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(meteorobs) the Leonid Circus atop Donner Summit
(If yu're interested in my numbers, go to the bottom
of the message, do not pass go, do not collect $200.)
The dust has settled, the cobwebs have cleared, and my
meteor shower hangover has abated. My profound joy
and wonder, on the other hand, have yet to lose
altitude. After 25 years of peeking up the skirt of
the late night sky, counting streaks of light among
the constellations, I have finally caught a glimpse of
those lacy bloomers. The great Leonid meteor shower of
2001 lived up to, gulp, expectations and more!
The fates, which have typically conspired against me,
are suddenly embracing me with open arms. Since moving
to California just 4 months ago I have witnessed a
three-week long emigration of countless California
Tortoiseshell butterflies, watched thousands of
dragonflies zoom about like fairies on amphetamines,
gawked at the smoky haze of the Milky Way as the mood
struck, watched clusters of wintering Monarchs explode
from Gum Eucalyptus trees like a super nova, and now
can one day tell my grandchildren (which I better not
have any for at least 5 more years) about the greatest
night of meteors of my life.
I have been watching meteor showers since 1975 -
mostly the Perseids. I’ve suffered relentless cloud
cover and rejoiced in crystal clear skies. I’ve
counted 100 Geminids per hour, been blinded by
fireballs, and watched Perseids tumble across a dance
floor of Northern Lights. But never, not even in my
wildest meteor shower fantasies, have I had to forgo
my usual hourly tallies in favor of 5-minute counts,
counts that resulted in numbers typical of hourly
totals. By the time I fell into bed on the morning of
the 18th, I had recorded 1167 Leonids. Figure in all
those uncounted odds and ends and perhaps 1200 meteors
rained down around me on this single night.
Unlike most who must now content themselves with a
once-in-a-lifetime experience, the peak of the Leonid
meteor shower was also the finishing touch to an
extraordinary day at our small B and B: a day of
weather forecast-related mood swings, guests
celebrating birthdays, and guests who checked in just
to see the Leonids. As the evening wore on and the
guests mingled, meteor shower anticipation reached
critical mass. Everyone went to bed by about 9:00, all
promising to respond to a midnight rap at their door.
I tossed and turned most of the next three hours, due
not only to anticipation, but also the festive mood
filling the inn.
My wife and I grudgingly forced ourselves out of bed
and into several layers of clothing around 12:00 am.
Lifting a slat on the blinds, I saw two of our guests,
the couple whom had come solely for the Leonids, in
the parking lot, gazing up into a murky sky. The sight
of them beneath that unfriendly cloud cover filled me
with an all too familiar feeling of dread. But they
were steadfast in their optimism and enthusiasm, and
when they came in, resolved to ride out the clouds, we
discussed possible observing sights and began loading
the Jeep with blankets.
Soon the clouds began to thin, and our excitement
sprouted wings. Another of our guests appeared,
dancing around the parking lot like a youngster who
has to pee. She had gotten up, peeked through one of
her slats just as I had, and saw a Leonid streak
through the clearing sky. She woke her husband,
dressed quickly, and made for the parking lot. There
was a palpable sense of impending out-of-this-world
delight enveloping us all. We were children on
Christmas morning.
This second couple decided they were going to watch
from the inn. Another guest gave us his cell phone and
told us to call when the sky began to fall. (The last
two guests, who failed to materialize, suffered
through a severe finger-wagging and our good-natured
taunts over breakfast the next morning.). The first
couple drove off to an overlook on Donner Pass Road,
high above Donner Lake and distant Truckee, where the
Donner family and their fellow companions spent the
winter cannibalizing each other back in the 1800’s. We
followed soon after...for astronomy, not a midnight
snack.
Unbelievably, every available space along the three
mile drive to the overlook had a car parked in it,
folks milling about, generally staring up toward the
stars. The overlook, intended to accommodate perhaps
10 automobiles, was a congested traffic jam begging
for a traffic cop. Star gazers climbed among the
rocks, huddled together on the ground, lay in the back
of pick-up trucks and leaned against cars. It was
Woodstock for the Leonids.
I was torn between the pleasure of seeing such a
turnout for this cosmic spectacle and the frustration
of the inconvenience it presented. The chance of a
lifetime was unfolding its petals overhead, and I had
to fight for elbow room.
Jockeying the Jeep about like a bumper car, I got us
turned around and out of the congestion. A quarter
mile or so up the mountain I pulled off beside a rocky
outcropping. Soon another, and yet another car pulled
in behind us. There was no room left even for a
Moped. It was a carnival side-show. A playground at
recess. It was bumper to bumper traffic, and we were
all rubber-necking a multi-car pileup in the sky.
I began my, ahem, official observations at 1:55 local
time (9:55 UT). Expecting busier than normal rates,
(I still doubted the predictions, and with good
reason. There are folks in central Ohio who still
blame me for Perseid drizzle of 1993.) I decided to
keep quarter-hour counts, rather than hourly. That
lasted for exactly one half hour . After the first few
seconds of the 31st minute it was obvious 5-minute
counts were necessary.
