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(meteorobs) A Special observation report.
The 3 day holiday weekend found me in Kona on the Big Island of
Hawaii. I attended an engineering run on the 8m Gemini North at
the summit of Mauna Kea. The skies were typically perfect, so I
couldn't resist the opportunity to step outside and observe some
meteors from near the dome.
I had been planning to do at least an hour of Teff, but the cold got
to me quicker than usual, probably due to me driving straight up
from sea level a few hours before. With my pO2 dropping <80%, I
was having trouble concentrating and my vision had periods of
"gray-out" so I quit after 45mins. Nevertheless, I saw 14 meteors,
with 8 of them being 5th mag or fainter. No surprising outburst of
any minor showers, just the typically expected numbers.
I included the Bortle sky scale for the first time in this report. In
most categories, I would say it was a Class 1 sky. The winter
milky way was brilliant and contrasty, with a very subtle "grainy"
texture to it. The airglow below 15° was very obvious, and I could
see fainter than 11th mag with my 10x50 binoculars. However, I
could not see "7.6 to 8.0" stars with my naked eye, as claimed by
Mr. Bortle. The telescope domes were practically invisible, just
blocking the sky, so the stars just "disappear" in that spot. I could
make out some concrete walkways, brightly painted railings, and
snow, but thats about it.
A great night, despite my "hangover" from altitude.
Mike.
REPORT FOLLOWS:
===============
OBS: Mike Linnolt (LINMI)
DATE: Feb 19, 2001
TIME: 1238 - 1327 UT (02:38am - 03:27am HST morning of Feb 19)
LOC: Mauna Kea, HI (19° 49' N, 155° 28' W)
ELEV: 4200m
Conditions: Clear. Temp 29F. RH 10%. Winds light.
METHOD: Paper
Observing Periods Summary:
==========================
# Period(UT) FOV Teff F LM B DVE DLE ACE TCE OCE VIR SPO
---------- --- ---- - --- - --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
1 1238-1327 12h+10 0.75 1.0 6.7 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 9
B = Bortle sky scale.
*ANT = VIR (IMO)
Periods Detail:
===============
Period #1:
----------
Mag -3 -2 -1 0 +1 +2 +3 +4 +5 +6 elev r ZHR
------------------------------------------------------
DVE: 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 = 1 3° 2.5 21.2 +/-21.2
DLE: 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 = 1 63° 3.0 1.2 +/-1.2
ACE: 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 = 1 5° 2.0 13.3 +/-13.3
TCE: 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 = 1 24° 2.6 2.7 +/-2.7
OCE: 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 = 1 12° 2.8 5.2 +/-5.2
VIR: 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 = 0 62° 2.5
SPO: 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 3 4 = 9 -- 2.5 10.0 +/-3.3
DEAD TIME: 4 min
Note:
END OF REPORT.
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