Leonids in a dark spot
On the BayArea Hiking list, Robert found a great place to watch the meteor shower:
http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?z=10&n=4145346&e=631165&s=25
He mentioned "... periods where it hit 5-10/minute...",
"... a number of sky streakers that left trails that persisted for some seconds. And
one pyro-spectacular... Super bright, red and green, three bright
pulses and then a cloudlike trail that lasted for a few minutes.
Followed by three at once."
Sounds pretty spectacular. I drove home (arriving with Chinese take-out,
at 8:30pm, one of the supposed peak times (for the Leonids, not the Kung Pao)),
looked up, saw thin clouds and bright moon, and went in to eat. Our driveway
area is normally quite dark at night, though half the sky is blocked by tall pine
trees. Later, I went out in the back yard and stood for a few minutes, but
lost patience. Saw no meteors. The temps dipped below 30 degrees F here last night.
Robert's spot is near the "quad-county area" where Santa Clara, Alameda, San Joaquin, and Stanislaus
counties meet. It's on the back road from Mount Hamilton to Livermore.
10:47:23 PM
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