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

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.)   

0f sky not obstructed by trees, hills, houses, etc.:
roughly 40 0uring first and second sessions which
does not include all the cracks visible through the
trees.

Cloud and/or fog cover:  Fog obliterated most bright
stars, at least 20 or so degrees above most (if not
all) of the horizon at first.  At the end of my second
session, the drifting fog was greatly affecting the
limiting magnitude at the zenith. 

Observed Showers:

          LEO(1?)         
          NTA              
          IAU
          SPO(1)

First Session:  
Teff:  0.833 hours;  from 23:52-0:44 UT (7:52-8:44
P.M. EST)
Dead Time: about 2 min.
Field Of View:  Was a bit nervous.  Looked towards the
NW-N-NE section of the sky and a part of the zenith.
     
Time ***** Meteor #  *** Shower *** Mag. 

23:53:15 UT   1           SPO        +1        

Velocity *** Color *** Length *** Area Seen In 

    3        Wh/Bl?   At least      Passed 
                      20 deg.     underneath 
                                  Ursa Minor
***************************************************

Time ***** Meteor #  *** Shower *** Mag. 

23:57:15 UT   2           LEO?       0

Velocity *** Color *** Length *** Area Seen In 

  4-5         Wh    (?) 40 deg.+     Cygnus    

***Train ***

 White, about 1.5 sec ( A beauty!)
**************************************************

Second Session:
Teff:  0.13  hours; from 0:51-0:59 UT  (8:51-8:59 P.M.
EST) 
Field of View:  Pleiades, Auriga, Taurus, Perseus,
Andromeda, Pegasus, and some adjacent constellations.
    
(Moved closer to house, which was a few hundred feet
away from my earlier location.)
 
No meteors seen.
*************************************

NOTES  AND  QUESTIONS:  

1.  All time recorded should be off by a few seconds
at most.

2. LEO = Leonids; NTA = Norhern Taurids; IAU = Iota
Aurigids; SPO = sporadics

3.  The velocity scale used here is the standard one
used by NAMN with 1 being very slow and 5 being real
fast without a head visible on the meteor.

4.  Meteor # 1 could have been a possible Northern
Taurid or even a possible Iota Aurigid shower member. 
Thus, I am labeling it as a sporadic.

5.  The speed, length, luminous train, and a rough
plot of Meteor # 2 seem to indicate an earth-grazing
Leonid. Awfully early, wouldn't one think?  Although
it would be hard to separate a lot of the Leonids from
the Northen Apex source, could it be just that--- an
Apex shower member due to its higher radiant at that
time?  I would appreciate any help in determining
this, which I will still dubiously call a Leonid,
unless told otherwise. 
 
6. I apologize for not having posted my other meteor
reports for the rest of the month yet.  I still hope
to finish them and am curious if there is a standard
deadline to keep in mind.  Is there?     

My e-mail is unclefireballmtf@yahoo.com.

Long trains!

Mark Fox
Newaygo, MI USA

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