From: Liz McMaster, Astoria, OR
Date: Tue, 19 Nov 2002 21:58:57 -0800


This is my first attempt, and is a casual observation/report (though when
the Leonids were really raining down, I was wishing I had paid more
attention to recording their frequency, etc.).
I have never before watched this shower, as this time of year is SO rainy,
here.
The forecast and conditions were awful, here in Astoria, OR., so the family
and I all hopped in the limo and headed East, then South, finally ending up
in a small turnout just West of Bend, OR (I have the Longitude and Latitude
on my GPS, if necessary, I could go get it, but figured this IS just
casual).  I almost didn't send this, but haven't yet seen a report from
this area.
We arrived around 2:00 a.m. Pacific Time, and it was pretty cloudy (mostly
thin, high cloud cover), with some heavier coverage, but a few large windows!
The moon was really bright and not due to set til 6:30 a.m., but we could
still see a TON of bright Leonids, some with lasting trains, and faint
colors visible.
Often, more than one at a time would burst through the thin cloud cover
near the "window" in the clouds we were viewing through.  Occasionally, one
would be bright enough to shine through even the thicker cloud cover.
What a great place central Oregon is to observe.  The air smells almost
medicinal of sage,  juniper, and ponderosa pines.  The coyotes were a
little on the quiet side, but an owl gave a performance during the shower.
In a half hour's viewing, we saw several hundred (sometimes coming down
two, three, and four at a time), though the faint ones (typically the ones
with the longest visible trains) were difficult to make out through the
bright, diffuse moonlight.  The cloud cover moved over and we were getting
really cold, so we got back in the car to wait for another window (about
2:38 a.m. Pacific)
My husband and I were extremely impressed, and my oldest son a little
miffed that we did not wake him up that time, since there was no other
chance to observe.  The clouds moved in too thick, and I was down to seeing
one or two per hour through the cloud cover.  :(

Wish this was more detailed.  We have clear skies, tonight, so we'll peek
out and see what's visible (or not).  A little foggy, now.