Date: 8.12.10
Location: Northwestern MI
On the afternoon of Aug. 12th the team started to assemble at our northern destination and construct base camp. After camp was set a recon mission was in order to locate a dark and clear observation site. Finding three potential sites, we returned to camp and fired up the cook stoves for a quick meal and some down time before the big show.
After packing up our gear, we headed out arriving at site #3 around 10pm EDT (UTC -4 hours). The night sky was clear and dark but high humidity created low haze/fog all around (a perfect setting for some shambling zombies!). Even before we were setup the show was underway with a bright earthgrazer streaking across the eastern sky.
After about a 3 hour observation period we were counting 60+/- meteors per hour. During this time we got to test out some new equipment. First off was the sky pointer, a green laser pointer. This pointer is extremely useful in accurately pointing out objects in the night sky and they can be had for an affordable price. Next up was a new Canon DSLR camera. Fighting the humidity and fogging issues, several images were taken of stars and The Milky Way but no meteors were captured.
After that session we packed up and moved to an alternate location for a better view of the Northern sky. Here we observed another handful of meteors totaling over 200 for the night. We saw everything from faint fast shooting stars to bright streaking fireballs over the course of the night. Later on in the evening/morning the meteors came in bursts of 2, 3 and 4 in quick succession followed by a time of inactivity.
Overall the event was an entertaining success and the weather was perfect less the high humidity. The sky pointer was a big hit and The Professor gave an educational presentation on the night sky.
Team members: cyc0tik, grim, the professor, redtail, scooter, tankgirl & zam
