Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog

May 24, 5;33 a.m. EDT

Just got back from the Dune Climb.  Yes Virginia there are Camelopardalids.  Just not many of them.  I saw about 10 meteors overnight with just over half Camelopardalids.  Now I was busy with other things, running the star party.  However it seemed that of the ones I saw, there were a better an average, compared to the Perseids, number of bright ones.  One also left a smokey train that was visible for a few seconds.  I didn’t have my binoculars with me to view it longer.  But it was impressive.  We had maybe 40-50 folks come out, coming and going over the night, with about 11 sticking it out to the bitter end at 4 a.m.

May 23, 5:32 p.m. EDT

Weather is still great.  Picked up a tweet saying the the Camelopardalids are being picked up via the radio reflection of their ionized trains.

I’m going to head out in a half hour to the Visitors Center (see below) for the talk and to pick up some traffic cones.

May 23, 12:45 p.m. EDT

The weather is holding.  The forecast is for clear skies through Sunday daytime.  It should be a great Memorial Day weekend. For those venturing out to observe the meteor storm (we hope) dress warmly.  The temperatures in northern Michigan will drop to the mid 40s.  I plan to bring a light coat and my winter coat.  For those who wish to lie on the ground to see the sky show bring two blankets one under you and one over you.  It will get dewy.  Hat, gloves and a thermos of warm drinks will also be welcome.   Winter boots might be welcome for those who tend to get cold feet.  Meteor watching is not an active pursuit, so you may want to walk around or climb up the dune a ways to keep warm. Remember there’s a talk by astronomer Tyler Nordgren at the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Philip A. Hart Visitor Center near the corner of M72 and M22 in Empire at 7 p.m. Sunset will be at 9:15 p.m.. The Grand Traverse Astronomical Society (GTAS) will be ready to observe the planets at the Dune Climb by 10 p.m.

May 22, 11:00 p.m. EDT

This is a pre-post entry.  The blog will be published at noon on the 23rd and be updated as necessary.  New updates will appear above older ones.  I may also tweet.  My twitter handle is @robertcmoler.  The hashtag for the meteor shower appears to be #Camelopardalids.  I hope you’re a good speller. The National Weather Service for tomorrow (Friday) and tomorrow night is for decreasing clouds during the day and mostly clear tomorrow night.  Anttilla Danko’s Clear Sky Chart for the Leelanau School’s Lanphier Observatory also shows clear skies for the night of the 23rd/24th at this time.  The observatory is located a few miles northeast of the Dune Climb area. New to the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore? Here’s their website:  http://www.nps.gov/slbe/index.htm Here’s a link to the map of the park.  The Dune Climb is at points 7 & 8 on highway M109 just south of Glen Haven.