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(meteorobs) Meteor Hunt of December 31, 2002/January 1, 2003!
January 2, 2003
Greetings Meteor Enthusiasts!
Another hunt, another two meteors. For this night, I
decided to try out a different spot to observe instead
of right in front of our house by the lake. It was in
our bay, in an area of wooded shoreline that opens up
to the northern sky, which I used for last year's
Quadrantids. The conditions were better (despite the
haze) and I tried using star area 7 for the first
time. However, my mean LM for this hunt (~4.75) was
probably higher, and could have even been above 5.0 at
certain times. No "Quads." were seen.
Like always, corrections or comments regarding the
following report are welcomed.
DATE: Dec. 31 2002/ Jan. 1, 2003 BEGIN: 0:17 UT
END: 1:19 UT
OBSERVER: Mark Fox
LOCATION: Long: 85 deg. 49' W; Lat.: 43 deg. 27' N
City & State: Newaygo, Newaygo, Co., MI USA
Elevation: 760 feet
Start Temperature: 30°F (-01°C) @ 0:09:40 UT
End Temperature: 29°-30°F (-02°-01°C) @ 1:29:30 UT
Wind: Calm.
RECORDING METHOD: Designate Tape Recorder or Manual:
manual (paper & pencil)
-----------------------------------------------------
OBSERVED SHOWERS: (Use 3 letter Codes)
QUA
DCA
SPO
-----------------------------------------------------
QUA RADIANT HEIGHT: At horizon or very close to it.
-----------------------------------------------------
OBSERVING PERIODS:
(On average, 10 sec/meteor should be subtracted for
recording purposes.) 0 = None seen; / = shower not
watched.
PERIOD(UT) FIELD LM TEFF QUA DCA SPO
0:17-1:19 * 14 h 51 m ~4.8+ 0.98 0 0 2
74° 9"
*Note: This area is where beta Ursae Minoris (Kochab)
is located and is where I concentrated much of my
attention to.
-----------------------------------------------------
MAGNITUDE DISTRIBUTIONS:
SHOWER -3 -2 -1 0 +1 +1.5 +2 +3 +4 +5
QUA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
DCA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
SPO 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0
Total: 2 meteors
-----------------------------------------------------
FIELD OF VIEW OBSCURED:
~20% FROM: 0:17 UT
TO: 1:19 UT (Tree Obstructions)
0:53:50 --- hazy
1:07 TO ~1:19 --- mostly hazy
Note: Haze sneaked in an out during the observations.
----------------------------------------------------
DEAD TIME: ~ 3 min.
BREAKS: none
-----------------------------------------------------
LIMITING MAGNITUDE:
AVERAGE
STAR STAR
TIME AREA COUNT LM
0:21:00 19 3 -
0:29:30 4 4 -
0:34:00 7 ~6 4.6
0:40:00 7 5+ 4.6
0:46:00 19 3 -
0:49:00 7 7+ 4.9
1:06:00 7 7 4.9
1:06:00 19 3 -
1:19:00 19 3 -
MEAN LIMITING MAGNITUDE: *~4.75+
*Note: I could see eta Ursae Minoris during some of
the session, indicating a higher mean LM than the one
I computed. It probably reached above 5.0 during
certain points.
----------------------------------------------------
METEOR DATA:
SPEED
# TIME(UT) SHOWER MAG (1-5) COLOR TRAIN(SEC)
-----------------------------------------------------
1 0:25:34 SPO 0 2 Wh. -
2 0:57:31 SPO 1.5 3 Wh. -
-----------------------------------------------------
PATH GENERAL LOCATION
# SHOWER LENGTH (and/or START
& END POINTS)
1 SPO ~10 deg. UMi to Dra. (Headed ~SW.)
2 SPO ~5 deg. Dra., near Cep.
(Headed ~SW.)
-----------------------------------------------------
# SHOWER "APPROXIMATE" DEGREES / SEC.
1 SPO ~6.7 deg./sec.
2 SPO 5+ deg./sec.
-----------------------------------------------------
SPEED (VELOCITY) SCALE:
0 = Stationary
1 = Very Slow
2 = Slow
3 = Medium
4 = Fast
5 = Very Fast
----------------------------------------------------
REMARKS:
1. The meteor time should hopefully be off by no more
than a few seconds at most.
2. QUA = Quadrantids; DCA = delta Cancrids (ANT);
SPO = sporadics.
3. UMi = Ursa Minor; Dra. = Draco; Cep. = Cepheus;
etc.
Slow, frosty Quadrantids!
Mark Fox
Newaygo, MI USA
__________________________________________________
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