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Re: (meteorobs) My Aurora Observation Report - Post Yours



Dear MeteorObs:

A quick trip outside to see if I could locate Comet LINEAR C/2000 WM became
one of the most spectacular observing sessions I've ever enjoyed. I stepped
out at approximately 0210 UT (910 PM EST) to try and glimpse LINEAR with
binoculars. I scanned a line from Perseus to Capella for a few moments and
glanced up away from the glasses just in time to see a nice meteor headed
east through Gemini.

I turned to the Northwest and was stunned to see a spectacular red glow with
slight yellow-white "curtaining". What followed was nearly 3 hours of the
finest Auroral display I have seen.

Some of the highlights were: a soft turquoise-green glow across most of the
North horizon to about elevation 15 degrees. Several displays of
yellow-white vertical columns against a rusty reddish glow. The Auroral
display was visible to elevation of at least 45 degrees above my North
horizon until moonrise at approximately 0315 ut. A total of 5 meteors which
seemed to have a radiant to the south or soutwest (Southern Taurids??)
including a magnitude -5 at approximately 0410 ut in Lynx that burned  for
nearly 10 seconds.

Around 0400 I noticed what appeared to be auroral glow at zenith, actually
it was running east-west through the Great Square of Pegasus. At first I
thought this must have been moonlight refracted by high altitude ice
crystals or clouds but it took on a decidedly reddish glow from time to time
and my sky was virtually cloudless. At times there seemed to be a "light
dome" over the north  which extended to 40-45 degrees elevation.

I addition to the two meteors mentioned above the others were seen at
approximately 0425, 0439  and 0459 UT, all were heading north and were in
Lynx or Ursa Major. LM was approximately 5.5

A fantastic evening...but I have yet to see LINEAR 2000 WM...that's for
another evening.

Observing:
Mark S. Williams
Tanya L. Tuell

Regards,

Mark

Mark S. Williams
Elizabeth, Indiana
38 08 16 North
85 56 06 West
(15 km southwest of Louisville, Ky)

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