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(meteorobs) CURMA instant report from Hawaii

Just down from the mountain.  View spoilt by crowds of people with
lots of lights, and latecomers not switching off headlights, and bozos
with flashbulbs.  Most had gone by 2:30.  Only then could I really
concentrate on telescopic observing.  During the first hour, there were
so many interruptions for headlights and general noise and music my
concentration wasn't there (seeing about half of normal, when I ought
to be seeing more) during a major shower.

Fun started at 10UT (midnight Hawaiian time) with an incredible show
of Earth grazers.  One traversed ~140 degrees and by the end it looked
like it was travelling through treacle.  There were several very long
and slow meteors.  I was surprised that the adjacent photographer
commented how fast they travelled.

As the radiant rose the meteors gradually accelerated and had shorter
paths.  Early on the meteors were typically +1 or +2, all trained.
It was fun to watch the geometry in action.

There was a slow down after 01:15 which prompted an exodus. Around
2:00 activity started to pick up.  By about 3:00 the Leonids were
coming 25-30 per minute.  The sky had a limiting magnitude of ~7.4.
An hour later it was like 20 per minute. Note these are very
approximate numbers as I only did ~5-minute sessions between
telescopic observing (and from peripheral vision)

During this time the meteors were on average becoming brighter, with
several fireballs.  Even in the twilight with a LM of 3.5 I was still
seeing 10 per minute as I packed up my gear.  These were mostly mag 0
and brighter.   So it was hotting up for the Orient.  

So it looks like Peter Brown and Bill Cooke were on the money re. the
1799 contribution, and there certainly were lots of meteors at the time
of the 10h predicted outburst, when the radiant was on the horizon
suggesting a high ZHR.

Malcolm

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