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(meteorobs) Meteor Observing Tip
I've been meaning to post this for the last 2 months or so....
When I observe meteors I use a 2 foot long piece of parachute cord with a
loop tied to each end. I put a thumb into each loop. When I see a meteor, I
align this cord up with the meteor's path to get a good fix on to either plot
or to see if it's coming from any designated radiant.
Now here's the tip:
The color of this parachute cord makes a big difference in making this
technique more efficient. A few months ago, I compared a standard white cord
and a dark green cord. I found that the dark cords are the best. The white
cord seems to blend too much with the back ground sky. While the dark cord
appears as if you drew a black line across a piece of white paper. The
actual daylight color of the cord probably doesn't matter too much ...just as
long as it appears dark at night. My wife (an avid backpacker) has informed
me that various colored cords can be purchased at various backpacking supply
stores...such as REI, Oshman's etc. They may be at various hardward stores as
well...I haven't checked.
George Zay