2009 GEMINID METEOR WATCH !+ OBSERVING SESSION SUNDAY NIGHT

Dave Lillis · Post by **Dave Lillis** » Sat Dec 12, 2009 6:00 pm

Hi Rachael,
Its about 45mins-1 hour to the car park by the Dolman in the Burren

Dave Lillis · Post by **Dave Lillis** » Sat Dec 12, 2009 7:13 pm

Guys,
We're having a club meteor watch observing sesson in the Burren carpark Sunday evening, 6pm onwards, December 13th.
Its going to be a long observing session so bring your telescopes if you like, I sure am.
Wrap up very warm, bring sandwiches and flasks of tea/coffee, whatever suits you.
A deckchair of some sort of chair is essential, bring along a blanket to keep warm, staying immobile for long lengths of time out in the cold will chill you quickly if your not well wrapped up.
Come along when you can, 6pm is a start time.
If it remains clear, this could be the best meteor show for years!!

This is open to non club members also.

Automatic text alert has been sent to club members.

Frank Ryan · Post by **Frank Ryan** » Sat Dec 12, 2009 9:27 pm

40 min from my house... (less when the Jeep is lighter
and my foot is heavy - he he!)

Frank Ryan · Post by **Frank Ryan** » Sat Dec 12, 2009 10:21 pm

I'll give Sean Daveron a buzz tomorrow and let him know it's on
and invite him down for a look they like.
Oh yeah - and to ask them to kill the lights.
We are so lucky they are such nice people!

Frank Ryan · Post by **Frank Ryan** » Sun Dec 13, 2009 5:09 pm

PLEASE NOTE!
The roads up to the Burren are VERY ICY tonight.
Please drive carefully!

Frank Ryan · Post by **Frank Ryan** » Mon Dec 14, 2009 7:02 pm

I left it late so as to see the maximun around 5am and on the way
Got the bad news from the guys at 10PM already up in the Burren.
so I checked out our 2nd observing
Spot by Corofin lake and it was totally clear!
I stood for around 20 min and in that time counted
24 - 2 of which were horizon skimmers and were
Brilliant.
The numbers steadly increased as the night went on.
By the time Dave arrived I had lost count as
I was setting up my gear.
So well wrapped up on my lounger with
camera tracking and clicking away we watched the show
Until 3:30.
This was the best meteor shower I've ever seen!
We didnt take count but at one stage I saw
EIGHT in a row. All bright.
They definatly came in 'sets' but were also
All over the sky.
It didnt seem to matter where you looked
After a few seconds youd see one or two.

Standouts were 3 long slow green meteors
That entered about 20deg above the horizon and
Travelled away in perspective burning out just over the horizon
Gave a very 3d effect.
Two very bright standouts one through
Gemini itself into Orion ( followed by 2 more less bright in quick succession)
Then one in Perseus.
I couldnt even guess at numbers,
Suffice to say, A Lot!
Fog closed us out at the end, if the numbers had
Increased as predicted, and they definatly were,
Maximum must have been amazing.

Btw.
5 hours of photos - I caught one!
Ah well still a great night!

Rachel Clancy · Post by **Rachel Clancy** » Mon Dec 14, 2009 10:56 pm

Wow, thats brill, I was out in the garden from 10:30pm onwards and saw about 8 the hour I was out, they were pretty obvious even in the city center, but it was one of the worse skies I have ever seen here, when the fog crept in, the sky developed a horrible orange hue, and after a while completely covered the sky, I just gave up and went in, I can only imagine what ye saw, sounds amazing!

Dave Lillis · Post by **Dave Lillis** » Tue Dec 15, 2009 5:49 pm

An amazing meteor shower!, the persieds are now a distant second for sure.
We were up at the Burren site from 6.15 to 10.30, then the fog came in, there were meteors every minute or so, well into the hundreds to be sure!!, some Jupiter+ bright ones and many irridecent trails aswell.
We then went up to the second Burren site by the lake, perfectly clear, it stayed clear up until 2-3 then again the fog came in, but my god!!
all you had to do was look in any one place for a few mins and a meteor would pass through it, there were easily 4-6 meteors per minute at one stage.
One thing to note is that they seem to come along in bunches, you'd get one meteor and there was a high probability of a second one either parallel to it or nearby in the same directrion, at one stage 5-6 meteros ina row did this.
Best I've ever seen!
Roll on Geminids again next year!