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Re: (meteorobs) David McCarter's Posting on Probabilities of REALLY BIG fireballs.
>certainly welcome! I was so incensed by Mr. Levy's attitude - at one point
>comparing supernova and comet hunting to some kind of amateur sporting
>event - that I've had a mind to draft a reply ever since. Any ammunition
>(or reality checks!) relating to this topic would therefore be mighty
>helpful... :)
I have had the pleasure to talk to a number of comet discoverers. For the
most part they are just avid amateurs who got lucky. Tom Bopp worked hard
to get the word to the IAU. I know I would! I came across comet 1995V
McNaught Russel without knowing of it's existance, and did all the
positional, magnitude, direction and rate measurements and sent it in. What
a rush. Pity I was a few weeks late. So I really understand the desire to
find and report them first. I also understand Dave's point of reasonable
care. I share his concern for the weaker minded in our society, although I
can't help feeling it's natural selection at work. :-)
David McCarter
Professor Electronics General Servicing
Fanshawe College London, Ontario, Canada
R.A.S.C. London Centre VE3GSO
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