From: Alejandra León-Castellá (leonale@racsa.co.cr)
Date: Wed Nov 20 2002 - 20:38:59 PST
Date: Wed, 20 Nov 2002 22:38:59 -0600 From: Alejandra León-Castellá <leonale@racsa.co.cr> Subject: Re: Leonids visited Message-id: <3DDC6362.EAFAC4FC@racsa.co.cr>
Hi Sue and everyone!
We had a magical Moon light evening at the Tortuga Island. Maybe not
the most appropriate night for meteor watching (because of moon light
and cloud cover), but wonderful anyway. The cloudiness over Costa Rica
had become very dense since the day before the peak. A typical
November storm was holding our country hostage to rain and clouds. It
had poured during the previous night in the Central Plateau, the
Caribbean and the southern regions. The best forecasts where for the
northern Pacific, where we were heading.
So we where driven to the pacific coast (2 hours) and took the ships
to the
Island (2 hours), crossing the Nicoyan Gulf and passing the multiple
islands at the end of the peninsula. The wind was strong, so we could
see breaks and changes in the clouds and our hope did not leave us.
We arrived at the islands around midnight to see two different moon
halos. The first one was just like a rainbow, closer to the moon,
http://www.sundog.clara.co.uk/droplets/cormoon.htm
the second one was a white halo, 22°, much further out.
http://www.sundog.clara.co.uk/halo/moonhal.htm
The cloud cover had gotten thinner and the wholes where more promising.
Our group consisted of about 70 astronomy enthusiasts, mostly adults
and four young. As soon as we arrived at the island we set up
telescopes and observed the planets: Saturn with its ring and Jupiter
and its moons. We made a presentation on the Leonids - a technological
contrast in remote this place without electricity. Then we had dinner
and settled on the beach. The weather was very comfortable. The wholes
in the clouds where stable, so there was hope for even more clearing
before the peak. An acoustical musician accompanied us, moving along
the beach to be entertain the different groups.
Ahhh, and Ooohs where heard. Around 3 am the cloud cover starting
getting denser. Even the moon light got dimmer and we had better
viewing conditions. But then the clouds started closing in. And we
lost sight of the deep sky. It was 3:30 am. No one moved from their
spot, neither did the clouds. At 5 am, still dark, the ship crew
started calling us for the return journey. And it was then when most
figured we had missed the peak... Instead, we got the most wonderful
morning light festival with the sun rise, pink and orange clouds and
double rainbows on the west.
Some people had counted up to 25 meteors and others a dozen or less,
but we were all in a state of peace with ourselves and overtaken by
the beauty of nature.
There are many reports from the different parts of our country. Many
belong to regular people who went out to their yard, with their family
members, and appreciated the event through the clouds. Their numbers
might not help the global efforts to document the event, but are a
sign of people interested in astronomical phenomena and able to enjoy them.
We will be collecting anecdotes and data in our forum.
http://cientec.or.cr/astronomia/pizarra/pizarra.phtml
Next meteor showers: Geminids, December 1 and Cuadrantids, Jan 3rd.
Regards,
Alejandra Leon-Castella
San Jose, Costa Rica
10°N, 84°W
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Tel:(506) 233-7701, Fax:(506) 255-2182
P.O.Box 8536-1000, San José, Costa Rica
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