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(meteorobs) January 22, 2002 Meteor Observations From California

Finally a clear night when I was off work! I left the house under partly 
cloudy skies but knew the site to the east was clear. When I arrived it 
was an exceptional sky and the resulting LM estimates confirmed this 
fact. It was nice to relax under the stars knowing I did not have to go 
to work after the session. Activity was slow as expected but still 
entertaining. Shortly after 3am I realized I was in trouble as the 
coastal clouds were now making their way inland. I was able to watch in 
cloud free areas until 330 when the clear windows became too small. I 
napped and woke every half hour but the sky remained overcast. The 
result was some meager data but still worth the effort. There were 2 
meteors that could have been Alpha Hydrids but the angular velocity was 
slightly off. There was also a pair of meteors that intersected in 
eastern Coma Berenices that may be related to the activity mentioned by 
Alastair McBeath last January.

January 22, 2002

0947-1051 UT  1.00  6.69  1 ANT  1 NPX  0 SPX  5 SPO  7 TOTAL

1051-1132 UT  0.68  6.84  0 ANT  0 NPX  0 SPX  2 SPO  2 TOTAL

TOTALS:       1.68  6.75  1 ANT  1 NPX  0 SPX  7 SPO  9 TOTAL


The first column gives the period watched stated in Universal Time (UT)
which is PST + 8 hours. The second column gives the percent of that
particular hour actually spent observing the sky. Time was lost for
plotting and data entry tonight. The third column gives the average
limiting magnitude estimated during each period. The last several
columns list the activity seen during each period. I was facing south at
an altitude of 50 degrees during the entire session. No breaks were
taken. ANT = Antihelion radiant (Delta Cancrids), NPX = Northern Apex, 
SPX = Southern Apex, and SPO = Sporadics (random activity).

Location: Deerhorn Valley 116 45'21" W  32 41'21" N  ELE = 667m

Bortle Scale Estimate:  Class 3 (rural sky)

Beginning Temperature/Relative Humidity:   34 F (1 C)  50%
Ending         "         "         "       37 F (3 C)  70%

MAGNITUDES:

ANT:       0 (0) +1 (0) +2 (0) +3 (0)  +4 (1)  +5 (0) +6 (0)  AVE: +4.00
NPX:       0 (1) +1 (0) +2 (0) +3 (0)  +4 (0)  +5 (0) +6 (0)  AVE: +0.00
SPO:       0 (1) +1 (2) +2 (2) +3 (1)  +4 (1)  +5 (0) +6 (0)  AVE: +1.86

Bob Lunsford
San Diego, CA USA


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