[meteorite-list] Leonids from Phoenix

From: John Gwilliam <jkgdiver_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 09:47:12 2004
Message-ID: <4.2.0.58.20011118092543.0097b610_at_pop.primenet.com>

Morning All,
The high cloud cover broke up pretty well 40 miles Northeast of Phoenix and
allowed us to see the showers well. We did have to deal with a constant
convoy of cars, ATCs and motorcycles (all with headlights) raising a lot of
dust in our area. Even though we were three miles off Highway 87, the
parking area we used is right next to a dirt road and there was a constant
stream of traffic. Evidently the word got out on several of our local
television news channels that our viewing area was a good place to
go. With the near constant stream of lights bouncing off motor homes we
saw only the brightest

On the bright side, we did see some fantastic meteors. Most were fast and
short lived but we saw several that left trails in the sky. The group of
people in our parking area in the desert numbered about 150 and the noise
was similar to a 4th of July fireworks show with lots of simultaneous
reactions. One streaker came directly out of the north and kept going
brighter as it came instead of getting dimmer. It burned for over 4
seconds and the noise from the observers was similar to watching a game
winning field goal barely making it through the uprights! My wife was
impressed.....and that's no easy feat! We headed home at 2:00AM when the
arriving vehicles became unbearable with all their lights and dust.

Best to All,

John Gwilliam
John Gwilliam Meteorites
PO Box 26854
Tempe AZ 85285
http://www.meteoriteimpact.com
Received on Sun 18 Nov 2001 12:00:36 PM PST