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(meteorobs) Leonid summary from central Texas, USA
Date: 2002 November 19
Time: 10:00-11:30 UTC
Teff: 84 minutes
Site: 30.89N, 98.43W, 335 meters elevation (Canyon of
the Eagles, Burnet County, Texas, USA)
Weather: very good, no clouds, about 4 deg. Celsius?
Obstruction: minimal (gentle uphill slope to east)
FOV centered on about altitude 70, azimuth 65
Limiting magnitude: about 4.6 throughout
Leonids: 436
Non-Leonids: 3 (W->E north of LEO radiant; Taurids?)
Best one minute: 10:40:00-41:00, 16 Leonids (= 960/hr)
Best 5 minutes: 10:36:00-41:00, 69 Leonids (= 828/hr)
Best 10 minutes (two overlapping periods):
10:36:00-46:00, 125 Leonids (= 750/hr) and also
10:37:00-47:00, 125 Leonids
The peak seemed to be 10:35-10:55, as I had mostly
two-digit counts during that period. The total in those
20 minutes was 261, or 693/hour.
Those numbers seem pretty amazing given the full Moon!
The brightest two or three seemed about -3 or -4, and
there weren't very many that bright.
FWIW, here are 10-minute "bins" (moving 10-minute totals)
from 10:32:00 to 11:00:00 UTC (with the time given being
the end of each respective 10-minute period):
10:32 46
10:33 50
10:34 54
10:35 57
10:36 68
10:37 75
10:38 85
10:39 91
10:40 99
10:41 107
10:42 112
10:43 115
10:44 115
10:45 123
10:46 125
10:47 125
10:48 117
10:49 119
10:50 116
10:51 106
10:52 105
10:53 108
10:54 109
10:55 108
10:56 99
10:57 93
10:58 87
10:59 81
11:00 77
Ed Cannon - ecannon@mail.utexasdot edu - Austin, Texas, USA
I took a break at 11:00 due to getting too cold. When I
resumed counting at 11:05 a.m., the rates were lower
than the last period above. I had to stop at 11:30 due
to my friends with whom I rode to the site getting ready
to leave!
Something maybe odd that I noticed -- it *seemed* I saw
more meteors in the left half of my field of view than
in the right half. Maybe that was an illusion? Maybe I
need new glasses?
Before leaving Austin, I had watched for 15 minutes and
saw one very nice one at 06:38, maybe about 90 degrees
in length, magnitude about -2; this was pretty informal
time, with the sky partly obstructed by clouds and trees,
and I was just sitting on a bench looking due north
about 50 degrees up.
I really wish there could be an encore before 2099!
Ed Cannon - ecannon@mail.utexasdot edu - Austin, Texas, USA
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