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(meteorobs) September 26, 2001 Meteor Observations From California

I had the pleasure of observing from the property of Jim Foster this
morning. After reading of my travels to the wilderness of the Laguna
Mountains Jim invited me to try watching from his house, which is
located only 25 miles to the east. Despite the complete lack of a marine
layer the skies were impressive. The western sky was somewhat lit by the
lights of San Diego but the eastern half was impressively dark. As usual
I sat in the back of my pickup while Jim and his dogs made an occasional
visit. It was a great relief not having to worry about every car driving
by. Jim's house is well off the main road and the dogs will surely scare
off any intruders, human or otherwise.

The activity was steady throughout the session. The anthelion radiant
(Piscids) and the September Perseids (Delta Aurigids) were well
represented. The two apex radiants were also active but not as much as
seen during the last session. The activity seen tonight was dim with no
meteor brighter than +1 been recorded. The highlight of the session was
a long 2nd magnitude sporadic shooting swiftly out of the south through
Fornax and Cetus. I should also mention that after the session, while
Jim and I were chatting, we spotted the International Space Station. It
was visible for quite a long time while it drifted from the northern sky
to almost the eastern horizon. There was also another brighter satellite
that occurred at 11:57. This one was visible less than a minute as it
streaked 20 degrees through the southern sky.

Once again I would like to thank Jim for the opportunity to use his fine
observing site.

September 26, 2001


0847-0952 UT  1.00  6.56  2 ANT 0 KAQ 2 SPR 1 NPX 1 SPX  6 SPO  12 TOTAL

0952-1057 UT  1.00  6.52  0 ANT 0 KAQ 2 SPR 2 NPX 0 SPX  6 SPO  10 TOTAL

1057-1232 UT  1.49  6.39  3 ANT 0 KAQ 1 SPR 1 NPX 1 SPX  7 SPO  13 TOTAL

TOTALS:       3.49  6.39  5 ANT 0 KAQ 5 SPR 4 NPX 2 SPX 19 SPO  35 TOTAL


The first column gives the period watched stated in Universal Time (UT)
which is PDT + 7 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 average
limiting magnitude estimated during each period. The last several
columns list the activity seen during each period. I was facing
southeast at an altitude of 70 degrees during the entire session. No
breaks were taken. ANT = Antihelion radiant (Piscids), KAQ = Kappa
Aquarids, SPR = September Perseids (Delta Aurigids), NPX = Northern
Apex, SPX = Southern Apex, and SPO = Sporadics (random activity).

Location: Deerhorn Valley 116 45'21" W  32 41'21" N  ELE = 667m

Bortle Scale Estimate:  Class 4: Rural/suburban transition

Beginning Temperature/Relative Humidity:   61 F (16 C)  49%
Ending         "         "         "       59 F (15 C)  55%

MAGNITUDES:  

ANT:       0 (0) +1 (0) +2 (1) +3 (0)  +4 (4)  +5 (0) +6 (0)  AVE: +3.60
SPR:       0 (0) +1 (1) +2 (2) +3 (1)  +4 (0)  +5 (1) +6 (0)  AVE: +2.60
NPX:       0 (0) +1 (1) +2 (0) +3 (3)  +4 (0)  +5 (0) +6 (0)  AVE: +2.50
SPX:       0 (0) +1 (0) +2 (1) +3 (1)  +4 (0)  +5 (0) +6 (0)  AVE: +2.50
SPO:       0 (0) +1 (1) +2 (1) +3 (4)  +4 (10) +5 (3) +6 (0)  AVE: +3.68

Bob Lunsford
San Diego, CA USA
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