Meteor Showers coming!

“I saw some! I saw some! I saw some!

First time in my life! Those suckers can sure move. WOW. I watched from about 5:20 until 5:45.

It seemed warmer there on the beach this morning with less of a breeze and 51 degrees. (Melbourne, FL)”

“Awesome! I stood outside in the cold (48*F) for 45 minutes. I didn't have to wait more than 20-25 seconds between asteroids. Some were so bright and lasted so long. There was one I thought was a plane!”

“Anyone else notice Venus so bright it was distracting?

Moon or no, it was very cool. Bundled up the bebe and away we went. It was neat watching the moon set. Laurel's been awake and very fussy all night because she's teething already. SHe just leaned against HPM and stared at the moon and stars the whole time. It was really nice. Down in the low 40's, too. Not bad for this part of Fl., especially near the beach.”

“Yep. Venus was beautiful and so was the full moon over in the western sky. One real great morning.

Boy, it's getting warm in here! Think I'll take off my new, blue belt.
LOL”

“Well the whole family got up at 4:45 and was outside on the deck benches by 5:05AM. We saw about 10 good ones and went back inside at 5:50AM. The moon was very bright for the first half hour. I was hoping that we would see a lot more, but the sky near me was so bright you could nighthike without a headlamp. There also was a slight haze, not really cloudy, because we could see a few stars and Venus, but it wasn't crisp looking.”

“Sorry Stik if I stole your thunder...wish I had been where you were...your description took me there though. Thanks...hope you are still dreaming of your night.”

“Looks like Florida was watching!

HPM and treebait - good luck with the teething!

The sky was perfectly clear and the temp was around 50F. I Laid on the shore of a lake in my neighborhood and watched from 5:00 until 6:00. I live close to downtown Orlando so between streetlights, the city and the Moon I was worried that I might not see a thing - then about a minute later they started. They seemed to come in waves - with about 10 in rapid succession and then only a few in between. Very impressive and fun to watch. I can only imagine what this would have looked like away from the city.

Joggers and walkers were strolling by wondering what I was doing. I wanted to tell them to look up, but I figured if they were interested they would already be doing so.

Venus said "good morning" and I waved back as the sun started to fill the sky.”

“.'Venus said "good morning" and I waved back as the sun started to fill the sky.'
Big Coop

Good 'trip report.'

It looks like I'm not the only one to converse with the stars, etc. Sometimes I worry about myself.”

“De wife and I were lying on our backs in the middle of our field by 4:45 am. 33 degrees and OVERCAST!!!

SOme of the brighter stars poking through . . .but a real haze. We saw around 6 by 5:30 when we headed back in.

Not like last years (becuase of the overcast)”

“LOL at the blue belted nowslimmer, mornings are the bestest!

Have a good day everyone!”

“I got up at 4:30 and went outside to discover that it was raining here. I didn't see anything due to the cloud coverage.”

“My wife and I got up every hour on the hour to look for them. The clouds never broke so we didn't see anything. :-(”

“I had been weighting for this ever since last years show. And when they said it was going to have more activity I was even more excited then I realized that the moon was going to be a problem. So after spending the last month or so scouting a new position I would be ready. Then the cloud cover and rain in the forecast. But weight there is hope the weatherman is saying that the weather might clear early in the morning. So I got everything ready and headed out there was still cloud cover but a good wind was moving them out pretty fast. When I arrived at my chosen location at about 3:00am this morning the almost full moon was still overhead and not behind the pines but soon it would be and the before the expected 4:30 peek. All went as planned watching a great show until about 4:50 when the fog moved in and I couldn’t see the ground behind the truck. So I headed home to get ready for work all in all a good night but not as good as last year.
P.S. did anyone else see the big one the exploded blue and left the lingering trail?”

“This morning was a BIG success. Outside temp - 34 degrees, clear skies, moon low on western horizon. I woke up my wife and daughters (7 and 9 yo) around 4:45am. While they got dressed in their warm snugglies, I set up a queen size air mattress on the front lawn. With mom in the middle, and a kid on each side, they snuggled together under 5, count them, 5 blankets and watched the show. I sat in the lounging camp chair.

