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(meteorobs) A New Direction for the AMS
A NEW DIRECTION FOR THE AMERICAN METEOR SOCIETY
James Richardson - AMS Operations Manager
Introduction:
For more than a year now, i have dreamed of finding a way to bring the
fractionated American amateur meteor science community back together again
in a cooperative effort. The vision of all of us working together, rather
than against each other, seemed a very worthwhile goal to strive for. I
began discussing this idea with David Meisel in the spring of this year,
and over the following months we worked to develop this vague concept into
a workable proposition. During that time, we also solicited input from all
of the AMS staff and our advisors, as well as taking a hard, serious look
at the criticisms raised about our organization in the past. In response
to these reflections, all of us worked hard over the course of this year to
place the AMS house once again in order, and by the fall we believed that
the time had come to open our doors.
On September 30, 1997, the American Meteor Society staff offered an
extensive proposal (outlined below) to the leaders of the other American
meteor organizations. After two weeks of deliberation and discussion, we
are pleased to announce that the proposal has been accepted by all parties
involved.,
This is what we have accomplished:
** Expansion of the AMS staff such that it includes all of those amateurs
who are making a significant contribution to the American meteor science
community: bringing to bear their talent, their enthusiasm, and their
expertise in a cooperative effort.
** Fulfillment of the aims of the AMS Charter by serving as an umbrella
and support organization for all American meteor organizations and
sections: providing research, publication, and archive resources; offering
staff assistance and limited funding; and opening up additional avenues for
professional-amateur collaboration and communication.
** Initiation of a much higher level of copporation between the American
Meteor Society and the International Meteor Organization, including the
establishment of a formal data exchange program.
To elaborate on each of these:
1. Expansion of the AMS Staff
We believe that the American meteor science community as a whole will
benifit greatly from having all of the prominent amateur leaders in this
field working together in a cooperative and common spirit. To this end, we
have created the following staff positions:
* Robert Lunsford, AMS International Liaison
As the official representative of the IMO in North America, we have asked
Robert if he will expand his duties to include acting as the official
liaison between the American Meteor Society and the International Meteor
Organization. Through Robert, we would like to achieve a high level of
cooperation with the IMO in the conduct of such projects as global meteor
shower monitoring, along with other areas where international coordination
is desired. Through Robert, we have also begun to establish a formal data
exchange program with the IMO.
* Mark Davis, AMS Assistant Visual Program Coordinator
Mark has proven his desire and talent at encouraging and coordinating
visual observer activities. It has pleased us greatly to have Mark combine
forces with Norman McLeod for the purpose of producing an active, continent
wide network of amateur visual observers for the purpose of monitoring both
sporadic and shower activity,, utilizing the most up to date professional
level techniques. This will include the encouragement of visual observers
both on and off the Internet, and will encompass all skill levels from
beginners to advanced. Duties will also include assisting in the
collection, distribution, and archiving of visual data: with the specific
goal of helping the AMS to shift over to more modern electronic techniques.
It is also planned to begin conducting amateur level analysis of collected
visual data, publishing results in the new AMS Journal.
* Lewis Gramer, AMS Assistant Electronic Information Coordinator
We have also asked Lewis if he would serve as an assistant to Jim Bedient
in coordinating and managing AMS Internet and other electronic media
activities. The great success of the NAMN is due, in large part, to Lewis'
efforts and expertise. Our goal is to utilize the Internet and other
information technologies to the best advantage for the American meteor
science community, and we believe that bring the talent of both of these
individuals together will benefit all of us.
2. Expandsion of the support functions for the AMS:
As a modestly endowed, non-profit organization, our AMS charter gives us
the aim of supporting and encouraging meteor science organizations and
activities. Toward the end of fulfilling this support role, and helping to
unite the American meteor science community across organizational lines, we
have successfully invited the following organizations to join with the AMS
as affiliated groups:
* Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers (ALPO) Meteors Section
* North American Meteor Network (NAMN)
* New Jersey Astronomical Association (NJAA) Meteors Section
Each of these groups will continue to function autonomously, and their
members will not be forced to join the AMS (see AMS Bulletin No. 200 on
Affiliate Groups). Our overall aim in asking these groups to affiliate
with us is to bring together our various groups in the spirit of
cooperation for our mutual benefit, while continuing to preserve each
organization's unique character and emphasis.
3. Formal association and cooperation with the International Meteor
Organization (IMO):
The time has come for the American Meteor Society to form an active,
cooperative, and mutually beneficial working relationship with the
International Meteor Organization. Such a relationship would permit all
AMS members and affiliates to contribute and participate on the global
scale, especially in those areas which utilize visual observations. The
cornerstone of this new level of cooperation will be a formal data exchange
program between the AMS and IMO, as explained previously.
In addition to data exchange, the AMS will encourage its visual observers
to adopt professionally accepted standards for data collection, and to
participate in programs for the global monitoring of meteor showers and
meteor shower outbursts.
In order to support current AMS research interests, we would ask that
visual observers in all organizations be encouraged to collect data for
sporadic meteor studies, especially during those hours and days which are
not frequently covered through visual observation.
Conclusion:
We are very sincere and serious in this effort to finally bring the
American meteor science community together into an active, cooperative
group. It will be especially gratifying to bring this about in preparation
for the upcoming approach of comet Temple-Tuttle, as well as the beginning
of the next century. We believe that this new direction for the AMS
represents a grand opportunity to pool our various resources and talents to
the best possible advantage for the American meteor science community.
I would like to personally thank all of these individuals and groups for
joining forces with us to build the best American Meteor Society ever!
Jim
James Richardson
Graceville, Florida
richardson@digitalexp.com
Operations Manager / Radiometeor Project Coordinator
American Meteor Society (AMS)
http://www.serve.com/meteors/
References: