1 APX(N)  0 APX(S)  0 ECL/SAG  3 SPO   4 TOTAL
1030-1130 UT  0.95  6.26  2 APX(N)  1 APX(S)  2 ECL/SAG  3 SPO   8 TOTAL

TOTALS:       1.92  6.41  3 APX(N)  1 APX(S)  2 ECL/SAG  6 SPO  12 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 south at an altitude of 60 degrees during the entire
session. No breaks were taken. APX(N) = Northern Apex , APX(S) =
Southern Apex, ECL/SAG = Antihelion radiant (Sagittarids), and SPO =
Sporadics (random activity). 

Beginning Temperature/Relative Humidity:   56 F (13 C)  35%
Ending         "         "         "       55 F (13 C)  33%

MAGNITUDES:

ECL/SAG: +3 (2)                                    AVERAGE: +3.00
SPO:      0 (1) +1 (1) +2 (4) +3 (1) +4 (3)        AVERAGE: +2.40

Bob Lunsford
San Diego, CA USA
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