The show was excellent, especially around 5:35 when they were zipping by one right after another, sometimes 2 or more simultaneously. Once, at least 5 went off at the same time, zipping off in every direction. The girls loved it, but I don't know what our neighbors thought about all the hootin' and a hollerin' :D

Just before dawn, as the show was ebbing, I went inside and lit a firelog in the fireplace. The girls went from watching a space born light show to watching cartoons in front of a roaring fire and sipping on hot cocoa. They were in heaven. Jason, my 3 yo son, was in heaven, too. He loves a fire. Its a full time job keeping him from crawling (he has Downs Syndrome) right up to it.

At 7 am, we started our normal routine and now the girls are in school. I hope they haven't fallen asleep yet :D”

“blunt!!!

Hey grunt...nice to see you back...will you be going to TC2?...Im gonna be going right by Jackson on friday Dec 6.”

“Nice to have you join us, hyway. Your girls are only slightly younger than my girls. But it sounds like you had a better view of the meteors than we did. The girls were really excited about the ones that they did see, though.”

“Thanks for the welcome. Where are you located? It was pretty bright here, so bright that I had no problem setting up the air bed, ground tarp, and all the blankets without a light. But the closer it got to dawn the lower the moon dropped, so by the time the peak hit around 5:30 it was much better.

Is Venus the "star" hanging low on the Eastern horizon for the last couple days?”

“I am in Northwest NJ and around 5AM Venus was pretty high but not completely overhead. Kind of southeast from overhead. My husband was asking me what direction to look, and I just shrugged. It turned out that they were all over the place. Some were west, some were east, some were south.”

“Ok, I have it now. A very bright star. I told my daughters that Venus was a Satelite LOL. Yes, they were all over the place but they all were going away from the same focal point. A cool effect was when 2 or more burst forth straight overhead and spread out like fireworks.

My girls absolutely loved it and swore that they would do the same with their children (or grand children) in the year 2033 when the next Leonid shower came around.”

“I thought that they were not coming back until the year 2099?”

“Got up and went out at 2:30 a.m. I saw about a dozen in under 10 minutes. It was cool. Went back in a back to bed.”

“The next Leonid is 2033 is what I read. But I do remember reading that there won't be another meteor shower of the same magnitude for 100 years. Maybe that is what the 2099 date is.

There will be another meteor shower this year on Dec 4th (or 14th) or sometime thereabouts, but it won't be nearly as good.”

“Didn’t see any bolides, but it was still a pretty good show. Despite the fog on the lake and the hoze lit up by the moon it still seemed like a better-than-average shower. I can't help but think what it would've been like without the 'moon pollution'!

I'm totally spoiled after last year's Leonids, but I'm slowly returning to normal (normal for Me, anyway, <G>).

When it comes to chasing meteors, I like to keep Murphy's Law firmly in mind. So many things can screw up… it's kinda like backpacking! I almost Count on everything going to hell, then I can be 'pleasantly surprised' if it doesn't!

Does that make any sense? It's been a looong night and I'm like 'running on fumes' ! LOL

(and this is the Second Attempt for this post…. MicroSquish Exploder crashed just before I hit the 'submit' button, <GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR>. I'm composing this one in Word, dagnabbit!)


YES, parent comet Temple-Tuttle returns about every 33 years. Leonids 'come around' every year, but only 'storm' after the comet comes by.



Next up… the Geminids! (December 14-15, ~120/hr)

Then… the Quadrantids! (January 3-4, ~60-200/hr).


no 'storms' predicted, BUT… no problems with moonlight either!”

“Geminids could be good for me, my last night in Fairbanks. Maybe I'll be lucky and get the Aurora and meteors at the same time.”

“Thanks for the dates Tilt. i couldn't remember them. I did remember that the December one is on a moonless, Saturday night, making it much easier to camp in a nice dark place with my girls.”

“Hello Hyway..nice to see a Carolina face! I'm in those mountains you feel drawn to.”

“For Sure folks!

Now, I must assume the prone position befor I lose consciousness, <grin>”

“Hi crazygurl. Its a long way from here to there, hard to believe its still in the same State.”

“From approximately 2:30 to 4:00 A.M. the viewing was beyond description. Even with the full moon the display was spectacular.

Nothing captured with the digital, which has a maximum exposure of 16 seconds, but took several 15-20 minute exposures with the Nikon that I'm hoping caught something.

