Probably my most memorable observation was a meteor. I was at a star party at the local club observatory. Like most star parties, it was chilly, and much of the time was spent talking to others rather than looking through the scopes. I was chatting with several other people, looking down to keep my face just a little warmer. Suddenly, I saw my shadow moving rapidly across the floor. We all looked up, and watched a very graceful meteor arc across the sky. It lasted about 5-6 seconds, and we estimated the magnitude at -8 or brighter.

Another very memorable sight was the comet in 1998, the one with the Japanese name that I can't remember. GF and I traveled out into the desert, miles away from the lights. She had never seen a comet before; I had seen several, but all were small ones. We stepped out of the car, and without even having to adjust our eyes, we could make out the tail of the comet sweeping across about 60-70° of the sky. It was absolutely breathtaking.

David