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(meteorobs) Where are you guys...
Becky -
Where are you <guys>? Well, it's nice to see another <female> on the list ;)
....
I live up on the 12th floor of an apartment building in the west end of Ottawa,
Canada's capital, with a nice view of an array of sodium lights, and a large
<cemetery>.... My involvement in organized meteor observing goes back to when I
was a kid growing up here in the '70's.
I decided to get back into serious meteor observing last year when I discovered
this list, and read a comment by Mark Davis in the NAMN newsletter, just before
the Leonids...
> there is a lesson to be learned. It's
>clear, and you have just arrived home after a long day at work or school.
>You try to decide whether you should put some meteor observing in or just
>take it easy. Before you make up your mind, consider this: you could very
>well be the only person in North America, or the world for that matter, that
>the obstacles and gremlins have not interfered with. THE *ONLY* PERSON ABLE
>TO OBSERVE! Kinda makes that morning seem pretty important...
So, I got my act together and hopped back in! For the last couple years, I
have been observing with my telescope at a dark sky site about a 2.5 hour drive
west of Ottawa, with a group of friends that drive in to the site from assorted
directions. I did the Leonids from there.
My main interests are comets and meteors. Equipment-wise, I have 7x35
binoculars, a 60mm spotting scope, and a 4.7" refractor. When I can manage a
change of accommodations, I would like to get a place where I can observe from
my backyard - visual meteors, some comet hunting, and try out telescopic
meteors.... In the meantime, I am looking for an observing site closer to Ottawa
where I could drive out for even a handful of hours observing in the evenings...
The weather up here is a definite factor in observing - as are subsequent winter
road conditions. This winter has been extremely cloudy. The catch-22 is that
when it <is> clear, it is extremely cold. Today, for example, there isn't a
cloud in the sky!... but the windchill here <at noon> is minus 30C... tonight
will be colder.... Why is it clear today? full moon ;) You have to keep a
sense of humour living up here....
Anyway, welcome to the list!
Cathy Hall
Great White North