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(meteorobs) Re: The Three M's



Terry,

With the rising moon one would need to estimate their LM more often, at
least every 30 minutes. The moon does not change the way observers
record. It just makes it more difficult to record!

Best Wishes,

Bob Lunsford



Terry Johnson wrote:
> 
> That's right, the typical mid-August Persied shower seems to always contain
> plenty of Mosquitoes, Meteors, and Moonlight.  If only I could take these
> selectively, I could have a wonderfully pleasant evening!
> 
> I got to step out last night (Aug. 11/12) for a bit of late night observing.
> Thunderstorms kept me inside until after midnight, but the sky cleared up
> nicely by 1am with >6 mag. skies.  I practiced official recording with pen
> and paper, but with a bright moon rising I didn't know how to account for
> the changing Lm.  (suggestions?)
> 
> In my first hour I saw 24 PER and 4 SPO (which I didn't associate with any
> specific radiants).  I thought the SPO were pretty low, but my second hour
> yielded the same.  Since the radiant was close to 60 deg. above the horizon
> at that time, I decided to actually look directly at it for the first hour
> just to see what I could see (I wasn't submitting a report, anyway).  At
> around 1:45am local time, I spotted my very first point meteor!  I happened
> to be looking directly at the dark patch from which it appeared, and it
> reached -1 mag.  The event only lasted ~2 sec, with the decay in brightness
> much faster than the rise.  The meteor did appear to move --at most-- 1/4
> degree east, so I'm not sure it's defined as a true point meteor, but it's
> the closest I've ever seen--the highlight of my evening!
> 
> The second hour had only 14 PER and 4 SPO, with (as already mentioned by
> various list members) long periods of no activity.  With the moon rising in
> elevation and haze building around the horizon, I was forced to center my
> FOV at the zenith.  Is this ever acceptable in submitted reports?  The
> periods of inactivity were growing longer, so I went in at 3:15am.
> 
> Not a bad evening all told, but definitely weaker than other years.
> 
> --Terry Johnson
> Greenbrier, AR
> 35.27 N, 92.24 W
> Central Savings Time
> 
> ps.
> Just so you know, upon discovering that your wife does not have any Skin So
> Soft in the bathroom drawers, do NOT just put on any comparable lotion
> believing it might shoo away mosquitoes--it doesn't.  (stop laughing, I
> received enough of that from her this morning!)
>
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