Man what a morning!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

“There were thin clouds above us so it wasn't nearly as spectacular as last year's.”

“disappointed....about 7 of us were at a buddies cabin way out in the middle of NOWHERE....maybe saw 30ish meteors. I was expecting a SHOWER..maybe 10 of the ones we saw where WOW'ers....not enough up in the sky to really justify me freezing to death with a cramped neck for 6.5 hours. Got some kewl pictures though...load them later”

“we had 3 cams set up with 6 minute exposures..those turned out kewl..well only around 3-5 pics”

“I don't understand why some people were out for hours or going out every hour to check. I thought that each region would see them for about an hour. Did I read something wrong, from one of the websites Tilt posted? I was out with my family for 45 minutes. We saw about 10 but it was light and hazy out.”

“Well... the shower peaked twice, before dawn in Europe and the US, but there were meteors falling throughout the evening (after Leo rose) --- just not as many. And the Moon swallowed up a lot of them.

If it hadn't been for the moonlight, there would've been lots more smaller ones to see during the off-peak hours.

And earlier in the morning (1-2-3am), the Moon was higher in the sky and more of a problem. Usually I would've been out there as soon as the radiant in Leo came up (about midnight), but with the Moon so high in the sky I decided to wait until it got out of the way a little... 'til about 3 or 3:30.

Just a little bit of moonlight can really mess things up, can't it! That thin layer of cloud or haze you wouldn't even know was there otherwise can be a real problem when the moonlight hits it. If you have completely clear conditions the moonlight be itself isn't as bad.

Increasingly, though, one doesn't need the Moon to be there to light up the haze... light polution from improperly shielded fixtures can do that for you Every Night... my pet peeve around here isn't the streetlights so much as it is the Billboards Lit From Below...

Did I just start off on another tangent again? LOL”

“Beautiful, I MEAN BEAUTUFUL, picture!!!”

“Cool photo! That looks amazingly like where I was at Clark's Hill Reservoir... complete with fog. How bright did that meteor have to be to show up in the photo next to the full moon??

(and thanks for bringing this back up so I didn't have to scrounge around for it, <G>)


Here are some preliminary results:

---------------------------------------
I M O S h o w e r C i r c u l a r
---------------------------------------


LEONIDS 2002


Two strong activity peaks of the Leonid meteor shower were
predicted. The times fell between 03:48 to 04:04 UT for the
first one, and between 10:23 to 10:47 UT for the second peak,
both on November 19, 2002.

A first activity analysis from the reports of 86 observers,
who logged 19443 Leonids, is given below. The ZHR refers to
a stellar limiting magnitude of +6.5, a radiant elevation of
90 deg, and counts of single observers. A population index
of r=2 was applied, although the inspection of data suggests
a large abundance of faint meteors, thus a larger r. The
ZHRs would increase likewise.

The peak time of the first maximum is 04:10 UT with ZHR=2350.
The second peak is found near 10:50 UT or a few minutes ear-
lier with ZHR=2660. Both peaks occurred later than the pre-
dictions by about the same time lapse. The predictions of
the Leonid stream model of Vaubaillon (WGN 30:5, 2002) are
closest to reality according to this first analysis.

