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Re: (meteorobs) memorable meteors



Hi Jeff and others,

Jeff, great suggestion! I enjoyed the stories so far, and here is my
contribution.

It is not difficult to decide which is my most un-memorable experience with
meteor observing. That with no doubt was the serious frostbite on my right
feet experienced during the Geminid campaign of 1991. The result was a
nagging pain for days continuous in my toes, with the outer skin blistering
of, and some damage to nerve senses in the tip of my big toe which only
recovered several years later.

The most embarrasing experience however is one that I cannot tell on this
list....

My most memorable experience? That is more difficult: I have many memorable
experiences. A meteor storm, several strong outbursts, travelling to a
remote part of this world to see one, chasing clear skies throughout Europe
driving up to 600-800 kilometers a day in fast cars... At the top of the
list are probably the Leonids of 1999 and 1998, and which one was best
depends a bit on my mood although in the end I think the 1999 storm just
wins. It was such a bizarre experience, four visual observers rapidly firing
"yes-yes-yes-yes!" with each appearing meteor in their recorders, while
meteors were pooring down at a rate of on average 40 per minute. It was
special to realize that you are experiencing that most rare phenomenon in
meteor astronomy which happens only a few times each century: witnessing a
true storm, and under a completely clear sky: for the first time in your
life, and perhaps the last.

The Leonid fireballs of 1998 were also special. I was at 3300 meter
altitude, in the desert of Qinghai in central China with the Sino-Dutch
Leonid Expedition, in a part of China which in itself is a completely
alien - and difficult to reach- world with an immensely impressive landscape
(vast and beautifull deserts, rugged mountain ridges) where nomads still
roam. That night was bitter cold (-22 Celcius), the desert was deserted
except for some nomad campfire in the distance, and the scene rather
unearthly: brilliant fireballs kept pouring down at steady rates with many
in the -10 to -12 calibre illuminating the desert landscape. Flashes were
coming from behind the mountains at the horizon at steady rate, as if an
artillery bombardment was going on. When you scanned the sky, typically 2-4
persistent trains at a time were visible, taking fantastic shapes. I was
standing in front of the wall surrounding our desert outpost location to
take a pee, and saw my own shadow appear twice on the wall due to bright
fireballs. That last occasion is my most vivid memory. Come to think of it:
perhaps this is my most memorable meteor experience after all!

Another memorable occasion has been the alpha Monocerotid outburst of 21
November 1995. I observed that one from Calar Alto observatory on the top of
the mountain with the same name in the Spanish Siera Nevada, together with
NASA astronomer Peter Jenniskens and his girlfriend. We drove up the
mountain in complete silence, many kilometers along a completely deserted
and dark road, twisting up the mountain through a deserted no-mans land. And
then, that lonely cat appeared in front of us sitting on the middle of the
road and we narrowly could avoid running over it. It was cold at the top of
the mountain, and we were nervous. Peter had issued a prediction for this
particular outburst, which almost no-one believed. I was one of  few staunch
supporters and believers, and in the weeks before the event many (even in
our own group) had aired their scepticism towards us, sometimes quite
strongly and cynically. In the end, I guess we weren't that sure ourselves
any longer at the start of that night... So when it finally happened that
night and meteors started to appear from the radiant and the rates were
rising rapidly (eventually reaching a peak of ZHR ~600, see our results in
the 1997 April 10 Astrophysical Journal), that was a very emotional moment.
The peak was very short, the event was over again after about an hour. We
were exhausted, a bit emotional, and happy. Arriving back at our homebase,
Casper (who was part of a second team that stayed behind), who was one of
the disbelievers before, appeared at the gate with a big smile from ear to
ear and a "thumbs up". A little later, the Champagne bottle popped...

But even the relatively small can be memorable and exciting. Of the annual
stream maxima, I vividly remember the 1996 Geminids (13 hours of observing,
and 1257 meteors in one night for me!), and the 1995 Quadrantids (with peak
rates at 140/hour). Really small but nerve-breaking was the June Lyrid event
of June 15-16 1996 (also known as the xi Draconid outburst), which I
observed from my home at Voorschoten, the Netherlands. No-one had expected
this, so I was taken completely by surprise by a small outburst of meteors
from this elusive radiant, visible as a sudden outpour of meteors with a
short peak in which 5 rather bright meteors (out of 13 stream members in
total in just under 2 hours, in addition to some 25 sporadics and other
stream members) appeared in rapid succesion within 10 minutes from each
other. It was all over before I fully realized what was happening, and the
second part of that observing session really hit my nerves with me trembling
in my observing chair from excitement.

Marco Langbroek


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Marco Langbroek                    private: marco.langbroek@wanadoodot nl
Leiden University                     work: m.langbroek@arch.leidenunivdot nl
Faculty of Archaeology
P.O. Box 9515
http://home.wanadoodot nl/marco.langbroek/
NL-2300 RA Leiden
The Netherlands

"What seest thou else
  In the dark backward and abysm of time?"

William Shakespeare: The Tempest act I scene 2
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