[AZ-Observing] Perseid Report

 From night fall to 2:00 am it was completely overcast here at Blue 
Hills Observatory (near Dewey, itself near Prescott). At 2:00 am a patch 
of the sky encompassing Cassiopeia and Perseus opened up. By 2:45 am the 
entire sky, especially to the southeast, was clear except for some banks 
of clouds. From 2:05 am to 2:30 am I counted 26 Perseids, an average of 
one per minute. From 2:30 am to 2:45 am the rate seemed to slow down 
considerably and I only counted four more.

Although not as spectacular as the brightest and longest Leonids, the 
Perseids were pretty bright in themselves and a good show. The longest 
trail I Observed was about 10 degrees. Years ago, in the 1980's, I took 
an evening ride to Table Mesa road at New River just to get away from 
Phoenix for part of the evening. I was treated to an unexpected meteor 
shower somewhere around 10 pm. They were not very bright but if my 
memory is correct they averaged about 80 per minute over the entire sky 
and seemed to rain from a radiant at the zenith. I do not remember what 
month of the year it was, except that it was a pleasant evening 
indicating summer. The Perseids were much brighter than this faint 
shower and so now I know it was not the Perseids.
Stan


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