I was off work Monday morning so I thought I would take advantage of the clear skies and view some meteor activity. Despite the good sky I was a bit disappointed in the rates as I only counted 11 meteors during the 2 hour session. 9 of these meteors were sporadic, 1 Anthelion, and only 1 eta Aquariid were seen. I was especially disappointed in the ETA rates as I thought for sure that they would be in the 3-5 per hour range. The highlight of the session was the first meteor seen, a 1st magnitude sporadic that mimicked an ETA but was much too short and fast to be an ETA at that hour.
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Observer: Robert Lunsford (LUNRO)
Date: 17-May 01  Mean Solar Long: 040.999
Beginning Time (UT) 0930 Ending Time (UT) 1130
Total TeFF: 2.00

LOCATION: Blossom Valley, CA, USA
LONG: 116 51′ 37″ W LAT: 32 51′ 44″ N
Elevation: 290 m Bortle Scale: Class 4: Rural/suburban transition
Beginning Temperature/Relative Humidity: 58F (14C) 28%
Ending Temperature/Relative Humidity: 58F (14C) 32%
METHOD: Visual Recording on Tape/Video Recording
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Showers Observed
ANT  15:32 (233) –19      01-00    01 Total
ETA  22:20 (335) –02      00-01   01 Total
SPO                                     04-05    09 Total
Hourly Counts                  05-06     11 Total
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Period 1   0930-1030 UT
F = 1.00 (0% Clouds)   Mean LM 6.13
FOV 285 +20   TOTAL TeFF: 1.00
Mean Solar Long: 040.987
METEOR DATA:

ANT 1, ETA  0, SPO 4  TOTAL 05

Magnitude Distribution
ANT  +3 (1) Mean +3.00
SPO –1 (1) +1 (1) +2 (1) +4 (1)  Mean + 1.50

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Period 2   1030-1130 UT
F = 1.00 (0% Clouds)   Mean LM 6.12
FOV 300 +20   TOTAL TeFF: 1.00
Mean Solar Long: 041.027
METEOR DATA:

ANT 0, ETA 1, SPO 5  TOTAL 06

Magnitude Distribution

ETA  +3 (1) Mean + 3.00
SPO  +1 (2) +2 (1) +3 (2) Mean + 2.00
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Total Magnitude Distribution
ANT  +3 (1) Mean +3.00
ETA  +3 (1) Mean + 3.00
SPO  -1 (1) 0 (0) +1 (3) +2 (2) +3 (2) +4 (1)  Mean + 2.50