[meteorite-list] Leonids 2001

From: Robert Woolard <meteoritefinder_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 09:47:12 2004
Message-ID: <20011119022728.45330.qmail_at_web11603.mail.yahoo.com>

Hello List,

    I have been enjoying the many Leonid reports. Most
everyone more or less witnessed about the same level
of activity as I did here in Little Rock, AR.

   I estimate that I saw around 1500 in a 2 and 3/4 hr
period from 0315 until 0600. Seven of these were
bright enough to resemble a distant flash of lightning
("sheet lightning" ? ). The single brightest fireball
lasted about 4 seconds. The terminal burst was
spectacular. I watched the train through binoculars
for a minute or so until the high altitude winds
contorted it into a wildly twisted "S".

   As some others have commented, I too saw as many as
5-8 at one time, all over the sky.

   Finally, it was a miracle that we were treated to
this great show. For the past 7-8 days, we had
PERFECTLY clear skies here, day and night. I had kept
my eye on that huge low pressure system in Texas that
just sat there, spinning and spinning in the same spot
for about 4 days. I was concerned that it would start
moving our way at any time. Sure enough, Sat. morning
it started moving in! By noon the skies were pretty
much covered by clouds. I watched/read every weather
forecast I could find. Our local 5:00 PM news showed
an animation of the projected cloud movement for the
night and it was NOT good news. The entire state was
predicted to be cloud covered. But I got up at 0200
and was happy to see that a small sliver of clear sky
was about an hour's drive to my west. My best friend
and fellow meteor-shower-fiend made a mad dash to the
west, hoping the sliver would stay cloud-free. Only
about 30 min from my house, and in a
completely-light-pollution-free part of the state, the
whole sky just started opening up for us. The longer
we watched, the more cloud-free it got. At the
predicted peak time of ~ 0400, there were very few
clouds, low to the horizon and behind us. I felt truly
blessed to be treated to this wonderful shower. I wish
everyone would have been as lucky.

    Keep those reports coming!

    Robert Woolard

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Received on Sun 18 Nov 2001 09:27:28 PM PST