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(meteorobs) Re: Leonid 2001 Report From MI/Questions + Taped Possible Sonic Boom



Mark,

I am trying to answer your question on whether meteor #2 was a Leonid.

You state it appeared at 23:57 Universal Time. I assume you meant 11:57
pm CST. If this is the correct time then the Leonid radiant was already
12 degrees high in your eastern sky. This means that this meteor was
most likely a Leonid.

I hope this helps!

Robert Lunsford
American Meteor Scoiety


Mark Fox wrote:
> 
> November 23, 2001
> 
> Greetings Meteor Enthusiasts:
> 
> The early morning hours of November 18, 2001 were
> consumed by dense, ghostly fog---a total wipe out for
> the Leonid peak here.
> 
> Nevertheless, on the night of November 17 before the
> peak, I managed to do some preliminary observing and
> test out my observing procedures which included a tape
> recorder for the first time.  My Teff encompassed
> about an hour worth of hunting, of which only two
> meteors were seen.
> 
> Strangely though, I witnessed an immense white light
> that lit up the sky, 3 minutes into my first session.
> It lasted only for a fraction of a second or so and
> was sighted right at the horizon underneath Lyra,
> which if am correct, would place it towards the
> northwest.  About 4 sec. later I heard a loud gunshot
> type noise that echoed across Pickerel Lake, the lake
> I was observing at.  Believe it or not, I caught the
> sound on the tape recorder!   I do not know what to
> make of it, but consider this event most strange.  I
> have marked the site.
> 
> Because of the circumstances, I think it is just as
> well if I use the makeshift form below for my report.
> 
> DATE: 17/18 Nov., 2001
> OBSERVER:  Mark Fox
> LOCATION:  Newaygo, Newaygo County, Michigan USA  (43
> 27' N, 85 49' W)
> ELEVATION: 760 feet during first session; 780 feet
> during second session
> TOTAL TEFF: 0.967 hours
> RECORDING METHOD:  tape recorder
> BREAKS: none
> 
> LM: Wasn't the easiest to record.  It hovered around
> +5.2 near the zenith most of the time, with some
> fluctuations from fog that drove it down to around
> +5.0 late into the observations.  Of course, the
> limiting magnitude decreased exceptionally towards the
> horizon at first, and upwards over time.  The sky
> started fluctuating rapidly at the last moments of the
> last session, with parts of it as low as +4.0 or more
> near the zenith.
> 
> I used the following star areas which on "average"
> yielded the following amount of stars:
> 
> AREA    # of STARS   LM
> 
>   6         5        5.2
> 
>  14         8-       5.2
> 
>  19         3         ?
> 
> (Also counted 6 stars in Pleiades and saw lambda
> Persei which is labeled +5.0 mag. in the NAMN star
> charts, most of the time during observations.)
> 
>

References: