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(meteorobs) May 4, 2002 Meteor Observations From California

After a 6 week hiatus I finally was able to attempt a meteor observing 
session. I watched from Deerhorn Valley for 3 hours this morning to see 
any activity from the Eta Aquarids. The sky was outstanding as the city 
lights were obscured by low clouds. Activity was decent with the moon 
low in the east but gradually waned as the moon gained altitude. The Eta 
Aquarids were a bit disappointing, only 4 were seen and all of them were 
on the faint side. The Northern Apex was more active than expected but 
all other activity was low or nonexistent. The highlight of the session 
was a yellow 1st magnitude meteor from the Southern Apex that shot 
overhead bisecting the head of Draco. It also left a nice train.

May 4, 2002

0900-1000 UT  0.93  6.75  0 ETA  1 ANT  2 NPX  1 SPX   6 SPO   10 TOTAL

1000-1100 UT  0.95  6.34  2 ETA  0 ANT  3 NPX  0 SPX   2 SPO    7 TOTAL

1100-1200 UT  0.97  5.75  2 ETA  0 ANT  0 NPX  1 SPX   2 SPO    5 TOTAL

TOTALS:       2.85  6.27  4 ETA  1 ANT  5 NPX  2 SPX  10 SPO   22 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. Time was lost for
plotting and data entry tonight. 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 north at
an altitude of 60 degrees during the entire session. No breaks were
taken. ANT = Antihelion radiant (Sagittaridss), ETA = Eta Aquarids, NPX 
= Northern Apex, SPX = Southern Apex, and SPO = Sporadics (random activity).

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

Bortle Scale Estimate:  Not Applicable Due to Moonlight

Beginning Temperature/Relative Humidity:   38 F (3 C)  64%
Ending         "         "         "       36 F (2 C)  80%

MAGNITUDES:

ETA:       0 (0) +1 (0) +2 (0) +3 (1)  +4 (3)  +5 (0) +6 (0)  AVE: +3.75
ANT:       0 (0) +1 (0) +2 (0) +3 (0)  +4 (0)  +5 (1) +6 (0)  AVE: +5.00
NPX:       0 (0) +1 (2) +2 (2) +3 (0)  +4 (1)  +5 (0) +6 (0)  AVE: +2.00
SPX:       0 (1) +1 (1) +2 (1) +3 (0)  +4 (0)  +5 (0) +6 (0)  AVE: +1.50
SPO:       0 (2) +1 (1) +2 (2) +3 (1)  +4 (3)  +5 (1) +6 (0)  AVE: +2.50

Bob Lunsford
San Diego, CA USA

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