Hi all. I just returned from a couple of hours of observing at Skyline Drive. For me, it was the best Perseid show in many years. I arrived at 2:30 and began observing at 2:40. I forgot to take note of the limiting magnitude, but the sky was very clear and dark (for a change this summer) so I’m sure it was at least 6.5 and maybe 7+. I made six 20-minute counts (time below is given in MDT, accurate to 1 sec.; P=Perseids, N=Non-Perseids): 2:40:30 – 3:00:30 P: 23 N: 5 3:10:00 – 3:30:00 P: 30 N: 4 3:37:00 – 3:57:00 P: 30 N: 5 4:00:00 – 4:20:00 P: 37 N: 5 4:23:00 – 4:43:00 P: 26 N: 2 4:46:30 – 5:06:30 P: 37 N: 1 Total: 120 min. P: 183 N: 22 About one-third of the Perseids ranged in brightness from magnitude 1 to -1, with these brighter meteors usually leaving trails lasting up to five seconds. I also noticed a spike in activity from about 3:15 to 3:20. In about five minutes’ time I saw 10 or 12 Perseids, with four of them arriving in as many seconds. I also noticed something unusual about the non-Perseids. I haven’t called them “sporadic” because just over half of them seemed to come from a point in Pegasus. These 12 were all about the same brightness, perhaps magnitude 2 or 3, and a noticeably slower than the Perseids. I centered my observations on the region around M31 and M33, and most of the unusual meteors that I saw were moving opposite to the Perseids in that part of the sky. I’m positive this isn’t coincidental. I’m too tired to research now, but if any of you know of minor showers that fit the meteors I observed, please let me know. Kim Kim A. Hyatt Architect P.O. Box 124 Mt. Pleasant, Utah 84647 Tel: 435.462.9207 Fax: 435.462.5013 Mobile: 801.631.5228 kimharch@cut.net Architectural Design ▪ Historic Preservation No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG. Version: 7.5.524 / Virus Database: 270.6.0/1604 - Release Date: 8/11/2008 5:50 AM