--------------------------------------

Nov  UT   Sollong   N   LEO   ZHR   +-

--------------------------------------

16  2000  234.257   2    10     19   6

17  0300  234.551   6    15      6   2

17  2200  235.349  13    96     37   4

18  0400  235.601  12    78     26   3

18  2000  236.273  21   431     98   5

18  2300  236.399  22   195    100   7

19  0000  236.441  26   330    101   6

19  0110  236.490  27   271    188  11

19  0140  236.511  24   218    201  14

19  0210  236.532  21   266    249  15

19  0220  236.539  20   332    305  17

19  0240  236.553  36   342    300  16

19  0255  236.564  16   157    275  22

19  0306  236.571  22   205    375  26

19  0316  236.578  28   329    497  27

19  0327  236.586  27   484    583  27

19  0335  236.591  48  1047    756  23

19  0343  236.597  20   412    930  46

19  0345  236.599  32   719   1162  43

19  0353  236.604  35   768   1344  49

19  0358  236.608  47  1341   1542  42

19  0402  236.610  36  1248   1966  56

19  0408  236.615  31  1335   2353  64

19  0413  236.618  17   912   2332  77

19  0418  236.622  30  1253   1995  57

19  0426  236.627  35   933   1367  45

19  0436  236.634  38   681    989  38

19  0447  236.642  24   416    635  31

19  0500  236.651  31   395    675  34

19  0518  236.664  50   505   1014  45

19  0535  236.676  22   189    572  42

19  0555  236.690  15    97    144  15

19  0620  236.707  15    87    142  15

19  0800  236.777  14   166    272  21

19  0905  236.823  21   217    307  21

19  0930  236.840  27    99    152  15

19  0947  236.852  21    72    267  32

19  1000  236.861  21   128    293  26

19  1010  236.868  31   192    707  51

19  1018  236.874  19   396    907  46

19  1023  236.877  15   134    965  83

19  1030  236.882  27   288   1364  80

19  1040  236.889  26   350   2108 112

19  1050  236.896  28   587   2656 110

19  1100  236.903  19   297   1061  62

19  1112  236.912  17   130    490  43

19  1135  236.928   7   184    366  27

19  2200  237.366   6    99    123  12

20  0500  237.660  11     4     10   5

---------------------------------------------

Solar longitudes refer to equinox J2000.0, N is the number
of observing periods involved in the average ZHR, LEO is the
number of Leonid meteors. The error of the ZHR is simply
ZHR/sqrt(LEO) here. No special zenith exponent was applied
to account for non-geometrical effects in radiant elevation
correction.

We are very grateful to the enthusiastic community of meteor
observers who have sent in their results, mostly through the
online express form. All observers are encouraged to send
their FULL DATA including magnitudes and possibly shorter
time-bins for the counts within the next week.

(An error in the online form script has lead to erroneous out-
put in geographical latitude and radiant elevation; the actual
results presented here are not affected though.)


V. Krumov, M. Gyssens, R. Arlt
2002 November 22”

“LEONID MULTI-INSTRUMENT AIRCRAFT CAMPAIGN

Status of project as of Nov 23, 2002
======================================

1. 2002 LEONID MAC MISSION BEST YET

The NASA and USAF sponsored 2002 Leonid MAC mission was a great success. Both aircraft were above clouds and under perfect conditions for viewing
both of the 2002 Leonid storms enroute from Torrejon, Spain, to Offutt AFB near Omaha, Nebraska. All instruments worked as expected and aurora, moon, and meteors made the view scenic and truely spectacular at times. The Leonid meteor storms occurred much as predicted. European observers saw the peak at 04:09 UT (ZHR = 2,300/hr - with the absolute scale still rather uncertain), while observers in the America's witnessed a storm peaking at 10:50 UT (ZHR = 2,600/hr). Both
peaks were narrow, with a full-width-at-half-maximum of only 0.52 and 0.50 hours, respectively. Both peaks were also rich in faint meteors. As a result, the near-full Moon and bad weather at prime observing sites made visual observations from the ground difficult. Preliminary results from
1-minute counts gathered by Morris Jones and seven other members of the flux measurement team on board NASA's DC-8 Airborne Laboratory during the 2002 Leonid MAC mission show a very precise flux profile. Preliminary results (with a 3-point average and given in 2-minute intervals) are presented in the Table below.

These 2002 Leonid storm observations provide important new data for dust trail models. The dynamic models by Lyytinen et al. and Vaubaillon were only minutes off from the observed peak time. The fact that the flux profiles are narrow is very significant, because it demonstrates that the
dust trails do not widen over time, as in the models by Lyytinen et al. (radiation pressure) and those by Asher & McNaught and Vaubaillon (a.o., from dynamic forces). In fact, the measured width is only slightly narrower than predicted by Jenniskens, who had 0.64 and 0.60 hrs, respectively. In addition, the strong showing in Europe confirms
the small trail shifts noticed earlier. The most important result
may have been the high abundance of faint meteors. While predicted in some models, the distribution of meteoroid sizes in the trails is still poorly understood, and the new observations will help put constraints on this variable.

A high background of activity persisted between the two storm peaks. That background may reflect the 1833 dust trail encounter (Lyytinen's prediction put the encounter time at 06:36 UT), or it could be a manifestation of the Leonid Filament.

Graphs of the results have been posted at our website:
http://leonid.arc.nasa.gov

Results of other scientific efforts will be posted as they become available.

