Nov 19, 2002 Leonids Meteor Storm Report
Went to bed, finally, at about 11:30 after checking 34,546 websites for weather forecasts and Leonids prediction sites and meteor photography sites, AND putting together my safari supplies for the trip to the Wilds of Hartland: 3 blankets, sleeping bag, chaise lounge deck chair, foam pad, digital camera, wide angle lens, GPS with spare batteries, Pentax SP-500 SLR, shutter release cable, sky maps, topo map of the spot in Hartland I had picked last summer as a good place for this, red flashlights, white flashlight, a quart of caffeinated tea in a Thermos, tripod. And clothes: thermal long johns and undershirt, denim shirt, heavy overshirt, sweat jacket, winter coat, two pair of socks, boots, scarf, hat, and gloves.
Woke up to alarm at 4:00 am.
| Ate cereal and tea. Got dressed, and dressed, and dressed. Scraped ice off car windows while moving like the Michelin Man. | |
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Loaded car. Checked several websites again. Looked outside glumly at totally-overcast sky with brilliant Moon spreading light everywhere. Drove to Hartland. Realized I forgot map. (and sky maps...). |
| Realized that previously-recorded GPS landmark had somehow been erased from GPS. Tried to find spot in the dark. Thought I saw it (correct, as it turns out) but didn't think it would be safe to park on road, so kept going up hill. When road turned to dirt, decided to stop there opposite old barn (no house nearby) and found small field area that should work. | |
Unloaded car and set up site about 30 feet from (very rural) road.
Looked up, saw Jupiter and two stars. That's it. (Moon was mercifully near-setting, and was out of sight behind trees.) Then I saw a meteor! And another! From 5:38 to about 6:15, I saw about 30 of them — more than I've ever seen at once before! It was disappointingly overcast, though. Even the meteor streaks were hazy. They appeared to come from a spot (in Leo) near Jupiter. I took about 6 film photos with 800 film. I'll have them processed today, and should have them by tomorrow to see if anything showed up on film. If there is something on film, I'll have the negs scanned at high res so I can use Photoshop on them to get the best results. [Note: no meteors were visible on the film. Rats. Photo below. Click on it for bigger one.]
I was only a little cold, but more so as time went by because a breeze started at around 6.
I won't use that spot again because about 10 minutes after I arrived a steady stream of cars and trucks came by in both directions, causing me to end my exposures before I would have otherwise. The search for the ideal spot goes on!
UPDATE: 2004-10-25: I found what may be the "ideal" viewing spot for any astro events about eight miles from my home. It's on top of a gently-rounded big hill with 360-degree views, and the nearest neighbors are reasonably far away. I can park my car by the side of the road and walk 10 feet to set up! And no, I'm not tellin' where it is! ;-)