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(meteorobs) The Taurids--- A Favorite!
November 10, 2002
Greetings Meteor Enthusiasts!
What a coincidence! ...Or is it? The Taurids had been
a meteor hunting delight for me too in my earliest
days of serious observing. They were and still are
practically the only meteor shower that I have been
able to eyeball on multiple nights without being
clouded out. Their long duration activity and slow,
bright, "balls of light" make them a favorite to hunt
down. Last year I was fortunate to spy a breathtaking
-3 mag. Taurid descend like a flare in the eastern
sky. This was when a full or nearly full moon was low
in the sky. Wow!
On the other hand, I hardly know what a Leonid is
like--- I have been clouded (or fogged) out so many
times during the fall that it is somewhat of a somber
point.
My entry into meteor hunting may be considered a bit
strange. I first delved into meteorite hunting in the
fall of 1999. Very soon afterwards, I decided to
start looking up for fireballs to track down in the
hopes of actually bagging a fresh one. That was
really one of my prime motivations for meteor hunting!
This was during a time when I knew very little about
either topic. I still remember gazing out one of our
big frame windows directed towards Pickerel Lake
and get excited by the appearance of a bright meteor,
which now when I think about it, must have been bright
indeed!
After a while, I simply liked to hunt down meteors. I
don't quite remember how everything followed, but I do
recall discovering meteorobs on a few separate
occasions and decided to send my first report to them
in response to the "June Bootid Campaign" of 2001(?).
(That observation only yielded a single sporadic.) It
then became a habit to send reports, and I have
been sending a few every now and then since. In those
early days, I am certain some of those meteors that I
were seeing were faithful Taurids, including a pair of
very short ones--- just a mere 1-2 sec. apart, shoot
out of Pleiades! Now that was a sight!
Long, bright, and stormy Leonids!
Mark Fox
Newaygo, MI USA
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