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Re: (meteorobs) Star Counting
In a message dated 96-08-21 13:17:39 EDT, you write:
<<
By the way, just for my own edification, didn't someone actually suggest
using
the AAVSO Atlas, rather than saying "when you reach +7.5 that's it"? Just
asking
since it could WELL be my reading skills aren't what they once were.
Clear and peaceful skies,
Lew
>>
-------
Lew,
I think I might have jumped on that band wagon initially. Since this is a
problem I've never came across before I didn't have much time to dwell on all
the ramifications and was struggling for a solution. After reading some of
the other responses, I've personally concluded that when you reach +7.5
that's it...make two other counts in different areas and average them out. I
highly doubt your average LM will be too far off from the actual value.
Another thought has occurred to me, although I haven't checked on it, it is
possible that you may have counted more than the 32 stars to give the LM of
+7.5...but how many more stars would have been necessary to go up to the next
+7.6 level? Perhaps if you counted 40 stars..dot it still would have equated
+7.5? If you counted 34 or 36 or whatever it was...you might have still been
within the realm of +7.5? I don't know really, but it's obvious that you can
have several stars before your LM jumps up to the next tenth of magnitude?
Like I said, I didn't check this out, but it stands as a possibility of
being as such...I have no plans on digging into the matter other than what I
already suggested because of it being an infrequent problem. There is no need
in revamping a system that works 99.9% of the time to accomodate that .1%.
George Z.