Leonids from Redwood City

by Albert Highe

I went out on my rear deck just after Midnight. The sky was mostly clear, with a few thin patches of clouds drifting across. After not seeing any meteors within 15 minutes, I went back inside.

Returned to my rear deck just before 2AM. The sky was completely clear. Mid 40's, no dew, no wind. After 10 minutes, I had seen a few meteors, so I decided to stay. I don't have an unobstructed view of the entire sky. But I can see a section of sky that is centered on Gemini and spans almost to the limits of my peripheral vision. The house/roof blocks the Moon behind me, so the deck was cast in shadow.

I had a good show. The meteors mostly trickled in until about 2:40AM. For about 10 minutes, I saw several a minute. A couple of times I saw a few within a couple seconds. Two bright reverse-Leonids streaked toward Leo. About 2:40AM there was a very bright meteor in Leo that came nearly toward me. It left a smoke trail that persisted for several seconds.

I counted over 100 meteors in about an hour. I went to bed at 3:15PM. It was an excellent show from the convenience of home.