At 21:54 -0700 11/18/04, Stanley A. Gorodenski wrote: >I went out and observed the dark side of the moon for awhile to count >the number of Leonids hitting the moon - as if there would be any :-) >It became obvious that without previous experience it would be >impossible to recognize an impact from the flashes that once in awhile >occurs in my eyes, probably as the vitreuos fluid pulls on the back of >my eyeball. I did observe one interesting thing. There was a part of the >moon that persistently produced flashes. It was centered at a small >point like, but still extended, area that was lighter than the rest of >the dark side of the moon. My guess is that when I was looking at the >rest of the dark moon (the sunlit part was outside the field of view), >this area is in my averted vision, and once in awhile the brighter spot >on the moon stimulated a sensitive rod, causing what appeared to be a flash. >Stan > I've been out in my observatory since sundown. I've been doing UBV photometry of Algol and epsilon Aurigae. About 7:20 tonight there was a fairly impressive fireball over Phoenix headed SE. I too have watched the dark side of the moon for flashes and those I've seen as with Stan I think were within my eyes, not on the moon. The bright area on the dark side has always intrigued me. It was like a city glowing there in the dark. I did a study and took pictures of it to try and identify the area. It seems many others have noted this too. I think you will find it's Aristarchus. Back to Algol (it on the down sweep of its eclipse right now. Jeff -- Jeff Hopkins HPO SOFT ********************************************************* Small minds speak about people * Average minds speak of events ************ Great minds speak of ideas! **************** ********************************************************* Phoenix, Arizona Atlanta, Georgia 7812 West Clayton Drive 12170 Boxwood Circle Phoenix, AZ 85033-2439 U.S.A. Alpharetta, GA 30005 U.S.A. (623) 849-5889 (Fax) (770) 619-3322 (Phone/Fax) www.hposoft.com dataman.home.mindspring.com 4th Dimension Developer/ FileMaker Pro Expert BASIC/C/C++ Programmer/Web Site Developer -- See message header for info on list archives or unsubscribing, and please send personal replies to the author, not the list.