The flux measurement team consisted of Morris Jones, Chris Crawford, Jane Houston-Jones, Bob Lunsford, David Holman, Peter Gural, David Nugent, and Ruediger Jehn, the latter representing ESA. The data were analyzed by Peter Jenniskens, Morris Jones, David Holman, Chris Crawford, and Peter Gural. A further improvement of results is expected when the sky limiting magnitude and magnitude
size distribution have been studied in more detail, and when also the FISTA video tapes (operated by Mike Koop) have been examined. Also, Jim Richardson and a team of observers gathered additional data from a ground site at Mount Lemmon Observatory in Tucson, Arizona.

We thank the aircraft operators at NASA Dryden Flight Research
Center, notably mission managers Bob Curry and Chris Jennison,
and at the USAF 418th Flight Test Squadron, especially mission
managers Don Bustillos and Jon Haser for their heroic efforts to
make the 2002 Leonid MAC mission possible. Some 300 people took
responsibility for bringing various aspects of the campaign together. Our host at Torrejon in Spain was Juan Perez-Mercader, the director of the Center for Astrobiology (CAB). Capt. Rafael Gomez-Blanco made the logistic arrangements. The mission was sponsored by NASA's Astrobiology Program (Mike Meyer), NASA's Planetary Astronomy program
(John Hillman), and by NASA Ames Research Center (Greg Schmidt).
Support was also received from the Center for Astrobiology and the
European Space Agency. The participation of individual research teams was made possible by local institutes and organizations. The mission
was executed as part of the Aerospace MOIE program (Ray Russell). I also thank Hal Roey, Brenda Simmons, Debbie Kolyer, Sue Lehr, Edna deVore, and Chris Chyba of the SETI Institute for their efforts on behalf of this final Leonid Multi-Instrument Aircraft Campaign.


