It was terrific here in California, despite the light pollution (we recently moved to Cupertino, which puts us at the edge of the Santa Clara Valley, which helps a bit, I think). I kept wondering what it was like for people with a real dark sky. We watched from about 1:20 to 2:50 and I counted 127, but this was from our patio, where a lot of the lower parts of the sky are obscured by walls, trees and such. There were quite a few very bright ones that left trails. Number 114 really stood out though -- it started very bright, dimmed, brightened again, then seemed to pop like a flashbulb going off.
I saw so many, so fast, that I woke up my wife and we dragged outside the La-Z-Boy recliner her dad left us. Two people in a pair of sleeping bags on a recliner is a very nice way to enjoy a meteor shower! Hey, we showered together... not that that's unusual. Cindy asked a question that perhaps someone here can answer authoritatively. How high are they when they're first visible? I assumed something less than 50 miles, but more than 30...? And how low do these little ones usually penetrate? Nick > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On > Behalf Of Ronn Blankenship > Sent: Sunday, November 18, 2001 4:31 AM > To: Recipient list suppressed > Subject: Leonids > > > Hi, all, > > I just got back inside. The skies were milky here but there were lots of > fireballs as bright as Sirius and several as bright as Jupiter, many > red-tinged with green trails. The way they were still coming > until it got > too light to see anything, I suspect people further west than here > (Mountain or Pacific time zones, etc.) should be getting a pretty > good show. > > So how were things where you were? > > > -- Ronn! :) > > ------------------------------------------------------------------ > ---------- > > -- Ronn Blankenship > Instructor of Astronomy/Planetary Science > University of Montevallo > Montevallo, AL > > Standard Disclaimer: Unless specifically stated > otherwise, any opinions stated herein are the personal > opinions of the author and do not represent the > official position of the University of Montevallo. > > ------------------------------------------------------------------ > ----------- >
