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Re: (meteorobs) Here come the questions
Kim wrote:
>Good morning everyone!!
>
>Well, I set the alarm clock, got up and actually started my official
>meteor observing, and have 1 teff to my name.
Congratulations Kim!!
>Now here come the questions.
>1) Can you count the trails you see out of the corner of your eye??
I count these if I am certain they were meteors and not artifacts of some
visual effect. For example, I have noticed that a fairly bright star at the
edge of my vision will seem to flare and make a "trail" when I move my eyes.
I find it difficult to make reliable shower associations with meteors of
this type, so the majority I see end up being classified as sporadics.
>2) At what point in the early morning do you call it quits?? Until
>you see the last star, or when you see glow on the horizon?
This usually isn't a problem for me as I have to stop observing in order to
get home for work. But under normal circumstances, I would recommend
observing until your limiting magnitude gets worse than +5.0.
>Really have to work on the magnitude part, and remember to hit the
>damn button for the time.
Prior to the observing session you can pre-select some comparison stars to
use in judging magnitudes. This made it easier for me when I was starting.
There are several lists available, the one I am most familiar with is in
the NAMN handbook. I have a voice activated recorder so only have to
rememeber to push the button once.! ;->
Hope this helps!
Mark Davis
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