-Peter Jenniskens

----------------------------------------

Time(hr)    Sol long    ZHR   +/-

02 Nov 19   (J2000)    (/hr)  (/hr) 

----------------------------------------

2.767	236.5580	284	99

2.800	236.5594	253	108

2.833	236.5607	292	56

2.867	236.5621	336	52

2.900	236.5636	257	69

2.933	236.5650	332	67

2.967	236.5664	304	58

3.000	236.5677	316	49

3.033	236.5692	324	52

3.067	236.5706	257	47

3.100	236.5720	345	48

3.133	236.5733	302	43

3.167	236.5748	275	36

3.200	236.5762	332	45

3.233	236.5776	293	49

3.350	236.5825	295	63

3.383	236.5839	359	82

3.417	236.5853	514	66

3.450	236.5867	385	56

3.483	236.5881	444	56

3.517	236.5895	511	58

3.550	236.5909	501	51

3.583	236.5923	419	51

3.617	236.5937	566	61

3.650	236.5951	779	82

3.683	236.5965	655	68

3.717	236.5979	718	90

3.750	236.5993	1000	101

3.783	236.6007	797	91

3.817	236.6021	970	74

3.850	236.6035	1379	94

3.883	236.6049	1302	107

3.917	236.6063	1331	95

3.950	236.6077	1481	102

3.983	236.6091	1790	121

4.017	236.6105	1727	103

4.050	236.6119	1985	111

4.083	236.6133	2350	118

4.117	236.6147	2819	121

4.150	236.6161	2499	134

4.183	236.6175	2520	148

4.217	236.6189	2539	120

4.250	236.6203	1728	109

4.283	236.6217	1486	104

4.317	236.6231	1613	97

4.350	236.6245	1562	99

4.383	236.6259	1467	97

4.417	236.6273	1471	91

4.450	236.6287	1193	83

4.483	236.6301	941	81

4.517	236.6315	899	73

4.550	236.6329	933	72

4.583	236.6343	1139	88

4.617	236.6357	859	73

4.650	236.6371	818	95

4.683	236.6385	1009	111

4.717	236.6399	821	111

4.750	236.6413	663	80

4.783	236.6427	909	123

4.817	236.6441	645	74

4.850	236.6455	495	80

4.883	236.6469	535	102

4.917	236.6483	417	80

4.950	236.6497	365	83

4.983	236.6511	546	110

5.017	236.6525	355	76

5.050	236.6539	496	73

5.083	236.6553	533	76

5.117	236.6567	345	74

5.150	236.6581	309	93

5.183	236.6595	539	108

5.217	236.6609	293	72

5.250	236.6623	462	163

5.283	236.6637	261	92

5.317	236.6651	456	161

5.350	236.6665	520	184

5.383	236.6679	324	115

5.417	236.6693	291	103

5.600	236.6770	169	42

5.633	236.6784	168	42

5.667	236.6798	318	79

5.700	236.6812	280	70

5.917	236.6903	175	33

5.950	236.6917	200	33

5.983	236.6931	217	38

6.017	236.6945	297	38

6.050	236.6959	273	36

6.083	236.6973	231	37

6.117	236.6987	294	40

6.150	236.7001	251	40

6.183	236.7015	175	40

6.217	236.7029	302	43

6.250	236.7043	227	31

6.283	236.7057	224	33

6.317	236.7071	265	39

6.350	236.7085	219	38

6.383	236.7099	260	39

6.417	236.7113	184	37

6.450	236.7127	161	49

6.483	236.7141	217	44

6.517	236.7155	145	29

6.550	236.7169	139	59

6.583	236.7183	180	55

6.617	236.7197	280	51

6.650	236.7211	204	41

6.683	236.7225	164	35

6.717	236.7239	155	42

6.750	236.7253	307	62

6.783	236.7267	299	68

6.817	236.7281	281	85

6.850	236.7295	175	75

6.883	236.7309	315	72

6.917	236.7323	224	43

6.950	236.7337	219	34

6.983	236.7351	157	29

7.017	236.7365	162	37

7.050	236.7379	147	24

7.083	236.7393	123	28

7.200	236.7442	206	52

7.233	236.7457	261	65

7.267	236.7471	344	86

7.300	236.7484	278	70

7.333	236.7498	231	58

7.367	236.7513	94	24

7.400	236.7527	131	33

7.433	236.7541	159	48

7.467	236.7554	136	41

7.500	236.7569	221	47

7.533	236.7583	248	40

7.567	236.7597	188	43

7.600	236.7611	195	45

7.633	236.7625	216	58

7.667	236.7639	185	56

7.700	236.7653	140	38

7.733	236.7667	156	39

7.767	236.7681	117	29

7.800	236.7695	95	24

7.833	236.7709	100	25

7.867	236.7723	111	28

7.900	236.7737	89	22

7.933	236.7751	155	39

7.967	236.7765	155	39

8.000	236.7779	144	39

8.033	236.7793	158	36

8.067	236.7807	214	34

8.100	236.7821	278	48

8.133	236.7835	245	38

8.167	236.7849	196	36

8.200	236.7863	147	24

8.233	236.7877	178	41

8.267	236.7891	154	28

8.300	236.7905	142	30

8.333	236.7919	196	30

8.367	236.7933	136	21

8.400	236.7947	212	33

8.433	236.7961	199	35

8.467	236.7975	283	40

8.500	236.7989	227	43

8.533	236.8003	188	31

8.567	236.8017	226	41

8.600	236.8031	194	52

8.633	236.8045	212	48

8.667	236.8059	286	41

8.700	236.8073	147	31

8.733	236.8087	171	34

8.767	236.8101	86	23

8.800	236.8115	180	33

8.833	236.8129	219	44

8.867	236.8143	187	43

8.900	236.8157	234	43

8.933	236.8171	167	45

8.967	236.8185	206	38

9.000	236.8199	146	37

9.033	236.8213	335	44

9.067	236.8227	248	36

9.100	236.8241	104	26

