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(meteorobs) Feb 1 Meteor Observations From California



Finally a totally clear night that worked into my schedule! High winds
in the mountains limited my observations to the backyard where the LM
was a full magnitude lower. It was still an impressive sky for the
suburbs. Surprisingly my LM estimates were only slightly better than my
last hazy session at home back in January. Perhaps the turbulent
atmosphere made seeing those faint stars difficult? 

Meteor activity was nonexistent the first hour. It took me 62 minutes to
finally see a meteor. 3 meteors were seen the second hour including one
that lined up with both Xi Bootis and the IMO radiant in Serpens Caput.
Another meteor that hour also lined up with Xi Bootis. The 3rd hour was
much better producing 6 meteors. One lined up with Beta Coronae Borealis
while there was also one Virginid, one from the northern apex and
another from the southern apex source. The Virginid had to be the
highlight of the night as this first magnitude orange meteor lasted 3
seconds during its 20 degree path.

February 1, 2001

0900-1000 UT  1.00  1.00   5.62  0 VIR   0 SPO   0 TOTAL  
1000-1100 UT  0.98  1.00   5.67  0 VIR   3 SPO   3 TOTAL
1100-1200 UT  0.95  1.00   5.67  1 VIR   5 SPO   6 TOTAL
 
TOTALS:       2.93  1.00   5.66  1 VIR   8 SPO   9 TOTAL


The first column gives the period watched stated in Universal Time (UT)
which is PDT + 8 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 correction
for clouds. 1.00 is perfectly clear while higher numbers indicate a
higher percentage of blockage. The fourth column gives the average
limiting magnitude estimated during each. The last several columns
list the activity seen during each period. I was facing south at an
altitude of 70 degrees during the entire session. No breaks were taken.
VIR = Virginids (Antihelion Radiant) and SPO = Sporadics (random
activity). 

Beginning Temperature/Relative Humidity:   41 F (5 C)  64%
Ending         "         "         "       39 F (4 C)  61%

MAGNITUDES:  

VIR:         0 (0) +1 (1) +2 (0) +3 (0) +4 (0) +5 (0) AVERAGE: +1.00
SPO:         0 (0) +1 (2) +2 (1) +3 (2) +4 (3) +5 (0) AVERAGE: +2.75

Bob Lunsford
San Diego, CA USA
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