(meteorobs) Telescopic meteors

[Malcolm J. Currie]

This will be brief, as this is the fourth attempt to reply (flaky 
firewall).

> I was wondering if anyone on this list does a regular program of 
> observing meteors with binoculars or an RFT.

I used to avidly, but trying to get others interested was always 
difficult.  IIRC The last regular group was in Poland, and I think 
that was concentrated on summer camps, rather than all-year observing as 
some of us did.

> I've been reading through some of the information online about it and 
> it sounds very interesting.

Hurrah!  Me too.  It does require more patience and fortitude than 
normal visual observing.  Most of the meteors will appear faint and thus 
it's not suited to sites with light pollution.  Seeing a bright one, 
particularly and enduring train is most rewarding.

It does take practice and time to attune to speed of the meteors.
Critical is finding an observing setup where you can be comfortable 
observing a field for 20 to 30 minutes.  Distractions, say from a stiff 
neck, makes the meteor rate plummet.  I suspect many a keen observer was 
soon put off by this; I know I was until I had workable arrangement
that served me well for 15 years.  That was a 5-inch f/5 refractor,
comet seeker with a diagonal, and an adjustable height seat.  Even then 
sometimes the cold would get to me, being more exposed to wind than 
lying back for visual observing.

To some extent its goals of accurate path determination and radiant 
studies has been superseded by video.  However, most video systems have 
limiting magnitudes around +3, so only capture bright visual meteors. 
Observing a fainter population gives insight into stream evolution, say 
from the time of maximum as a function of particle mass.  Given a 
dedicated team of observers over say a decade a lot of science is 
possible from telescopic observations (as expounded in my articles), I 
just cannot see that happening.  It needs a far better salesman than I. 
In the age of video games, the action is too slow. You need the numbers 
to obtain meaningful statistics.

For such reasons I've felt for some years than video with image 
intensifiers was the way to go to address the science telescopic 
observing could probe.  They complement the data captured by Mintron and 
Watec cameras widely used in the IMO Video team.  You only have to go 
out in the cold for a short while, and watch the meteors the next day.
The software can determine the path, no need to measure plots and feed 
into astrometric software.

That said, if you want to give telescopic observing a try drop me a
line.  I can attempt to answer questions you may have on telescopic 
observing and provide charts (although I don't have all sets with me in 
Hawaii where I'm working).

> I own several pairs of binoculars and a 10" f/4 scope.

I have observed the Orionids with a 30cm f/5 Newtonian, but keeping the 
eyepiece accessible was a problem.

> My favorite binocs are 16x50 but from what I've read these might not 
> have the best magnification to aperture ratio for doing this kind of 
> research.

Something more like 8x50, or 11x80 would be better. A higher 
magnification can help if skies are not dark.  I found 7x50s 
too bright in the UK summer skies.  What's the field of view
of the 16x50?

Malcolm Currie
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