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Re: (meteorobs) Bob's Leonid Trip to Arizona/Sue & Felix AZ Bound in 2002?
Dear Bob and All - Sounds like Arizona is the place to be! After
speaking with Norm on the phone today, Sue and I have decided to write my
proposal (for a fully-funded Leonid 2002 Excursion) to head on out to
Arizona. This will include day trips to Meteor Crater & Grand Canyon
(makes for an Astro-Geology Adventure). The proposal has to be mailed
out on Tuesday to make the deadline for selection and approval. Any
ideas from Bob, Norm, Lew, and any others are greatly welcome! At this
point it looks like I will only need about $2,100.00 to $2,500.00 in
approved funding for the trip expenses & some equipment. Hope everyone
is having a decent weekend!
In Astronomical Affinity - Felix A. Martinez
On Fri, 23 Nov 2001 15:11:25 -0800 Robert Lunsford
<lunro.imo.usa@home.com> writes:
> I had the pleasure of viewing the Leonids with two groups this past
> week. I met up with the Dutch group stationed at Safford, Arizona on
> Thursday November 15. This group included Marco Langbroek, Marc
> DeLigne,
> Rita Verhoef, Romke Schievink, Ralf and Esther (whose last name I
> cannot
> recall). Sadly Carl Johannick was unable to make the trip due to
> injury:( We checked out the skies that night at the Safford Science
> Museum on the outskirts of town. The skies were dark enough to
> present
> the Gegenschein and the zodiacal band. Unfortunately there was
> interference from traffic and some annoying local lights. We decided
> to
> look for a better location.
>
> On Friday we spent most of the day checking out possible observing
> sites. Our first destination was Mt. Graham and we found one good
> site
> on the lower eastern slopes. Some of the horizons were compromised
> so we
> headed in the opposite direction. We found an even better spot with
> great horizons in the Gila Mountains area northeast of Safford. We
> observed there Saturday morning and noted some impressive Taurid
> activity. The first meteor of the night was a slow green -6 Taurid
> that
> appeared near the northern horizon. The last meteor of the night was
> a
> -8 to -10 Leonid that lit the scene and left an impressive train.
>
> After breakfast and a quick nap it was time to say good bye to my
> Dutch
> comrades. Actually all but Marco were still sleeping as I left for
> Mt.
> Lemmon. It would had been difficult to say good-bye in person as
> they
> were all so nice to me. It was a beautiful drive westward. The
> transition from desert to mountain scenery was spectacular. I did
> notice
> a bank of cirrus to the west that worried me somewhat. Once up on
> the
> mountain top it was good to renew acquaintances with Dave Holman,
> Tom
> Kucharski and Jim Richardson. It was also great to meet the
> energetic
> observers from Europe; Javor Krac, Jure Atanakov, Jure Zakrajsek,
> and
> Ana Mancic. As the afternoon progressed the skies became more and
> more
> of a concern. Satellite pictures showed variable cloudiness over
> most of
> the southern half of Arizona. The southeast area of the state showed
> the
> most promise. We decided to sit tight and try to get a nap.
>
> We woke at 2000 (8pm) under dreadful skies. The Europeans were
> understandable nervous and were thinking seriously about relocating.
> The
> satellite picture showed that the worst was over us at the moment
> and
> that skies should get better. We just did not know how much better!
> My main concern was a large blob of clouds over Southern California
> that
> was heading our way. I figured it should arrive near dawn and that
> we
> would be safe until then, that is if it ever cleared up at all!.
>
> The mostly cloudy skies prevented me from observing before local
> midnight. Shortly after midnight the Europeans began seeing some
> impressive earthgrazers and greeted them with shouts of joy. I
> started
> watching at 12:45 local time when there were large breaks in the
> cirrus.
> The clouds may have still been there but they were thin enough to
> allow
> unhampered viewing with a sight loss of limiting magnitude.
> Occasionally
> a denser patch of cirrus would float by but it was easy just to
> change
> my field of view to watch in better skies.
>
> Rates and the brightness of the Leonids were impressive right from
> the
> start. The long Leonids continued for at least another hour. It was
> easy
> to record on tape and click the mouse early in the session. It
> became a
> little more difficult when activity really picked up around 10 UT
> (3am
> MST). I also began photographing the show at this point. My next
> check
> of my cassette recorder revealed that it had stopped recording in
> the
> 33F (1 C) temperature. After a loss of 3 minutes changing batteries
> it
> seemed to be working again. A bit later on it quit again so I
> employed
> by backup recorder which worked flawlessly the remainder of the
> night.
>
> The rates climbed steadily and seemed to reach a peak around 10:45
> UT
> (3:45am MST) with rates near 30 per minute. Rates slowed somewhat
> for
> the next 15 minutes but shortly after the hour activity picked up
> again.
