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(meteorobs) August 30, 2002 Meteor Observations from California
Since I am not able to watch until September 5, I decided to attempt an
observing session this morning despite the 57 percent illuminated moon
in Taurus. This would be my only opportunity to see the Alpha Aurigids
this year. Despite the partly cloudy conditions at home, the sky was
brilliantly clear from Deerhorn Valley, some 25 miles to the east. The
Milky Way was easily visible right up to Perseus, 20 degrees from the
moon. The Pleiades cluster was only 5 degrees north of the moon, yet all
7 members were plainly visible when the moon was blocked by the
clipboard. Activity was decent during the first hour but seemed to fade
during the middle hour. There was a slight reprieve during the last
hour. The first Alpha Aurigid was seen late in the second hour. Two more
were seen during the last hour which is about what I expected to see on
this date. The northern apex source produced 3 meteors but none was
seen from the south. One lone antihelion (Piscid) was seen along with a
possible Pi Eridanid. The sporadic activity was bright tonight, not that
surprising with the bright moonlight. It was an enjoyable session after
a week off due to the full moon. I look forward to next week when the
moon will not be a factor and the radiants in Perseus, Aries and Taurus
begin heating up.
One last item, the temperature readings are not a misprint. The
temperature actually ROSE 10 degrees when the dry, warm air from the
east began blowing during the middle of the session.
August 30, 2002
0900-1000 UT 0.94 6.02 1 ANT 2 NPX 5 SP0 8 TOTAL
1000-1100 UT 0.96 6.11 1 AUR 1 ERI 1 NPX 2 SPO 5 TOTAL
1100-1200 UT 0.94 6.12 2 AUR 5 SPO 7 TOTAL
TOTALS: 2.86 6.04 1 ANT 3 AUR 1 ERI 3 NPX 12 SPO 20 TOTAL
The first column gives the period watched stated in Universal Time (UT)
which is PDT + 7 hours. The second column gives the percent of that
particular hour actually spent observing the sky. Time was lost tonight
due to data entry and plotting. 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 north at
an altitude of 60 degrees during the entire session. No breaks were
taken. ANT = Antihelion radiant (Piscids), AUR = Alpha Aurigids, ERI =
Pi Eridanids, NPX = Northern Apex and SPO = Sporadics (random activity).
Location: Deerhorn Valley 116 45' 21" W 32 41' 21" N ELE = 667 m
Bortle Scale Estimate: No applicable due to moonlight.
Beginning Temperature/Relative Humidity: 52 F (11 C) 31%
Ending " " " 62 F (17 C) 16%
MAGNITUDES:
ANT: 0 (0) +1 (0) +2 (1) +3 (0) +4 (0) +5 (0) +6 (0) AVE: +2.00
AUR: 0 (0) +1 (1) +2 (1) +3 (0) +4 (1) +5 (0) +6 (0) AVE: +2.33
ERI: 0 (1) +1 (0) +2 (0) +3 (0) +4 (0) +5 (0) +6 (0) AVE: 0.00
NPX: 0 (0) +1 (1) +2 (0) +3 (0) +4 (1) +5 (1) +6 (0) AVE: +3.33
SPO: -1 (1) 0 (1) +1 (4) +2 (1) +3 (3) +4 (2) +5 (0) AVE: +1.83
Bob Lunsford
San Diego, CA USA
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