Ed Cannon <ecannon @ mail.utexas.edu>

Date: 2002 November 18/19 (Tuesday, November 19 UTC)

Time: 10:00-11:30 UTC (used WWV radio to keep time)

Teff: 84 minutes (1.4 hour, actual observing time)

Site: 30.89N, 98.43W, 335 meters elevation (Canyon of 
the Eagles, Burnet County, Texas, USA)

Weather: very good, no clouds, about 2 to 4 deg. Celsius

Obstruction: minimal (gentle uphill slope to east)

Field of View centered on about altitude 70, azimuth 65

Limiting magnitude: about 4.6 throughout 

Recording method:  writing in small spiral-bound notebook

Meteor Totals: 436 Leonids, 3 non-Leonids

Detailed Meteor Counts (".T" is time, mostly one minute)

..Start. ..Stop.. .T LEO SPO
-------- -------- -- --- ---
10:00:00-10:02:00  2   1
10:02:00-10:03:00  1   1
10:03:00-10:04:00  1   2
10:04:00-10:05:00  1   1
10:05:00-10:06:00  1   0
10:06:00-10:07:00  1   1
10:07:00-10:08:00  1   0
10:08:00-10:09:00  1   2
10:09:00-10:10:00  1   1
10:10:00-10:11:00  1   2   1
10:11:00-10:12:00  1   1
10:12:00-10:13:00  1   0
10:13:00-10:14:00  1   2
10:14:00-10:15:00  1   1
10:15:00-10:16:00  1   0
10:16:00-10:17:00  1   2
10:17:00-10:18:00  1   3
10:18:00-10:19:00  1   5
10:19:00-10:20:00  1   2
10:20:00-10:22:00  2   7
10:22:00-10:23:00  1   2
10:23:00-10:24:00  1   5
10:24:00-10:25:00  1   3
10:25:00-10:26:00  1   2
10:26:00-10:27:00  1   6
10:27:00-10:28:00  1   4
10:28:00-10:29:00  1   7
10:29:00-10:30:00  1   5
10:30:00-10:31:00  1   8
10:31:00-10:32:00  1   4
10:32:00-10:33:00  1   6
10:33:00-10:34:00  1   9
10:34:00-10:35:00  1   6
10:35:00-10:36:00  1  13
10:36:00-10:37:00  1  13
10:37:00-10:38:00  1  14
10:38:00-10:39:00  1  13
10:39:00-10:40:00  1  13
10:40:00-10:41:00  1  16
10:41:00-10:42:00  1   9
10:42:00-10:43:00  1   9
10:43:00-10:44:00  1   9
10:44:00-10:45:00  1  14
10:45:00-10:46:00  1  15
10:46:00-10:47:00  1  13
10:47:00-10:48:00  1   6
10:48:00-10:49:00  1  15
10:49:00-10:50:00  1  10
10:50:00-10:51:00  1   6
10:51:00-10:52:00  1   8
10:52:00-10:53:00  1  12
10:53:00-10:54:00  1  10
10:54:00-10:55:00  1  13
10:55:00-10:56:00  1   6
10:56:00-10:57:00  1   7
10:57:00-10:58:00  1   0
10:58:00-10:59:00  1   9
10:59:00-11:00:00  1   6
11:00:00-11:05:00 break
11:05:00-11:06:00  1   4
11:06:00-11:07:00  1   5
11:07:00-11:08:00  1  11
11:08:00-11:09:00  1   2
11:09:00-11:10:00  1   4
11:10:00-11:11:00  1   2
11:11:00-11:12:00  1   3
11:12:00-11:13:00  1   7
11:13:00-11:14:00  1   5
11:14:00-11:15:00  1   4
11:15:00-11:16:00  1   3
11:16:00-11:17:00  1   2   1
11:17:00-11:18:00  1   2   1
11:18:00-11:19:00  1   1
11:19:00-11:20:00  1   0
11:20:00-11:21:00  1   3
11:21:00-11:22:00  1   5
11:22:00-11:23:00 break
11:23:00-11:24:00  1   1
11:24:00-11:25:00  1   1
11:25:00-11:26:00  1   2
11:26:00-11:27:00  1   3
11:27:00-11:28:00  1   1
11:28:00-11:29:00  1   2
11:29:00-11:30:00  1   3
-------- -------- -- --- ---
                  84 436   3

84 minutes = 1.40 hour effective 
observing time ("Teff")

Leonids: 436
Non-Leonids: 3 (W->E north of LEO radiant; Taurids?)

Best one minute: 10:40:00-41:00, 16 Leonids (= 960/hr)
Best 5 minutes: 10:36:00-41:00, 69 Leonids (= 828/hr)
Best 10 minutes (two overlapping periods): 
10:36:00-46:00, 125 Leonids (= 750/hr) and also
10:37:00-47:00, 125 Leonids 

The peak seemed to be 10:35-10:55, as I had mostly 
two-digit counts during that period. The total in those
20 minutes was 261, or 783/hour. 

Those numbers seem pretty amazing given the full Moon!

The brightest two or three seemed about -3 or -4, and 
there weren't very many that bright.

FWIW, here are 10-minute "bins" (moving 10-minute totals) 
from 10:32:00 to 11:00:00 UTC (with the time given being 
the end of each respective 10-minute period):

10:32 46
10:33 50
10:34 54
10:35 57
10:36 68
10:37 75
10:38 85
10:39 91
10:40 99
10:41 107
10:42 112
10:43 115
10:44 115
10:45 123
10:46 125
10:47 125
10:48 117
10:49 119
10:50 116
10:51 106
10:52 105
10:53 108
10:54 109
10:55 108
10:56 99
10:57 93
10:58 87
10:59 81
11:00 77

I took a break at 11:00 due to getting too cold. When I 
resumed counting at 11:05 a.m., the rates were lower 
than the last period above. I had to stop at 11:30 due 
to my friends with whom I rode to the site getting ready 
to leave!

Something maybe odd that I noticed -- it *seemed* I saw 
more meteors in the left half of my field of view than 
in the right half. Maybe that was an illusion? Maybe I 
need new glasses?

Before leaving Austin, I had watched for 15 minutes and 
saw one very nice one at 06:38, maybe about 90 degrees 
in length, magnitude about -2; this was pretty informal 
time, with the sky partly obstructed by clouds and trees, 
and I was just sitting on a bench looking due north 
about 50 degrees up.

I really wish there could be an encore before 2099!