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Re: (meteorobs) Early Evening Observing
> BTW, Malcolm, you mentioned that the bulk of IMO reports are actually from
> the evening hours?? That surprised me! Or did you mean BAA reports maybe?
By evening I mean before midnight, as opposed to the hour or two after
twilight. Did I say IMO? I wasn't referring to IMO reports per se,
but I have to admit that I was a little surprised that the majority of
visual T_eff is post midnight. Looks like the pleas for morning
observing made during the 1970s have been noted. I guess that's due
to a small number of very active and dedicated observers, many of whom
are regular contributors to meteorobs. Looks like I'll have to study
the IMO Visual Reports more carefully. It would be interesting to see
some histograms of T_eff versus localtime by season (to allow for the
variation in the length of night).
My experience with the occasional observer and BAA data, has been that
few want or can stay up late because of work and education
commitments. Thus they tend to observe during the evenings during the
week, and only stray into the mornings during major showers or
weekends.
There are comparatively few of us, who like to observe all night.
Telescopic rates are comparatively low, so longer sessions are
important. In recent years all-nighters have been increasingly harder
due to pressure of work. I've been less concerned about missing the
first hour or so of the night. In recent years, my January to March
data have concentrated on the mornings as the rates are so much
better, and there is a greater chance of getting a statistically
significant result, such as a telescopic-shower detection. There's
also the feeling of more exploration, as it's largely uncharted
waters. What I used to do, when there was no longer a problem with
the neighbours leaving the bathroom light on (for the dog!), was get
in from work around 2230, have something to eat, and observe for a
couple of hours from midnight. If something abnormal appeared, I'd
stay up a little longer, trying to get a fix on the radiant. This way
I could still be active through the year, but go into work about my
normal (late morning) time. The last few attempts to observe during
leave from work have been miserable failures due to the weather, so
regular sessions are vital to stay practised and sane. For those on a
normal schedule, it would be a couple of hours earlier, hence my
original comment. I've toyed with the idea of getting up early,
observing if clear, working early, but it scuppers any other social
activity. As much as I love meteor watching and the analysis of the
results, I don't want to be a hermit.
Malcolm
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