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(meteorobs) Re: Leonids from Texas
Tom wrote:
>This year, with the moon interfering, we plan to observe
>here in the city.
I haven't planned to go very far, but I may regret that
depending on weather conditions. If the weather is good,
the Fort Davis/McDonald Observatory area might be a very
good location, being near 2,000 meters above sea level.
Much of the flat country of west Texas is fairly high
altitude (1,000 meters or higher) and generally dry and
so may be quite good. Just find that large hill or
mountain to the west to put between you and the setting
Moon!
>(more risk in the city here than from the Texas hunters
>out in the boonies.) At 3 am most hunters are tucked
>away in their sleeping bags working on ways to embelish
>their hunting stories. Any other hunters up at that
>hour are too drunk to be a danger to anyone but
>themselves.
Tom is correct about the situation of most hunters at
3:00 a.m.! (I hope a few will look for Leonids.) My
main point is that some Texas state parks are actually
closed on some weekdays during hunting season. For
anyone in Texas or planning to come here for Leonids,
here's a Web site that lists the dates when various
parks have "restricted access":
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/news/tpwcal/restricted.htm
County and local parks probably need to be checked out
via local officials, I would think. Our Austin
Astronomical Society observatory site will be closed
that night due to it being during "wildlife management"
days.
I wonder if there may be similar issues in other states.
Another topic. Apparently my question about the
differences in rates between the MAC flux estimator and
the Science@NASA story was a stupid question, because
no one showed any interest in it. Maybe I don't
understand them, but it seems to me that there is a
3-to-1 difference between the Jenniskens rate
predictions on the two sites, and I wonder why.
Leonid MAC Flux Estimator:
http://leonid.arc.nasadot gov/estimator.html
Science@NASA article:
http://science.nasadot gov/headlines/y2002/09oct_leonidsforecast.htm
Comparable Space.com article:
http://space.com/spacewatch/leonids_lowdown_021101.html
Ed Cannon - ecannon @ mail.utexasdot edu - Austin, Texas, USA
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