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(meteorobs) 2002 Quadrantid Meteor Hunt Report



January 19, 2002

Greetings Meteor Enthusiasts!

Sorry for the late reporting...

I had the remarkable privilege of clear skies on the
evening after Quadrantid peak activity 
(Jan. 3/4 2002).  As soon as I began my session a
beautiful "Quad", (as I have seen some call them),
blazed low across the sky right underneath Lyra, which
was just above the tree tops at the time.  My first
one!  It brightened to about 1 mag+ at the end of its
short, but interesting path.  Sadly that appeared to 
be the only Quad of the hunt and the sporadics 
appeared to fizzle out during the end of my
observations. 

But, like I have mentioned before, there was another
noteworthy meteor seen during this hunt.  That one,
although I may not have caught sight of its whole
duration, appeared (at least to me) to break away from
its original path and start a new one, forming a rough
"V" path.  It went very slow if I remember correctly,
and traveled only a short distance.  However, if I 
knew for certain that this meteor did not do this
acrobatic feat, and the path seen during its last 
split moments was its true one, then I may have 
labeled it another Quad.   

Please be aware that the complete report for my
Quadrantid observations contained within this e- mail
is my first attempt to use an official meteor 
reporting form!   For the task, I decided to use a
standard NAMN visual observing form, and with the
permission of Mark Davis, shortened it a little in
order to help align everything neatly and so forth.  
Also, I added a few extra headings for meteor path
lengths, etc., that were not included in the original
form.  In the report to soon follow, errors may be
present, and some of the information provided probably
can be improved further. Please feel free to comment,
and many thanks to Lew Gramer, Mark Davis and 
everybody else who has put up with me this far!


                             BEGIN: 0:42  UT
DATE: Jan. 3/4, 2002           END: 1:58  UT
OBSERVER: Mark Fox
LOCATION: Long: 85 deg. 49' W; Lat: 43 deg. 27' N
City & State: Newaygo, Newaygo, Co., MI USA
Elevation: 760 feet
Temperature: 22 F (-05 C) @ 2:13:20 UT
RECORDING METHOD: Designate Tape Recorder or Manual: 
tape recorder

-----------------------------------------------------

OBSERVED SHOWERS: (Use 3 letter Codes)
QUA
DCA--(ANT)
SPO

-----------------------------------------------------

OBSERVING PERIODS:
(On average, 10 sec/meteor should be subtracted for
recording purposes.) 0 = None seen;  / = shower not
watched.


PERIOD(UT)      FIELD        LM   TEFF  QUA  DCA  SPO

0:42-1:58    *R.A. 18 h;     5.2  1.16   1    0    8  
             Decl. 65 deg.        

*Note: This point was where I focused my attention on.
In reality, however, my total field could be broadened
more.     
-----------------------------------------------------

MAGNITUDE DISTRIBUTIONS:


SHOWER  -3  -2 -1  0 +1 +1.5 +2 +2.5  +3  +4  +5  +6  
QUA      0   0  0  0  1    0  0    0   0   0   0   0
DCA      0   0  0  0  0    0  0    0   0   0   0   0
SPO      0   0  0  0  1    1  2    1   2   1   0   0
     
Total: 9 meteors   
----------------------------------------------------- 
                     
SKY OBSCURED:

*Roughly  30% FROM: 0:42  UT     
                TO: 1:58  UT

*Note: I am including ground-based obstructions in the
above percentage.  I did not record the cloud data 
very well during this hunt.  At most, only about 2% or
less of the sky was obscured for a time in my major
field of view (R.A. 18 h; Decl. 65 deg.).  It got 
worse elsewhere.     
----------------------------------------------------

DEAD TIME: roughly 6 min.

BREAKS: none
-----------------------------------------------------

LIMITING MAGNITUDE:

                       AVERAGE
                STAR    STAR
TIME            AREA    COUNT   LM

(?) Used         19       3      ?         
both
throughout        6       5     5.2 
session,
5 times 
each. 

MEAN LIMITING MAGNITUDE: +5.2

----------------------------------------------------

METEOR DATA:
                                                      
                            SPEED
 #   TIME(UT)  SHOWER  MAG  (1-5)  COLOR  TRAIN(SEC)  
-----------------------------------------------------
 1    0:43:43   QUA    +1     2     Wh        -
 2    0:45:05   SPO    +1     3   Yel/Wh      -

 3    0:53:18   SPO    +3-  3-4      -        -
 4    0:58:15   SPO?   +2     1    Oran.      - 
 5    1:10:11   SPO  +1.5     -     Wh?       -  
 6    1:16:26   SPO  +2.5     2     Wh        -
 7    1:19:21   SPO    +4-    ?      ?        -
 8    1:31:56   SPO    +2     2     Wh?       -
 9    1:45:36   SPO    +3     3?    Wh?       -  
-----------------------------------------------------

            PATH     GENERAL LOCATION   APPARENT
 # SHOWER  LENGTH     (and/or START     DIRECTION 
                      & END POINTS)                  
                       
 1  QUA    7 deg.         Lyra            SW      

 2  SPO   long; 30+deg.   Peg.            SW 
 
 3  SPO   short; ?        UMi             NNE 

 4  SPO?   3 deg.         NW of UMi and   Possible "V"
                          between Draco   Path 

 5  SPO    -              Start: Cass.    NW?
                          End: right near
                          alpha Cephei
                          (Alderamin)

 6  SPO    5 deg.         -               -

 7  SPO    1-2 deg.       A few deg.      NNW?
                          NNE of Polaris

 8  SPO    12 deg.        ended between    almost     
                          alpa UMa and     directly N 
                          lambda Draconis.   

 9  SPO    8 deg.         ended right by   W?  
                          alpha Cygni.  

SPEED (VELOCITY) SCALE: 
0 = Stationary
1 = Very Slow
2 = Slow
3 = Medium
4 = Fast
5 = Very Fast

----------------------------------------------------
REMARKS:

1.  The time recorded for the first two meteors should
be accurate within 4 sec.  The rest should be accurate
within 10 sec. or so. 

2.  QUA = Quadrantids, DCA = Delta Cancrids  (or
Antihelions), and SPO = sporadics.

3.  UMi = Ursa Minor, UMa = Ursa Major, Peg. = 
Pegasus, etc. 

3.  Meteor # 9 could have been an Antihelion meteor.

4.  Some of the meteor path lengths recorded here may
be a little too short.  Any tips on properly 
(and easily) recording them would be very appreciated.
  
5.  I hope everything is correct in the above report 
(I can easily get nervous doing these sort of things!)
Also, be advised that when time permits, I may post a
hunt that I undertook during the wee morning hours of
Jan. 7/8 (?).  


Long trains and electrophonic meteors! 

Mark Fox 
Newaygo, MI USA

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