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Re: (meteorobs) Meteor Elevation Estimates
Hi, George. On those occasions when I "just count" now, I've been
estimating both the train data for the NAMN Meteor Train study, and DCV
(distance from the center of my field of view) for Bob, as well as
constellation(s) in which the meteor occurred - including cardinal point
for large constellations like UMa or Hya, and multiple constellations if a
meteor crossed constellation boundaries.
I also note meteor times to the minute (or second for fireballs), so all
this information can at least be used to DERIVE meteor angular elevation to
about 10o. *I* don't find all of this too onerous, but I do agree with
Wayne that noting this much information could be very confusing for a
beginner!
Probably the best thing for a beginner to do is to start out noting the
BASICS: time (to quarter hour at least), meteor magnitude, and shower if
any. Then the slightly less important meteor speed may be added pretty
quickly! With that mastered, train length and duration plus meteor color
should probably come next. Finally DCV, angular elevation and/or
constellation are all useful. Once these things are all easy for an
observer, plotting may be worth trying!
Did I forget anything on the long list? :) Anyway, I think the key is for
each individual to try adding more per-meteor information to their logs
slowly, as THEY feel comfortable with it.
Lew
At 08:51 AM 5/21/97 -0400, George Gliba wrote:
> I think that meteor observers should estimate the elevation of meteors
>during a meteor count as it is relatively easy, and provides valuable data
>on the absolute magnitude of meteors seen.