I should have said there were AS MANY AS 8-10 per minute. It certainly wasn't sustained at that rate over a long period, but spurts of activity that came and went nevertheless lasted most of the night. In fact, I was out feeding the horses late last night (Thursday) and saw 4 through the cloud cover in my light polluted back yard in the 15 minutes I was outside. And I remember seeing several even last Saturday up at the Gravel Pit, so this "shower" has lasted several days. -Rich --- Brent Watson <brentjwatson@yahoo.com> wrote:
Rich - 8 to 10 per minute? I'd call that pretty specacular for a shower that normally produces only one per minute.
Brent
--- Richard Tenney <retenney@yahoo.com> wrote:
Yep, I'm late for work! Got to bed about 4 this morning, but had a great time at the Gravel Pit.
I hauled up the 16-inch again, arrived after dark (about 9:30) and found a half-dozen scopes all set up and operational. Later I was joined by Lou and his 20-inch, and Jo Grahn and her family with a huge pair of binos. Great company, dark skies, and a fun time. I am pleased to frequently rediscover how many friendly, nice people we have in this area that enjoy this hobby!
Joy from KBYU showed up about 1:30 with an assistant and her husband, and did an interview with some of us; they were all very interested and very pleasant.
I started out finishing up my remaining Herschel objects in Sagittarius; 2 globulars, NGC 6638 and 6642 (both just east and slightly above the top of the Teapot), a planetary nebula NGC 6818 (small, round and fairly bright), and a rather interesting open cluster, NGC 6645, which appeared to have embedded in it a ring of stars surrounding a circular dark area (nebula?).
When I wasn't occupied with the scope, the meteor activiity was good all night. When I stopped to sit back and enjoy the show, I was counting typically 8-10 a minute. There was a good variety, with some nice, bright persistent trains, a few in color (bright yellow). I was not at all disappointed in the show.
I tore down about 3 (a slight, very cold breeze had kicked up by then), and everyone but Jo and Lou had already left.
Don't know if I'll be at Wolf Creek this weekend or not...
-Rich
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