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(meteorobs) December 5, 2002 Meteor Observations From California



The weather finally cooperated on one of my nights off. Well, semi 
cooperated as there was lots of cirrus in the sky during the first hour. 
The clouds did clear up and the second two hours were full of activity. 
Some early Geminids were noted plus a couple of Monocerotids were seen. 
The antihelion radiant (Chi Orionids) were somewhat quiet as only 2 
members were seen. Both apex radiant were also on the quiet side.

My plots revealed 6 meteors that formed a sharp radiant near 137 (09:10) 
+26. This position lies in northeastern Cancer near the faint star 75 
Cancri. These meteors were on the swift side. This activity could 
possibly be associated with the "December Leonids" that have been 
occasionally reported near the Geminid maximum. Normal radiant drift 
would place this center of activity at 144 (09:36)+24 on December 14. 
This position is near the star Lambda Leonis, the most northwestern star 
in the "sickle of Leo".

There also seemed to be another active radiant behind me in the northern 
sky. 3 plots revealed a diffuse radiant somewhere near the handle of the 
Big Dipper (Ursa Major). I have always suspected a radiant in Ursa Major 
this time of year but have not been able to pinpoint its exact location.

December 5, 2002

1020-1120 UT  0.96  6.03  1 ANT  2 GEM  2 NPX  3 SPO  8 TOTAL

1120-1220 UT  0.90  6.40  1 GEM  1 MON  13 SPO 15 TOTAL

1220-1320 UT  0.91  6.59  1 ANT  1 MON  1 NPX  1 SPX  9 SPO  13 TOTAL

TOTALS:       2.77  6.34  2 ANT  3 GEM  2 MON  3 NPX  1 SPX  25 SPO
36 TOTAL

NOTE: The sky was 50 percent obscured during the first hour.

The first column gives the period watched stated in Universal Time (UT)
which is PST + 8 hours. The second column gives the percent of that
particular hour actually spent observing the sky. A cassette recorder 
was used to record data tonight so no time was lost recording. 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 northeast at an altitude of 60 degrees during the 
entire session. No breaks were taken. ANT = Antihelions (Chi Orionids), 
GEM = Geminids, MON = Moncerotids, NPX = Northern Apex, SPX = Southern 
Apex, and SPO = Sporadics (random activity).

Location: Deerhorn Valley 116 45' 21" W  32 41' 21" N  ELE = 667 m

Bortle Scale Estimate:  Class 3: Rural Sky

Beginning Temperature/Relative Humidity:   38 F (3 C)  51%
Ending         "         "         "       37 F (3 C)  55%

MAGNITUDES:

ANT:       0 (0) +1 (1) +2 (0) +3 (0) +4 (0) +5 (1) +6 (0)    AVE: +3.00
GEM:       0 (0) +1 (1) +2 (1) +3 (1) +4 (0) +5 (0) +6 (0)    AVE: +2.00
MON:       0 (0) +1 (0) +2 (0) +3 (0) +4 (2) +5 (0) +6 (0)    AVE: +4.00
NPX:       0 (0) +1 (0) +2 (0) +3 (3) +4 (0) +5 (0) +6 (0)    AVE: +3.00
SPX:       0 (0) +1 (0) +2 (1) +3 (0) +4 (0) +5 (0) +6 (0)    AVE: +2.00
SPO:      -5 (1) -1 (1)  0 (2) +1 (2) +2 (4) +3 (6) +4 (6)
                                                +5 (2) +6 (1)  AVE: +2.48

Bob Lunsford
San Diego, CA USA




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