[meteorite-list] Late report: Meteors from HI

From: Tracy Latimer <tracyl_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 09:47:12 2004
Message-ID: <Pine.SOL.3.93.1011119101208.17759C-100000_at_netra.lib.state.hi.us>

Aloha, everyone!
Sorry it took me so long to get online and write, but the next day after
stayuing up until 3 a.m. watching the Leonids, our little group trucked
down and saw the new Harry Potter movie. The whole thing was worthwhile,
but immediately after getting home, everyone collapsed for a well-deserved
nap. Too many fireballs!

We started watching at about 11:00 p.m., at the 2500 ft. elevation of
Haleakala in Pukalani. The hot tub was up, but so were the mosquitoes,
and repellent was in demand. We saw probably about 50-60 per hour;
probably some of the fainter ones were faded out by light pollution from
Kahului downhill and nearby subdivisions. Other party members retreated
further away from light sources, and counted 318 meteors in one hour at
peak. Many of the meteors left glowing trains that persisted for several
seconds, like neon streaks. Early on (about 11:30), we saw one big bolide
cross the whole central Maui valley from E to W; it left a bright blue
trail, and the head was an incandescent orange-yellow. I swear I could
see individual fragments inside the head. Most of central Maui went
"OOOOHHH!!" at that one. Incidentally, most of the meteor trails were
bluish, from what we saw. We couldn't stay awake any more, and had run
out of mosquito repellent, so retired about 2:30 a.m.

We also had a report from my father-in-law, watching that morning from NJ.
He observed one spectacular fireball that fragmented, then fragmented
again, like a firework. It was bright yellow-white.

Thanks to everyone who kindly posted pictures at my request of their
meteors. The show was easily one of the finest I have ever seen. The
meteors this year were not as numerous as the ones I observed in 1999, but
they seemed brighter, and their trails persisted longer. Well worth
seeing; not a "storm", but plenty fine.

Tracy Latimer
Received on Mon 19 Nov 2001 03:32:25 PM PST