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(meteorobs) Leonids 1966 & U.S.peak 2001 - compared
Hi, I found this while browsing the sci.astro.amateur group. Thought it might
be interesting. I (as well as the author of the message below) am not trying to
degrade the 2001 event, which was absolutely specatcular, but I thought it
would give everyone at least a small insight in just HOW spectacular the 1966
Leonids must have been (I was born 15 years after the storm, so I didn't see
it...).
Clear skies!
Jure A.
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On 19 Nov 2001 06:46:37 -0800, maparizek@cybertrails.com (Arthur K.
Parizek) wrote:
>Hi- I watched from 8300 feet altitude at my home in Alpine. Here are
>the results for 17-18 Nov 01 in MST:
>12:50 to 01:10 20
>01:10 to 01:30 12
>01:30 to 01:50 27
>01:50 to 02:10 47
>02:10 to 02:30 55
>02:30 to 02:50 67
>02:50 to 03:10 111
>03:10 to 03:20 81 Note time interval change
>03:20 to 03:30 74
>03:30 Clouds appeared, observation stopped
>
>Since I was by myself, I am sure there were many more meteors that I
>did not see.
>Here are some impressions that I have regarding the 2001 shower:
>1. It was the best meteor shower since the 1966 Leonids.
>2. It was nothing compared to the 1966 Leonids that I observed from
>Phoenix, where the sky was filled with faint meteors to about fifth
>magnitude. The faint ones in the 1966 storm was to me the most
>remarkable thing in my memory. The rate at the peak approached 80,000
>per hour. The meteors were thicker than snowflakes in a heavy snow
>storm. If you compared the 1966 and 2001 events on a scale of twenty,
>the 1966 was a twenty and the 2001 was a one.
>3. This is not an attempt to degrade the 2001 shower as it was a
>beautiful show.
>4. The great majority of meteors that I saw appeared to start in Ursa
>Major and Canis Major about 30 or 40 degrees away from the radiant.
>5. Any useful count of meteor activity should include at least a three
>or four observer team, as I am sure there was much activity going on
>above my head and behind my back. I watched the radiant.
>6. I was seeing a few meteors as faint as mag six, but most of them
>were first and second magnitude. This is in great contrast to the 1966
>storm, when most were faint. There were some brighter than Venus, and
>one that lite the ground very briefly. It happened behing my back.
>There were some beautiful trails and one that persisted for minutes.
>7. There seemed to be more meteors appearing in the northern sky than
>the southern sky.
>8. Someone interested in meteor counting should investigate the
>possibility of using a shiny hubcap to view the whole sky and avoid
>the blind areas that were not visible to me since I was watching the
>radiant.
>
>Regards
>Keith Parizek
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