Another brief Montebello OR 8/12/04

by Kevin Schuerman

After much internal debate about Montebello vs. Coyote, I arrived at the Los Trancos lot at about 1am. The lot was approximately half full, so I parked and walked over to Montebello. There, I found James T., Marek C., Leonard T., Peter M., Rich N., Dan W., and a few others engaged in stimulating conversation, so I set up a chair and sat down.

It was calm and clear, with temps in the mid-60's for sure. The marine layer was beginning to thicken over the Bay, so the usual north-to-east light dome was somewhat attenuated and getting dimmer. In the space of 2 hours and 25 minutes, I counted 141 meteors and heard the oohs and aahs in response to dozens more that I didn't see. Quite a few were rather bright and left lasting trails. The brightest meteor (by far) was seen at about 3am, as it descended through the Milky Way toward the SW horizon.

Last night was a completely "unaided eye" event for me -- in addition to the Perseids, M31 and the Double Cluster were easily seen, as were all seven major stars of Ursa Minor. I saw at least five members of the Pleiades distinctly; I normally don't see the individual members quite so clearly. Although the rate of meteors began to decline after about 3:15, the beauty of the rising, waning crescent Moon and Venus kept my attention in the east.

The Perseids at Montebello was a comfortable, relaxing and truly memorable evening. Thanks to all who secured the lot and volunteered their time in order to ensure last night's success.

Reports | About Reports | TAC | About TAC | Join TAC

Posted on sf-bay-tac Aug 12, 2004 16:41:14 PT
Converted by report.pm 1.2 Jan 07, 2005 20:24:05 PT