This wasn’t 100 Geminids per hour. The wasn’t a bunch
of Perseids tumbling across a dance floor of Northern
Lights. This was 12 Leonids streaking across the stars
every minute. This was the frequent strobe of flash
bulbs behind us as Leonids burst like paparazzi
photographing a celebrity. This was the distant oo’s
and ah’s of star gazers as a half dozen or more bright
meteors fell simultaneously. This was the cheer of the
crowd a quarter-mile down the road as one Leonid
exploded in a blinding flash, leaving a train that
lasted for more than 7 minutes.
This was the Big One, and I was invited to the party.
I observed for a total of 3 hours and five minutes.
Rates ranged from 64 Leonids per 5 minutes down to 15.
They rarely fell one at a time, but usually in rapid
succession, or simultaneously. They streaked across
the sky in bunches, sometimes a dozen or more suddenly
appearing within just a few seconds. Many were bright,
exhibiting aqua-marine trains that lingered for 2 or 3
minutes.
We had a distinct peak during the 5-minute period that
began at 10:25 UT when we counted 64 Leonids, with 2
more smaller peaks at 11:10 and 11:40 UT when we
counted 54 and 43 Leonids respectively. 5-minute rates
hovered in the vicinity of 45 to 50 meteors until
11:25 UT. After the spike of 43 Leonids around 11:40
UT, rates gradually slipped from the upper to the
lower 20’s per 5-minute period. By 13:20 UT (5:20
local time), tired and cold, I decided to not be
gluttonous. Leaving the remains of the night and the
marvelous Leonid meteors for whomever else was left
among the rocky slopes of Donner Summit, I drifted off
to bed like a ghost satisfied with the life it had
just departed..
The next morning, at breakfast, was a celebration of
kindred spirits sharing in the last few moments of an
experience we will all carry with us for the rest of
our lives. We came together as strangers, our guests
at the inn and us, and we may carry on as strangers,
but for one glorious night we rejoiced in the splendor
of a starry sky filled up with hundreds upon hundreds
of Leonid meteors. My wife and I were thrilled with
having hosted such a night, and our guests were
thrilled with having been a part of it.
The dust has settled, the cobwebs have cleared, and my
meteor shower hangover has abated. I have finally
caught a glimpse of those lacey bloomers, and it was
even better than I could have ever imagined. Life is
good...
Here are my numbers.
We observed from the area of Donner Summit, around
Soda Springs, CA, at about 7,000’. Our N. Lat is about
39deg12min.
Limiting Magnitudes dropped when a threadbare and
frayed swatch of cloud cover drifted overhead.
Our ‘F’ value - available sky - was due to the pile
of rocks towering over us to our right, and the clouds
behind us, to the north. The rest of the sky was clear
and available. The value changes to ‘1’ because we
returned to the inn at 12:15 UT, where I continued to
observe until 13:20UT, in the shadow cast by a small
ski hut that blocked the glare of a single light.
Beginning Teff
Time (UT) (Hours) # Leonids LMag F
11/18
9:55 0.25 50 +6.5 1.33
10:10 0.25 78 +6.5 1.33
:25 0.08 64 +6.5 1.33
:30 0.08 50 +4.5 1.33
:35 0.08 33 +4.5 1.33
:40 0.08 47 +4.5 1.33
:45 0.08 48 +5.0 1.33
:50 0.08 45 +5.0 1.33
:55 0.08 31 +5.0 1.33
11:00 0.08 48 +5.0 1.33
:05 0.08 44 +6.5 1.33
:10 0.08 54 +6.5 1.33
:15 0.08 51 +6.5 1.33
:20 0.08 44 +6.5 1.33
:25 0.08 40 +6.5 1.33
:30 0.08 29 +6.5 1.33
:35 0.08 27 +6.5 1.33
:40 0.08 43 +6.5 1.33
:45 0.08 29 +6.5 1.33
:50 0.08 25 +6.5 1.33
:55 0.08 27 +6.5 1.33
12:00 0.08 26 +6.5 1.33
:05 0.08 26 +6.5 1.33
:10 0.08 16 +6.5 1.33
- break to drive back to the inn -
:35 0.08 15 +6.5 1.00
:40 0.08 24 +6.5 1.00
:45 0.08 24 +6.5 1.00
:50 0.08 25 +6.5 1.00
:55 0.08 20 +6.5 1.00
13:00 0.08 21 +6.5 1.00
:05 0.08 22 +6.5 1.00
:10 0.08 21 +6.5 1.00
:15 0.08 20 +6.5 1.00
totals: 3.08 Hrs 1167 Leonids
I didn’t keep track of non-Leonids.
=====
Gregg, Innkeeper at Always Inn B and B, Soda Springs, CA
Read my weekly Wildflower Column at Suite101.com
Editor of "Gardens, Stars and Butterflies" to subscribe, send an e-mail to naturalworld-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
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