(meteorobs) A Visual Observing Question

[pzeller1966]

Thanks for all the input, everyone. I'm going to try to do meteor observing
any clear nights I get in 2014, whether I have pristine and moonless sky
conditions or not. I guess my main concern was this; if I have a night
where I only have a LM of 4.0 - 5.0 and I try to send a report to the IMO,
is there any value to such a report or will it just go into a trash can? :)
Good observing to you all! And Happy New Year!

  Paul Z
  Indianapolis, IN USA
On Dec 29, 2013 2:13 PM, "Jay Salsburg" <jsalsburg at bellsouth.net> wrote:

> Ask yourself (a generalization) if what you are doing is “Science.” The
> questions you must ask yourself to do “Science” applies to any activity
> engaged in Design, discovering Concepts, or uncovering Principles…
>
> -------------------------
>
> First we Guess; then…
>
> We Compute the Consequences of the Guess to see what it would imply; then…
>
> We Compare the Computation results to Nature, or Compare to Experiment, or
> Compare to Experience… of direct observation; to see if it works.
>
>
>
> If it Disagrees with Experiment, it is Wrong; this simple Statement is the
> “Key to Science;” it does not matter how beautiful the Computation, or Who
> expressed it, it is Wrong.
>
>
>
> So the simple concept sequence is…
>
> Guess → Compute Consequences → Compare to Nature, Experiment, and
> Experience.
>
>
>
> If your scientific activity (experiment) is solely engaged in visual
> interpretation not using reliably-reproducible calibrated instrumentation
> applying widely accepted computation, your scientific engagement has not
> moved beyond the “Guess” stage with no chance of reaching a viable
> conclusion. Viable Conclusions are the product of Scientific Inquiry.
>
>
>
> Instrumentation is any mechanism that pushes a needle, moves or plots a
> scale, or reacts indicating a force or forces.
>
>
>
> http://www.salsburg.com/key/key.html
>
> http://www.salsburg.com/design_science/design_science.html
>
>
>
> Design Science…
> Design Science is a problem solving approach which entails a rigorous,
> systematic study of the deliberate ordering of the components in our
> Universe.
>
>
>
> *From:* meteorobs-bounces at meteorobs.org [mailto:
> meteorobs-bounces at meteorobs.org] *On Behalf Of *pzeller1966
> *Sent:* Friday, December 27, 2013 7:03 PM
> *To:* Meteor science and meteor observing
> *Subject:* (meteorobs) A Visual Observing Question
>
>
>
>   I have a question that I've been meaning to throw out to members of this
> mailing list. First, to give a little background, I've gotten more and more
> interested lately in making scientifically valuable visual observations of
> meteor showers; both major and minor showers. I've been reading about the
> methods used by the IMO for meteor counts and plotting. However, while
> reading through the material available online, I was a little disappointed
> to find out that visual observing is discouraged if the limiting magnitude
> of the sky is 5.0 or less. Years of amateur astronomy have taught me that
> my most transparent skies from my back yard let me see stars as low as 4.5
> - 4.8 magnitude with the naked eye. I can very rarely see stars to 5.0 and
> my very best, darkest nights have let me see stars to 5.2 magnitude.
> However, nights like this are very rare! I've thought about trying to find
> a better observing site further from the city lights, but this doesn't help
> if the night has moonlight. I guess my question is this ... Can any useful
> visual observing be done on nights when the limiting visual magnitude is
> 4.0 - 4.5 or so? Useful enough to report to the IMO or other groups like
> NAMN? All replies are welcome.
>
>   Thanks and good observing to all of you.
>
>   Paul Z.
>   Indianapolis IN USA
> ------------------------------
>
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