9.133	236.8255	96	24

9.167	236.8269	297	74

9.200	236.8283	250	62

9.233	236.8297	176	44

9.267	236.8311	103	26

9.300	236.8325	145	36

9.333	236.8339	116	29

9.367	236.8353	217	38

9.400	236.8367	172	27

9.433	236.8381	121	23

9.467	236.8395	352	49

9.500	236.8409	284	54

9.533	236.8423	156	42

9.567	236.8437	175	32

9.600	236.8451	250	36

9.633	236.8465	238	40

9.667	236.8479	261	33

9.700	236.8493	282	36

9.733	236.8507	328	39

9.767	236.8521	203	31

9.800	236.8535	285	39

9.833	236.8549	354	52

9.867	236.8563	275	33

9.900	236.8577	297	39

9.933	236.8591	335	41

9.967	236.8605	397	38

10.000	236.8619	395	39

10.033	236.8633	314	38

10.067	236.8647	322	31

10.100	236.8661	271	34

10.133	236.8675	376	34

10.167	236.8689	438	42

10.200	236.8703	434	41

10.233	236.8717	507	41

10.267	236.8731	559	53

10.300	236.8745	625	52

10.333	236.8759	652	53

10.367	236.8773	680	47

10.400	236.8787	732	53

10.433	236.8801	805	59

10.467	236.8815	1022	68

10.500	236.8829	993	61

10.533	236.8843	1195	69

10.567	236.8857	1393	74

10.600	236.8871	1398	83

10.633	236.8885	1588	77

10.667	236.8899	1945	103

10.700	236.8913	2154	99

10.733	236.8927	2255	114

10.767	236.8941	2817	124

10.800	236.8955	2410	110

10.833	236.8969	2820	111

10.867	236.8983	2702	151

10.900	236.8997	2667	106

10.933	236.9011	2329	95

10.967	236.9025	2298	97

11.000	236.9039	1954	93

11.033	236.9053	1447	101

11.067	236.9067	1360	105

11.100	236.9081	1270	112

11.133	236.9095	1111	99

11.167	236.9109	1051	91

11.200	236.9123	726	79

11.233	236.9137	667	70

11.267	236.9151	803	83

11.300	236.9165	705	85

11.333	236.9179	763	86

11.367	236.9193	908	87

11.400	236.9207	625	69

11.433	236.9221	595	90

11.467	236.9235	531	56

11.500	236.9249	462	62

11.533	236.9263	612	60

11.567	236.9277	510	71

11.600	236.9292	543	64

11.633	236.9305	470	62

11.667	236.9319	426	56

11.700	236.9333	542	67

11.733	236.9348	331	38

11.767	236.9362	389	57

11.800	236.9375	324	46

11.833	236.9389	271	38

11.867	236.9404	339	50

11.900	236.9418	260	47

11.933	236.9432	221	40

11.967	236.9445	240	39

12.000	236.9460	221	77

12.017	236.9467	278	51

12.050	236.9481	249	50

----------------------------------------

......................................................................

Peter Jenniskens

The SETI Institute
2035 Landings Drive NASA Mountain View, CA 94043

http://leonid.arc.nasa.gov
http://aio.arc.nasa.gov/~leonid/”

“I think my brain just exploded.”

“I usually just get a fairly intense cramp, LOL

Check the links... there are colorful graphs and photos, <GRIN>.

The first column indicates time periods in decimal form of Universal Time coordinates (very close if not indentical to Greenwich Mean Time)

"Sol Long" is shorthand for Solar Longitude, which is simply a more accurate way of indicating where the Earth is in its orbit.

The third column contains The Goodies. ZHR = the Zenithal Hourly Rate, the estimate based on actual observations of what an average observer might witness if he happened to be in the right place at the right time... without any Moon or clouds to interfere.

+/- ... margin of error

So basically, all this serves to reinforce the perception that we REALLY would've seen a #&%!$load o' meteors if we hadn't had to deal with any clouds or that freakin' MOON, <G>

”

“Did anyone see the footage of the meteor that came down in Australia? WOW! That thing was HUGE! Lit up the whole sky, created a sonic boom and was beautiful. I couldn’t find a video link for it though but saw it on the news. They said it was between the size of a VW and a basketball.


”

“that's a big difference... a volkswagon and a basketball..”

“Not if ya get hit by it! Haha!”

“LOL”

“Gosh, Scorch, steal my whole comment, on the size difference. (Explains a lot about men and "size" doesn't it? VW and a BB in the same size range? LMFAO!)”

“Why are women such poor judges of distance?
Because they've been told for so long that this (hold up thumb & forefinger) is 8 inches.”

“"(Explains a lot about men and "size" doesn't it? VW and a BB in the same size range? LMFAO!)”

And just who said it was a guy who estimated the size of the meteor? Hmmm?”

“Typical Women assuming the Men must be watching/estimating these things, aye?

Of course, Women have no place in Astronomy or Physics.”