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(meteorobs) 1998 Leonid fireballs [was Re: Last Minute Leonid Info and Tips]
NOTE: Paulo is not a current 'meteorobs' reader. If you follow up, please
MANUALLY put 'raymundo@reaiche.com' in the "Cc:" line of your reply.
Clear skies,
Lew Gramer <owner-meteorobs@atmob.org>
------- Forwarded Message
Date: Sat, 17 Nov 2001 02:52:31 -0200
To: meteorobs@atmob.org
From: Paulo M Raymundo <raymundo@reaiche.com>
Subject: Re: Last Minute Leonid Info and Tips
In a message dated 11/13/01 12:07:42 PM EST, owner-meteorobs@atmob.org writes:
<< admin fwd from: B Yen <byen00@earthlinkdot net>
Is there any reason to go out Nov 16-17 or Nov 18-19? The below implies
the Nov 17-18, to coincide with predictions. I remember in '98 (fireball
show), that the night before the "peak" showed increased activity. (I even
heard from someone, it was even *better* than the peak period).
>>
Hello everyone,
Regarding the night before the "peak" in 1998, my description gives an idea of
how *better* it was: "I woke up at 03:30 local time in the hope of seeing one or
two meteors, as we still had 13 hours prior to the predicted peak of the Leonid
meteor shower. To my astonishment I could count 26 meteors of negative magnitude
in 50 minutes of observation, with approximately 50% of them being fireballs.
Three fireballs flying in a parallel path all the way to the horizon is
something that you don't see very often. I was happy to witness such a
tremendous spectacle... A blue one of magnitude -13 (photo below) produced
shadows and an image of itself reflected on the Atlantic Ocean. The total
duration of the luminous flight was around five seconds and fragmentation
occurred two times within one second, briefly illuminating the night sky like
daytime. Unforgettable... Four sonic booms were heard 8 minutes later,
synchronously with the fireball's fragmentation appearance.
Its smoke train persisted for well over two minutes to the unaided eye, although
I did not pay much attention to it after what I had witnessed. Looking forward
to seeing more fireballs the next night, I started to observe at 02:10 local
time. Nonetheless, the fireballs didn't show up. All we had were several meteors
of magnitude -3 at best." For photos please refer to:
http://www.reaiche.com/Fireballs_and_Meteors.html
Clear skies to all,
Paulo Raymundo
Salvador, Brazil
http://www.reaiche.com
http://www.reaiche.com/Astronomy.html
------- End of Forwarded Message
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