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Re: (meteorobs) Meteor Elevations and More
Bob Lunsford, IMO/ALPO Regional Coordinator, wrote:
>If meteor observing becomes a chore then enjoyment soon
>disappears and you will lose interest as so many promising
>observers have done so before.
>
>I have said enough and I look forward to everyones comments.
Thanks, Bob! Enough, and well spoken.
By the way, just thought I'd chime in some notes for newer readers:
"Sporadics" are meteors which are NOT associated with any recognized shower.
Also, Bob mentioned both "velocity" and "path length" separately: measuring
meteor speed CAN go beyond just "slow", "medium", or "fast". Some people
use numeric scales (like the George Zay/NAMN 0-5 scale), while other more
advanced observers actually measure meteor apparent angular speeds in
"degrees per second", or similar units!
Finally, just a personal note that I took away from an earlier discussion:
by noting the constellation in which a meteor was SEEN (in addition to what
shower it RADIATED FROM, if any), you can simultaneously get an estimate of
all of these secondary data items Bob listed: angular elevation, distance
from radiant, distance from (putative) Center of Field, and azimuth (which
may be important for some train data, if the time is near dusk or dawn). I
note both the constellation AND the DCV, since I'm not always looking right
at the spot I generally list as my Center of Field of View!
Just my 2 pence,
Lew