I was up in the mountains near Kolob Reservoir near Zion National Park last night. We saw several bright Perseids streak across the sky. One was really bright that it left a visible tail for at least a minute. Seeing was excellent till about 2pm when we decided to tear down equipment. I can't wait till Thursday for the real show. I looked at one double star through the 15". Gamma Delphinus was bright, well matched pair. Debbie On Wed Aug 11 12:29 , Jay Eads <jayleads@gmail.com> sent:
Kim,
Could you post the directions again to Skyline Drive? I know you did once but I'm having trouble finding the directions. Thanks!
On Wed, Aug 11, 2010 at 11:32 AM, Kim kimharch@cut.net> wrote:
Last night Charlie Ford and I did a star party for a family camp held at our local BSA campsite. Sky was partly cloudy but cleared about 11:30. We left about 1:15. It became windy as the clouds cleared but was still rather warm at 7800 feet elevation. We saw perhaps 10 or 15 bright Perseids (first mag or brighter) and a handful of fainter ones. It got me excited to observe tomorrow night/Friday morning during the projected peak hours. The forecast is good for clear skies in Sanpete County and I still plan to go to the Skyline Drive site (elevation about 9800 feet). Anyone is welcome to join me. Charlie Ford may be there, as well. I will bring an 8-inch SCT to use during the evening hours but I’ll put it away after midnight to enjoy the shower.
In past years from a Sanpete valley site (elevation about 6200 feet) I’ve observed over 90 Perseids per hour during the predicted peak hours, plus a half-dozen or so sporadics. I’ve made two, one-hour counts from approximately 1:00 to 3:00 AM, both last year and in 2008 (or 2007, I forget which). I consider myself to be a reliable observer yet my meteor counts have always been much greater than the usual numbers that are cited, 50 or 60 per hour for the Perseids. I had the same experience during the Geminid shower years ago at Rush Valley with Bill Kelley. On that occasion I observed about 110 Geminids during each hour of a two-hour count. Next to the Leonid storm of 2001 that Geminid shower was the best meteor shower I’ve observed. Anyway, I would appreciate company this year for the Perseids this Thursday night and (hopefully) for the Geminids in December. I’d like to confirm my results with other experienced observers. I don’t doubt my own experiences but I would like to have someone confirm what I’m seeing. I’m also planning to keep a DSLR camera set up for as much of the night as battery power will allow, and I may also use a 35mm SLR camera.
The Skyline Drive site is about a two-hour drive from downtown SLC, maybe a bit less. The Perseid radiant itself may be affected by horizon sky glow from Utah County but by early morning hours it should be well above the horizon. The rest of the sky, of course, is very dark and perfect for meteor observing. Please, someone come join me for what looks to be a great year for observing the Perseids. I’ll bring the hot cocoa.
Kim
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Nice report, Deb. Thanks, Joe PS, I'm hoping to do some astrophotography tonight, galaxy and nebula variety, and I hope the Perseids don't ruin my pics! --- On Wed, 8/11/10, Debbie <astrodeb@beyondbb.com> wrote: From: Debbie <astrodeb@beyondbb.com> Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Perseids To: "Utah Astronomy" <utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com> Date: Wednesday, August 11, 2010, 12:47 PM I was up in the mountains near Kolob Reservoir near Zion National Park last night. We saw several bright Perseids streak across the sky. One was really bright that it left a visible tail for at least a minute. Seeing was excellent till about 2pm when we decided to tear down equipment. I can't wait till Thursday for the real show. I looked at one double star through the 15". Gamma Delphinus was bright, well matched pair. Debbie On Wed Aug 11 12:29 , Jay Eads <jayleads@gmail.com> sent:
Kim,
Could you post the directions again to Skyline Drive? I know you did once but I'm having trouble finding the directions. Thanks!
On Wed, Aug 11, 2010 at 11:32 AM, Kim kimharch@cut.net> wrote:
Last night Charlie Ford and I did a star party for a family camp held at our local BSA campsite. Sky was partly cloudy but cleared about 11:30. We left about 1:15. It became windy as the clouds cleared but was still rather warm at 7800 feet elevation. We saw perhaps 10 or 15 bright Perseids (first mag or brighter) and a handful of fainter ones. It got me excited to observe tomorrow night/Friday morning during the projected peak hours. The forecast is good for clear skies in Sanpete County and I still plan to go to the Skyline Drive site (elevation about 9800 feet). Anyone is welcome to join me. Charlie Ford may be there, as well. I will bring an 8-inch SCT to use during the evening hours but I’ll put it away after midnight to enjoy the shower.
In past years from a Sanpete valley site (elevation about 6200 feet) I’ve observed over 90 Perseids per hour during the predicted peak hours, plus a half-dozen or so sporadics. I’ve made two, one-hour counts from approximately 1:00 to 3:00 AM, both last year and in 2008 (or 2007, I forget which). I consider myself to be a reliable observer yet my meteor counts have always been much greater than the usual numbers that are cited, 50 or 60 per hour for the Perseids. I had the same experience during the Geminid shower years ago at Rush Valley with Bill Kelley. On that occasion I observed about 110 Geminids during each hour of a two-hour count. Next to the Leonid storm of 2001 that Geminid shower was the best meteor shower I’ve observed. Anyway, I would appreciate company this year for the Perseids this Thursday night and (hopefully) for the Geminids in December. I’d like to confirm my results with other experienced observers. I don’t doubt my own experiences but I would like to have someone confirm what I’m seeing. I’m also planning to keep a DSLR camera set up for as much of the night as battery power will allow, and I may also use a 35mm SLR camera.
The Skyline Drive site is about a two-hour drive from downtown SLC, maybe a bit less. The Perseid radiant itself may be affected by horizon sky glow from Utah County but by early morning hours it should be well above the horizon. The rest of the sky, of course, is very dark and perfect for meteor observing. Please, someone come join me for what looks to be a great year for observing the Perseids. I’ll bring the hot cocoa.
Kim
_______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://www.slas.us/gallery2/main.php Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com
-- Jay Eads _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://www.slas.us/gallery2/main.php Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com
_______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://www.slas.us/gallery2/main.php Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com
participants (2)
-
Debbie -
Joe Bauman