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(meteorobs) Leonids Observations from Vandalia, IL

Since the greater Cincinnati area (as well as the rest
of Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky) was forecast to be
blocked by clouds and rain in the early morning of the
19th, I decided to drive west the night of the 18th,
and cut through the cold front that was working its
way east.  I drove past the cold front, and about 4
1/2 hours to the city of Vandalia, Illinois, and then
drove 12 miles further north, past the town of Ramsey
to get to clear skies, with moonlight being the
primary source of lighting near the Ramsey State Park.
 Limiting magnitude was between 3 and 4 (depending on
which direction of the sky - toward or away from the
Moon).

While driving north along route 51 to get to the site,
I saw a bright yellow fireball, around mag. -6,
followed by another one at mag. 0 a second later, near
Cassiopeia, at 9:38 UT.  That caused me to look for a
parking area FAST!

Got to see about 250 Leonids in about 2 hours - from
9:38 to 11:38 UT, with several minutes of breaks in
between. Temp. was around 36 F (2 C), and I primarily
observed the eastern portion of the sky, to block the
bright Moon to the west.

Based on my tape recording, I guess the peak would be
somewhere between 10:35 and 10:45 UT, when rates were
at least 10 per minute (observed, with moonlight, and
only the eastern side, centered at around 60 degrees
elevation, around Leo).

Quite a number of bright Leonids leaving smoke trails.
 The brighter ones (mag. 0 and up) tended to be
yellowish-green, consistent with the Leonids from this
dust trail that I saw a year ago from the town of
Binangonan in the Philippines.  Comparing the two
(4-rev) displays, it seemed that there were more and
brighter fireballs in 2001 compared to this year.

During the peak, quite a number of short-trained
Leonids were coming from the Sickle, evidence of a
strong count.  These tended to be greenish as well.

Notable moments:
10:16 UT - saw a "horizon hugger" - a white mag. -8
fireball headed toward the southern horizon, like a
magnesium flare; a few seconds before that, saw a mag.
-4 yellow-green fireball blaze twice as it headed
southeast, glowing, dim for a second, then continuing
on its journey with the same brightness. 
Fragmentation?

10:26 UT - this was when activity started to really
pick up consistently, when I saw about 7 meteors per
minute

10:35 UT - 1 meteor every second for 8 seconds.  It
was as if someone decided to spin around and throw
marbles out - Leonids were spewing out in rapid
succession.

10:36 UT - highest rate I got - 14 per minute

10:40 UT - 4 Leonids in rapid succession headed toward
UMa; a few seconds after, 4 Leonids emanate in rapid
succession near the radiant in the Sickle

I did see a slow mag. -2 yellow-white Taurid that took
its time heading east at 10:20 UT.  It may be the
slower speed, but it seemed to look more like a disk
rather than a point of light, as it leisurely made its
way east (compared to the very rapid Leonids).

Quite a good display this year, although last year's
Asian peak seemed to be better (and warmer too, since
it was about 68 F in the tropics - less fumbling
around the equipment with all the thick clothing),
while the 1998 display (which I also saw in Manila,
Philippines) was really the best in terms of bright
fireballs.

The cap this year was the passage of the International
Space Station low in the eastern sky, passing close to
Spica as the eastern sky brightened with the coming
dawn.  Last year, we were able to view the false dawn
(zodiacal light) in the east as the cap to the Leonid
observing session.

Jun Lao
Mason, Ohio

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