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(meteorobs) Meteor Lover's smorgasbord
Subject: Leonid Report .. It was not a storm, yet a
continuous shower, with no
break in activity, an average of 8 to 10 a
minute, with brief bursts of 6
to 10 a second, simultaneously
interspersed with fireballs, and bolides; a
cross section of every type
of meteor one could hope for seeing; a meteor
lover's smorgasbord; A true mix
of earth grazers, point meteors, fireballs,
bolides of orange and blue,
luminous trains, faint meteors,and an abundance
of bright ones.
Estimated peak 10:33 to 10:34 UT
Date: November 18
2001
Begin: 7:00UT (1:00 am CST)
End: 11:05 UT (5:00 am CST)
Name of Observer: Barbara Wilson
IMO Code: (WILBA)
Observing Site: Ponchartrain Astronomy Site, near
Franklinton, La, USA.
Longitude: 90 degrees 1l' 19" west
longitude
Latitude: + 30 degrees 46' 32"
latitude.
Altitude: 73 feet
Shower: LEO
Total number of Leonids:
794
Total number of non-Leonids:10
Recording method: Count ( tape
recorder)
Limiting Magnitude: 5.6 to
5.7
Teff : 214 minutes/ 3.57
hours
Below is count from 1 am to 5:05 am local
time Obsuration of horizon 25
degrees (treeline) I was facing
south looking about 50 degrees elevation.
Period(UT)
FOV LM
LEO SPO
07:00-08:00 10.0h+19 5.6 36
0
08:00-09:00 10.0h+19 5.7
90 4
09:00-10:00
05.5h+00 5.7 220 3
10:00-10:01
05.5h+00 5.7 10
0
10:01-10:02 05.5h+00 5.7 5
0
10:02-10:04 05.5h+00 5.7
14 0
10:04-10:05
05.5h+00 5.7 6
0
10:05-10:06 05.5h+00 5.7 6
0
10:06-10:08 05.5h+00 5.7
10 0
10:08-10:10 05.5h+00
5.6 6 0(some
haze and clouds passing)
10:10-10:11 05.5h+00 5.7
9 2
10:11-10:12 05.5h+00 5.7 5
0
10:12-10:14
05.5h+00 5.7 23
1
10:14-10:15 05.5h+00
5.7 5 0
10:15-10:16
05.5h+00 5.7
9 0
10:16-10:18
05.5h+00 5.7 16
0
10:18-10:19 05.5h+00
5.7 17
0
10:19-10:20 05.5h+00 5.7 5
0
10:20-10:21 05.5h+00 5.7 6
0
10:21-10:22
05.5h+00 5.7 5
0
10:22-10:23
05.5h+00 5.7
6 0
10:23-10:24 05.5h+00 5.7
15 0
10:24-10:25 05.5h+00 5.7
11 0
10:25-10:26 05.5h+00 5.7
15 0
10:26-10:27 05.5h+00
5.7 13
0
10:27-10:28 05.5h+00 5.7
7 0
10:28-10:29
05.5h+00 5.7
5 1
10:29-10:30
05.5h+00 5.7 12
0
10:30-10:31
05.5h+00 5.7 9
0
10:31-10:33 05.5h+00 5.7 17
0
10:33-10:34
05.5h+00 5.7 20
0
10:34-10:35 05.5h+00 5.7 8
Leo 0
10:35-10:36 05.5h+00 5.7
6 Leo 0
10:36-10:37 05.5h+00 5.7 5
Leo 0
10:37-10:39 05.5h+00 5.7
25 Leo 0
10:39-10:40
05.5h+00 5.7 6 Leo
0
10:40-10:42 05.5h+00 5.7 16 Leo
0
10:42-10:44 05.5h+00 5.7 15 Leo
0
10:44-10:45 05.5h+00 5.7 9 Leo
0
10:45-10:46 05.5h+00 5.7 4
Leo 0
10:46-10:48 05.5h+00 5.7 17
Leo 0
11:00-11:05 05.5h+00 5.7
40 Leo 0
Magnitude Distribution - Leo
Period 0700--0900: (1am to 2 am local)
Mag -8 -7
-6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 +1 +2 +3 +4 +5 +6 Tot
-
------------------------- ------------------------
LEO: 1 0
0 0 1 0 3 0 2 17
7 3 0 2 0 36 Note -8
bolide at 1:45 am of -8 through Cass left a wake visible for 10 minutes.
