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(meteorobs) Late Perseid Report From Newaygo, MI for Aug. 11/12

August 12, 2001

Greetings Meteor Enthusiasts!

Please excuse my late reporting, I have been quite
busy lately at the farm.

Like planned, I scoured the night of August 11/12 for
the Perseids, starting my observations at about 11:23
P.M. EDT.  (I did a little preliminary watch before
this).   I ended my official session at 1:02 A.M. EDT
and later decided to come back out  at 4:22 A.M. EDT
for 22 minutes.   Place of observations was done at my
house in Newaygo, MI. 

My LM fluctuated constantly as hazy, quick-passing
clouds took over about half of my viewing space, which
I estimate roughly to be 1/3 of the sky (The rest of
the sky is blocked by trees.).  Nevertheless, these
bothersome, meteor hunter harassers subsided somewhat
as night progressed.  Parts of the sky became
sparkling clear enough at brief times to notice the
faint glow of the Milky Way running through Cygnus, if
that helps give you a hint.   Thus, I estimate LM in
the clear parts to be somewhere around 5.5-6.0. for my
first session and roughly 5.0 during my last, when the
moon had risen a good ways.       
 
In all, I figure I caught sight of 16 meteors, all
fast, (at least compared to some I've seen in the
past) most lasting a second or less.  Four of them
were spotted when Perseus was high in the sky, during
the 22 minutes of my last observation which begun at
4:22 A.M. EDT.  Most meteors seen were rather faint;
in the 2-3 magnitude range and many had short paths. 
They all seemed to be white, some with perhaps a
yellow tint.

Only one meteor was noticed to leave a persistent
train, one or two degrees long, lasting approximately
a half-second, which occurred at about 12:07:20 P.M.
EDT. It was around 2 mag and traveled a few degrees
before passing beneath Delphinus, possibly through
Equaleus, towards the left wing of Aquila, ending,
perhaps a few degrees before there. 

I hope my following report summary is not too crude
and the data not far from correctness.  I am, of
course, still learning and probably saw more Perseids
than the report suggests.   All time recorded for the
meteors are off only a few seconds at most.  Also, I
hopefully will try to record the time in UT if I ever
meteor hunt again.    

FIRST SESSION:
Teff: 1 hr. 49 min. (From 11:12 P.M. EDT to 1:02 A.M.
EDT.  This includes about 10 min. worth of preliminary
observing minus roughly 11 min. of dead time. ) 

LM: varied due to hazy clouds -- in the range of  5.5
- 6.0+ when clear 

Direction of observations: Cygnus, Lyra,  Delphinus,
Aquila, Cassiopeia, top stars of Perseus, and many
adjacent constellations.
   
Meteor # Time of   Shower Mag. Train  Color Area seen 
         appearance                         in sky
         in EDT
         
     1   11:05      SPO    2     -      -   Cygnus

     2   11:23      SPO    2     -      -  

     3   11:49      SPO    2     -      -   Lyra 

     4   12:04      SPO    1<    -      - 

     5   12:07:20   PER    2  .05 sec.  -   Beneath   
                                            Delphinus

     6   12:16      SPO    3     -      - 

     7   12:23      SPO    3     -      - 

     8   12:46:20   PER    2>    -     White
     
     9   12:46:28   PER    2>    -     White  
          
     10  12:52      SPO    4>    -      -  

         12:53             Went inside house.         
       
         12:58             Came back out again.

     11  1:01:20    PER?   1     -      -

     12  1:02       PER?   1.5   -      -

         1:02 Bat or swallow attack---ended session.


Second Session:

Teff:  21 min. (From 4:22 A.M., EDT to 4:44 A.M., EDT.
This figure excludes roughly 1 min. of dead time.)

LM:   somewhere around 5.0 

Direction of observations: Cassiopeia/Perseus region

Meteor # Time of   Shower Mag. Train  Color  Area Seen
         appearance                          in sky
         in EDT 
 
     13  4:23:20    PER?   3    -   Cassiopeia/Perseus
       
     14  4:27?      PER?   3    -   Cassiopeia/Perseus

    
     15  4:29       PER?   3    -   Cassiopeia/Perseus
  
     16  4:39       PER?   2.5  -   Cassiopeia/Perseus

         4:44        Ended session.         

Remarks: Meteor # 1 was seen during my preliminary
observation.  The signs ">" and "<" listed above mean:
possibly greater or less than in regards to magnitude.

My e-mail is marktfoxvdb@yahoo.com  or 
unclefireballmtf@yahoo.com.  

Thank you all for your splendid help in answering my
past question!

Best regards,

Mark Fox
Newaygo, MI

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