From: Richard Nolthenius, Santa Cruz, CA. 
Date: 
Subject: My 1966 Leonids Experience



     In '66 I was 13 years old and had been turned on to astronomy
for 3 years (since the '63 solar eclipse). Like any amateur in those
days, I of course subscribed to Sky and Telescope. Before the shower
there was a short column on the Leonids, describing how spectacular
they were in 1833 and 1866, but that they were disappointing in 1899
and 1933 and the current opinion was that planetary or non-gravitational
perturbations had shifted the stream enough that nothing special was
expected for 1966. It also pointed out the narrow range of longitudes
from which the radiant was up and the sun was down. Now, I had grown
up and still lived just outside Los Angeles, and during the 60's the
smog there was the WORST. It had always been a challenge to do any
observing from Hacienda Heights, of meteors especially, even when the
ever-present coastal fog hadn't rolled in. 
    Well, Nov 16 arrived and it was socked in solid with overcast 
skies. In my adolescent the-world-is-against-me mindset, I just knew
that despite the official predictions, this year the Leonids would indeed
be spectacular...maybe more spectacular than ever, right from California,
and I was going to miss it under the foggy and smoggy LA skies. I moped
around the house and bemoaned my fate to my mother and sister, and 
to my aunt and cousins who were visiting.  My mother, bless her heart,
this time took pity on my usual losing battle with the weather and
suggested we pile into the '63 Falcon station wagon and all head out 
to the desert a hundred miles away. Of course I enthusiastically agreed, 
but privately now I was worried that I would end up the goat if the 
Leonids fizzled.
    We left about midnite and made it out past Barstow on Interstate 15
about 2am Pacific time, still beneath solid clouds. Then a small hole 
opened up around Perseus and we pulled over. Within just a few seconds I 
saw a meteor, and not long after, another, and another. The hole opened
wider and now I could see there was a Leonid coming every second.
And within a few minutes it was clear the rate was climbing.
What unbelievable luck! I hurriedly set up my old Voightlander camera
with Tri-X film, but the tripod was pathetic and there were gusty cold
winds and nothing but sand to anchor to (My pictures came back with
horribly shaped star trails and only a few meteors). The meteor rate
climbed dramatically and there were occassional fireballs; one as
bright as the quarter moon and leaving a twisted strange tail for a
very long time. Others exploded behind the few remaining clouds, creating
bright rims. It was an unearthly scene. By now, cars, trucks, and even the big
18-wheelers were pulled over to the side of the road to watch the
show. The rate climbed to about 5 meteors per second when I was rudely
pulled back into the car for an emergency donut run back to Barstow.
I believe the peak rate was happening about this time. I think it was 
near 3am. While my family was inside a 7-11 store, I hung my head out 
the window and stared up at Leo, getting dizzy watching the meteors 
radiate from inside the sickle. I counted about 1 meteor every 1-2 seconds
just in Leo alone under the bright lights of the parking lot. The limiting
magnitude was probably about 3 1/2. By now, my cousins were thinking about
work the next day and wanted to drive back home. As we drove back, south
of Barstow and before Victorville, my face was glued to the station
wagon window and I could tell the counts had begun to
drop. Still I was seeing a meteor every second or two from my awkward site. 
It was now sometime before 4am and sometime before going over Cajon
Pass and entering the LA basin again, we re-encountered the clouds.

   It was unforgettable! Here's hoping for a great year in '99, which will
be better for Americans.