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Re: (meteorobs) 1st Attempts at logging data, QUESTIONS
Can you please send me the NAMN Guide to Meteor Observing, too.
Thanx!
Mary Williard
---Mark Davis <MeteorObs@Charlestondot net> wrote:
>
> Hi John,
>
> Glad to hear you were able to get some observing in! Concerning your
> questions, most are answered in detail in the NAMN Guide to Meteor
Observing
> I sent you via email. Take a look at the chapter on visual
observing. But to
> address your questions briefly:
>
>
> >Should you just count the obvious stars? What about the ones you
can see
> faintly in your >peripheral vision?
>
> I count the obvious stars of course, but also the faint ones I see
if they
> are within the count area and I am convinced they are actually stars.
>
> >...Aquarius, and capricorn but not the actual RA/Decl points, If I
traced
> the
> >path back to one of these constellations can I call it a member of
one of
> >these showers? Or should I call everything but the persieds SPO's?
>
> You should use three criteria for shower association. Path direction
is one,
> velocity and length are the others. This is the more difficult part of
> meteor observing, and your ability at it will improve with
experience. A
> viable alternative is to do what you mention - list everything as
sporadics
> if they aren't classified as Perseids. What this tells me when I
archive the
> data is the you simply did not watch the other showers. In fact, when
> someone first begins to observe, I recommend they start with only a
shower,
> maybe two to begin with. Once experience is gained, you can monitor
the 6 or
> more radiants you might see others talking about.
>
> >I did not get magnitudes as I need to do some more research to find
some
> stars to >compare against, are my numbers seen still of much value?
>
> Meteor magnitudes are an important thing to track. Take a look at
the NAMN
> Guide..dot it contains a listing of comparison stars. The data, without
> magnitudes, is still valuable, so please send it to me for archiving.
>
> >On 7/31-8/1 I began watching near
> >Altair and ended up in the square of pegasus as the stars rose,
8/1-8/2 I
> >started late and looked into Pegasus, were these good or bad
choices? How
> >much does that effect my data? Any comments and or suggestions are
welcome.
>
> In general, it is best to center your field of view about 20 to 40
degrees
> or so from the radiant in question. Also note that you should
identify these
> fields of view, and report them on your report. Include any that you
may
> have changed during the session.
>
> The above is a very brief answer to your questions. If any of the
above is
> not clear, feel free to contact me at my address below.
>
> Mark Davis, MeteorObs@charlestondot net
> Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, USA
> Coordinator, North American Meteor Network
> ===================================================
> NAMN home page:
> http://medicine.wustldot edu/~kronkg/namn.html
> ===================================================
>
>
>
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