(meteorobs) Re: Memorable Meteors

Hi there.  Well some big meteor action from Australia should be included.......

 

1.    Leonids 1998 from Woomera Australia.  -9 multicoloured Leonid fireball with a train that laste for 40 minutes before finally drifting away with high atmosphere wind currents.  The train visible in binoculars took on an appearance like zebra stripes, segregated into about 10 to 12 sections.  That particular fireball was subsequently called "The King" and has been refered to ever since as "The King".

 

2.    Also Leonids 1998, a -7 fireball that had been seen just prior to the -9 above.  It also left a train that lasted for 30 or so minutes,  The train was paraelle to the other, and about 10 degrees away, right next to it.  many a great photo was taken that night.

 

3.    June Bootids Outburts (1998 from memory)  Many long earth grazing meteors seen from even this far south at -37 degrees.  During the break between our 1st and 2nd hour, we were looking north east along the horizon, to witness a fantastic, low and slow, -5 brilliant white June Bootid fireball travelling East to West only 6 to 8 degrees of the horizon.  It lasted for about 20 seconds getting brighter and brighter before finally burning out.  As it was getting brighter and brighter the three of us observing got louder and louder, telling it to "keep going, keep going" and to explode or something.  Lucky it did stop because I think I forgot to take a breath, and was about to explode myself.....

 

Look at that, all in 1998, hmmm, good year.  There are some Sound (MP3) files of our Leonids action and the two bright meteors seen above at the EAMN site at http://au.egroups.com/files/EAMN/Sound%20Files/, if anyone cares for a listen.  The recording is from my own observations and of average quality, but a bit duller in tone than the original recording.

 

Maybe if we do this again after November 2001, we will all have something else to add.

 

Cheers, Adam.