> The show climaxed near 11:05 UT when 6 near simultaneous Leonids
> shot in
> different directions creating the "spokes of a wheel" effect. This
> effect can only be seen when the radiant lies within your field of
> view.
> Those looking toward the radiant had the advantage of seeing Leonids
> shooting in all directions and had no difficulty seeing the
> shorter/slower Leonids. Much to my surprise the rates still remained
> strong the remainder of the night and did not fall off rapidly as
> had
> occurred in 1999. For this reason plus the tremendous number of
> bright
> meteors, the 2001 Leonid shower surpassed the 1999 event, at least
> in my
> mind.
>
> After 5:00am the cirrus became more of a nuisance as that blob of
> clouds
> from Southern California began to arrive. By the time I stopped
> recording at 5:45am it was getting difficult to find a cloud free
> section of the sky in which to watch.
>
> I spent the next 30 minutes wrapped in a blanket just standing
> around
> marveling at the still impressive show occurring during the
> brightening
> twilight. I have to admit that after all the energy put forth in
> recording the activity it was certainly nice just to stand there and
> watch in relaxed mode. Just before stepping into the observatory
> dome I
> was rewarding with a -8 Leonid fireball producing 3 flares before
> being
> extinguished by clouds low in the northern sky. The sunrise was also
> impressive with its many vivid colors.
>
> Before heading to bed we toasted the night with a magnum of
> champagne
> which was the perfect way to end a night such a fantastic night
> shared
> with special people. Marco was kind enough to phone me later that
> day
> saying they obtained similar rates under slightly better conditions
> from
> their eastern Arizona location.
>
> Nov 18, 2001
>
> 15 MINUTE INTERVALS
>
> 0745-0800 UT 9 Leonids 1 SPO Estimated LM +5.4
> 0800-0815 UT 11 " 2 " " +4.7
> 0815-0830 UT 10 " 1 " " +5.0
> 0830-0845 UT 8 " 0 " " +5.5
> 0845-0900 UT 20 " 2 NTA " +5.7
> 0900-0915 UT 33 " 0 SPO " +5.8
> 0915-0930 UT 35 " 2 NTA/1 SPO " +5.9
>
> 5 MINUTE INTERVALS
>
> 0930-0935 UT 21 " 1 AMO/2 SPO " +5.9
> 0935-0940 UT 30 " 3 SPO " +6.0
> 0940-0945 UT 29 " 2 " " +6.0
> 0945-0950 UT 25 " 1 AMO/2 SPO " +6.0
> 0950-0955 UT 33 " 2 SPO " +6.0
> 0955-1000 UT 44 " 1 AMO/1 SPO " +6.0
>
> 1 MINUTE INTERVALS
>
> 1000-1001 UT 6 " 1 " " +6.0
> 1001-1002 UT 11 " 0 " " +6.0
> 1002-1003 UT 7 " 1 " " +6.0
> 1003-1004 UT 3 " 0 " " +6.0
> 1004-1005 UT 4 " 0 " " +6.1
> 1005-1006 UT 6 " 0 " " +6.1
> 1006-1007 UT BREAK " "
> 1007-1008 UT BREAK " "
> 1008-1009 UT BREAK " "
> 1009-1010 UT 13 " 0 " " +6.2
> 1010-1011 UT 5 " 0 " " +6.2
> 1011-1012 UT 13 " 0 " " +6.2
> 1012-1013 UT 11 " 0 " " +6.2
> 1013-1014 UT 4 " 1 " " +6.2
> 1014-1015 UT 11 " 1 " " +6.2
> 1015-1016 UT 11 " 1 " " +6.2
> 1016-1017 UT 16 " 0 " " +6.2
> 1017-1018 UT 19 " 0 " " +6.2
> 1018-1019 UT 15 " 0 " " +6.3
> 1019-1020 UT 10 " 1 " " +6.3
> 1020-1021 UT 15 " 0 " " +6.3
> 1021-1022 UT 12 " 1 " " +6.3
> 1022-1023 UT 9 " 0 " " +6.3
> 1023-1024 UT 17 " 0 " " +6.3
> 1024-1025 UT 16 " 0 " " +6.3
> 1025-1026 UT 14 " 1 " " +6.3
> 1026-1027 UT 11 " 0 " " +6.3
> 1027-1028 UT 14 " 0 " " +6.4
