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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: