[meteorite-list] Your top meteor sightings!

From: Galactic Stone & Ironworks <meteoritemike_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Sat, 20 Feb 2010 19:35:28 -0500
Message-ID: <e51421551002201635q2dcd12a5kea0d1d89b69a7e41_at_mail.gmail.com>

Hi Gary,

Great stories. Being an amateur astronomer, you know that if you
spend enough time looking up, you will see things that many people
don't ever see or rarely see. I used to think shooting stars and
bolides were rare until I picked up telescopes and big binoculars for
the first time.

One night, while sitting out under NELM 5 skies (not exactly dark, but
not terrible either), I had a 25x100mm binocular mounted a
paralellogram. I kicked back in a chair and did sweeps of the sky
from zenith to horizon. This was standard operating procedure for me.
 I would take a cooler full of iced coffees outside with me, a cigar,
and the S&T Pocket Sky Atlas. I'd pick a couple of areas, like Orion
or Cygnus (depending on the season) and just concentrate on finding
DSO's in that region. I stay out for about 6 hours and then finish
the night with the cigar before packing it in.

Well anyhoot, that particular night I was out to observe and there was
no meteor shower or other activity on the schedule. I saw a total of
7 sporadic meteors that night, many of which came from different
radiants. Some were bright and some were faint. Most were quick
streaks of white or whitish light that would last only 1-2 seconds and
then suddenly vanish like a switch turned them off. One I saw while
looking through the eyepieces of 100mm binocular and it lasted several
seconds. I looked away from the eyepieces and tried to spot the
meteor with my naked eye, but it was too faint. I quickly returned to
the binocular just in time to see it suddenly wink out. Well, despite
having dew shields, it was very humid that night and the big 4-inch
objectives of the binocular dewed up on me. So it was time to go in.
I lit my cigar and kicked back in the chair, ticking off the DSO's I
had spotted that night in my observing log using a dim red flashlight.
 I looked up and saw a BIG BRIGHT BOLIDE that was bright yellow, it
travelled from west to east across Ursa Major and it left behind a
bright trail of sparks which were yellow and white. The bolide lasted
about 4-5 seconds before it brightened to about Magnitude 1 before it
winked out (apparently an airburst or explosion), leaving behind a
trail of sparks that lingered for a second longer before it was
utterly gone. I didn't hear any sounds associated with it.

Gary, that big bright one you saw that had electrophonic effects, it's
quite possible that bolide dropped meteorites. Did it go out over the
ocean?

If so, I wonder if it would be possible to plot something like that
and drop a big magnet behind a trawler and locate it. (assuming the
water is not too deep - which it probably is)

Best regards and clear skies,

MikeG

On 2/20/10, Gary Fujihara <fujmon at mac.com> wrote:
> Aloha meteor watchers,
>
> My most memorable meteor sighting was on November 21, 2001, during the peak
> of the Leonids shower on the summit of Mauna Kea on Hawaii Island in the
> middle of the Pacific Ocean. Hawaii was in the perfect location to view the
> peak (of the 2001 shower and 33 year cycle), and I happened to be working at
> the 8.3m Subaru Telescope, operating the SuprimeCam wide field imager on the
> prime focus of the telescope. Night lunch is at 11:30 pm, and I took my
> break outside to get a glimpse of the meteor shower. I faced the eastern
> sky and observed as Leo slowly rose above the horizon. Several meteors were
> already appearing, with occasional earth-grazers traversing almost 180
> degrees across the sky.
>
> One I recall would appear as a bright greenish-blue streak that pierced the
> dark night sky, fading out before reappearing again this time as an
> orange-yellow meteor. This was probably an earth-grazer that skipped across
> and through the earth's atmosphere not unlike a stone across a pond or
> lake's surface. But that was not the most memorable meteor of the night.
>
> At 12:09 am, there was a super bright bolide that appeared and got brighter
> and brighter in intensity, seemingly without moving at all in the sky. It
> was apparently traveling toward me, and its light cast shadows from the
> support building and railings that danced all around me. At its brightest,
> I would estimate that it was -13 v magnitude, or about equal to that of the
> full moon. While all this occurred I thought I could hear a buzzing sound
> associated with the meteor. Its intensity seemed to match that of the
> bolide I was watching. After what seemed like an eternity (but was probably
> only a few seconds at the most), the meteor spiked in brightness before
> extinguishing to darkness. Wow! I had to pinch myself to be sure I had not
> imagined that experience.
>
> In retrospect I know that any sound emanating from a meteor could not
> coincide with the vision of it, because of the difference in speed of light
> and sound waves. But I know what I heard and and experienced and later
> learned of electrophonic sound phenomenon, which could explain what I had
> experienced. A most unforgettable meteor sighting!
>
> Gary Fujihara
> Big Kahuna Meteorites (IMCA#1693)
> 105 Puhili Place, Hilo, Hawai'i 96720
> http://bigkahuna-meteorites.com/
> http://shop.ebay.com/fujmon/m.html
> (808) 640-9161
>
>
>
>
>
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-- 
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Mike Gilmer
http://www.galactic-stone.com
http://www.facebook.com/galacticstone
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Received on Sat 20 Feb 2010 07:35:28 PM PST