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(meteorobs) August 31, 2003 Meteor Observations From California

I had an enjoyable session before heading on to work. The sky was
clear all the way to the coast but the sky glow was not as bad as I
have seen it under similar conditions. It did get a bit hazy toward the
end of the session as we neared the dew point. The activity was about
what I had expected, being a day before the Alpha Aurigid maximum.
The three September Perseids seen were a surprise, as I did not expect
to see any of this activity this early. It was surprising that I did not see
any activity from the northern apex, now located in southeastern Perseus.
The highlight of the night was the first meteor seen, a third magnitude,
thirty degree long "earthgrazer" that shot through western Taurus,
northern Cetus and western  Pisces.

August 31, 2003

0800-0900 UT  0.92  6.71   1 AUR   3 SPR   6  SPO   10  TOTAL

0900-1000 UT  0.93  6.59   2 AUR   1 NIA   2  ANT   1  SPX
                                             5 SPO   11 TOTAL

1000-1100 UT  0.95  6.46   1 AUR   1 SPX   7 SPO    9 TOTAL

TOTALS:          2.80  6.59   4 AUR   3 SPR   2 ANT   1 NIA
                                             2 SPX   18 SPO   30 TOTAL


The first column gives the period watched stated in Universal Time (UT)
which is PDT + 7 hours. The second column gives the percent of that
particular hour actually spent observing the sky. 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.
AUR = Alpha Aurigids,  NIA = Northern Iota Aquarids, SPR = September
Perseids (Delta Aurigids), ANT = Antihelion (Piscids), 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: 63 F (17 C) 80%
Ending         "         "        "                        60 F (16 C) 91%

MAGNITUDES:

AUR: 0 (0) +1 (2) +2 (0) +3 (1) +4 (0) +5 (1) +6 (0)  AVE: +2.50
SPR:  0 (0) +1 (2) +2 (0) +3 (1) +4 (0) +5 (0) +6 (0)  AVE: +1.67
ANT: 0 (0) +1 (0) +2 (1) +3 (0) +4 (1) +5 (0) +6 (0)  AVE: +3.00
NIA:  0 (0) +1 (0) +2 (0) +3 (1) +4 (0) +5 (0) +6 (0)  AVE: +3.00
SPX:  0 (0) +1 (0) +2 (1) +3 (0) +4 (1) +5 (0) +6 (0)  AVE: +3.00
SPO:  0 (0) +1 (2) +2 (2) +3 (7) +4 (3) +5 (4) +6 (0)  AVE: +3.28

Bob Lunsford
San Diego, CA USA

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