> 1028-1029 UT 21 " 0 " " +6.4
> 1029-1030 UT 21 " 1 " " +6.4
> 1030-1031 UT 17 " 0 " " +6.4
> 1031-1032 UT 12 " 0 " " +6.4
> 1032-1033 UT 12 " 0 " " +6.4
> 1033-1034 UT 21 " 0 " " +6.4
> 1034-1035 UT 13 " 0 " " +6.4
> 1035-1036 UT 14 " 0 " " +6.4
> 1036-1037 UT 16 " 0 " " +6.4
> 1037-1038 UT 24 " 0 " " +6.4
> 1038-1039 UT 26 " 0 " " +6.4
> 1039-1040 UT 18 " 1 " " +6.4
> 1040-1041 UT 20 " 1 " " +6.4
> 1041-1042 UT 18 " 1 NPX " +6.4
> 1042-1043 UT 21 " 0 SPO " +6.4
> 1043-1044 UT 17 " 0 " " +6.4
> 1044-1045 UT 28 " 0 " " +6.4
> 1045-1046 UT 28 " 0 " " +6.4
> 1046-1047 UT 26 " 0 " " +6.4
> 1047-1048 UT 22 " 0 " " +6.4
> 1048-1049 UT 17 " 0 " " +6.4
> 1049-1050 UT 19 " 0 " " +6.4
> 1050-1051 UT 15 " 0 " " +6.4
> 1051-1052 UT 21 " 0 " " +6.4
> 1052-1053 UT 13 " 0 " " +6.4
> 1053-1054 UT 13 " 1 " " +6.4
> 1054-1055 UT 19 " 2 " " +6.4
> 1055-1056 UT 9 " 0 " " +6.4
> 1056-1057 UT 18 " 0 " " +6.3
> 1057-1058 UT 18 " 3 " " +6.3
> 1058-1059 UT 24 " 0 " " +6.3
> 1059-1100 UT 22 " 0 " " +6.3
> 1100-1101 UT 21 " 0 " " +6.3
> 1101-1102 UT 27 " 0 " " +6.3
> 1102-1103 UT 22 " 0 " " +6.3
> 1103-1104 UT 20 " 0 " " +6.3
> 1104-1105 UT 16 " 0 " " +6.3
> 1105-1106 UT 35 " 0 " " +6.3
> 1106-1107 UT 23 " 0 " " +6.3
> 1107-1108 UT 16 " 1 " " +6.3
> 1108-1109 UT 25 " 1 " " +6.3
> 1109-1110 UT 11 " 0 " " +6.3
> 1110-1111 UT 12 " 0 " " +6.3
> 1111-1112 UT 19 " 0 " " +6.3
> 1112-1113 UT 14 " 0 " " +6.3
> 1113-1114 UT 11 " 0 " " +6.3
> 1114-1115 UT 13 " 0 " " +6.3
> 1115-1116 UT 18 " 0 " " +6.3
> 1116-1117 UT 12 " 0 " " +6.3
> 1117-1118 UT 12 " 0 " " +6.3
> 1118-1119 UT 14 " 0 " " +6.3
> 1119-1120 UT 11 " 0 " " +6.3
> 1120-1121 UT 10 " 1 " " +6.3
> 1121-1122 UT 9 " 0 " " +6.3
> 1122-1123 UT 15 " 0 " " +6.3
> 1123-1124 UT 15 " 0 " " +6.3
> 1124-1125 UT 5 " 1 " " +6.2
> 1125-1126 UT 2 " 1 " " +6.2
> 1126-1127 UT 15 " 0 " " +6.1
> 1127-1128 UT 13 " 0 " " +5.9
> 1129-1130 UT 10 " 0 " " +5.8
> 1130-1131 UT 11 " 0 " " +5.7
> 1131-1132 UT 7 " 0 " " +5.7
> 1132-1133 UT 10 " 0 " " +5.7
> 1133-1134 UT 4 " 0 " " +5.7
> 1134-1135 UT 7 " 0 " " +5.7
>
> 5 MINUTE INTERVALS
>
> 1135-1140 UT 37 " 0 " " +5.8
> 1140-1145 UT 28 " 2 " " +5.8
> 1145-1150 UT 23 " 2 " " +5.8
> 1150-1155 UT 22 " 1 " " +5.7
> 1155-1200 UT 21 " 0 " " +5.7
> 1200-1205 UT 20 " 1 " " +5.6
> 1205-1210 UT 28 " 0 " " +5.6
> 1210-1215 UT 17 " 2 " " +5.6
> 1215-1220 UT 19 " 1 " " +5.6
> 1220-1225 UT 20 " 1 " " +5.7
> 1225-1230 UT 19 " 1 " " +5.7
> 1230-1235 UT 29 " 2 " " +5.7
> 1235-1240 UT 17 " 1 " " +5.7
> 1240-1245 UT 29 " 0 " " +5.7
>
> Totals:
>
> Leonids 1998
> Spordics 53
> North Taurids 4
> Alpha Monocerotids 3
> Northern Apex 1
>
> Grand Totals: 2059 meteors in 4.95 hours (297 minutes), 6.93
> meteors
> per minute or 1 meteor every 8.66 seconds.
>
> Bob Lunsford
> The archive and Web site for our list is at http://www.meteorobs.org
> If you are interested in complete links on the upcoming LEONIDS,
> see:
> http://www.meteorobs.org/storms.html
> To stop getting email from the 'meteorobs' list, use the Web form
> at:
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If you are interested in complete links on the upcoming LEONIDS, see:
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