LEO 0 0 0 0 0 1
4 5 8 30 25 14 2 1 0 90 - 4 blue
bolide that exploded into pieces due west at 2:01 am, left a train visible
for several minutes)
Break: 10 min
Period
0900--1000: hourly count was 220 leonids 3 sporadics (3 to 4 am
local)
Mag -8 -7 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2
-1 0 +1 +2 +3 +4 +5 +6 Tot
- -------------------------
------------------------
LEO: 1 0 0 1 1 3
10 55 2 66 39 33 9 0 0
220 Note at 3:51 am was a -8 bolide, lit up the ground as it blew into 2
pieces. Fireball at 3:06 am lit up
the ground like a strobe light, then
seconds later, a -5 left a beautiful train.
Break: 5 min
Period: 10UT to 10:30 Ut HALF HOUR count
241 Leonids
Mag -8 -7 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2
-1 0 +1 +2 +3 +4 +5 +6 Tot
- -------------------------
------------------------
LEO: 0 0 0 1
0 1 13 42 1 99 50 21 11 2 0
241
Period: 10:30 to 10:48 UT 18 minute
Count 157 Leonids
Mag -8 -7 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2
-1 0 +1 +2 +3 +4 +5 +6 Tot
- -------------------------
------------------------
LEO: 0 0 0 1
2 1 8 27 2 70 25 18 2
1 0 157
From 11:00 to 11:05 UT 5 minute count 40
Leonids
Mag -8 -7 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2
-1 0 +1 +2 +3 +4 +5 +6 Tot
- -------------------------
------------------------
LEO: 0 0 0 0
0 0 2 11 1 18 5 3 0 0
0 40
The night started with the long Earth Grazers from 11:30 CST
till 12:30 CST.
They were mostly 1st magnitude, flying in parallel from east
to west. These
set the stage for an amazing night, which thankfully was
seen so many places
across the US At 10:23 UT I got quite a flurry, I saw one
every 4 seconds
but at 10:33-10:34 my one minute count was 20 Leonids,
an average of one
every 3 seconds. Quite exciting!
The
excitement was so apparent as activity increased with bursts of 4 to 6
at
once, or maybe more, from about 10:21 UT. A beautiful burst of 6 at
once
out of the radiant at 10:23 UT, that for a second or two had
trains that
made the radiant appear as a sunburst, or should I say star
burst.
it was so apparent that activity had increased dramatically at
that point,
it seemed to me to be quite a flurry, but not sustained bursts.
Spits and
flurries of 4 to 6 at once, then slowing down to 1 or 2 then up
again.
Many fireballs, though the amount of fireballs did not
approach the 1998
fireballs which I saw from west Texas under 6.8 magnitude
skies. There were
several that were of the -8 category ( and at least 3
bolides, which split
and left enduring trains( a bolide at 1:45 am of -8
through Cass left a wake
visible for 10 minutes, a - 4 blue bolide that
exploded into pieces due
west at 2:01 am, left a train visible for
several minutes). (None of these
fireballs, left the 20 minute trains
we saw in 1998.) One at 3:06 am lit up
the ground like a strobe light, then
seconds later, a -5 left a beautiful
train. One at 3:51 am, which
was a -8, lit up the ground as it blew into 2
pieces. A great mix of
fireballs, several bolides, and bright meteors with a
number of fainter 3-4th
magnitude, but average of mostly -1 to 2nd
magnitude. A number of J shaped
trains, both right side up and up side
down.
I stopped
taping at 10:48, Count from then on was ceased due to strong
Leonid activity,
no matter what direction one looked they were falling,
despite increasing
astronomical twilight to the east. I could not really
make an accurate
estimate, and just wanted to look.
I saw 10 at once at (10:55 UT) looking
west towards Orion where the sky was
still dark just before 5 am. While
others were seeing similar activity
looking north, or south. The zodiacal
cone was now going through Leo. .
After 11 UT (5 am) the
activity slowed somewhat due to increasing sky
brightness because of
twilight. I resumed tape count, continued to see
Leonids falling while the
sky was turning blue deep into nautical twilight,
as did others. Seven seen
of 1st magnitude at 5:01 am and 15 total in this
one minute, and still strong
activity at 5:05 despite haze and high cirrus
now overhead that came in
slowly from the east in the last 1/2 hour, I saw 6
more of 0 to 1st
magnitude. Between 11 UT (5am) and 11:05 UT (5:05am) I
counted 40 in 5
minutes.
Barbara
Wilson
Houston,
Texas