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(meteorobs) Project: Shooting Stars

Dear List Members,

In just over three months we shall all be getting excited about the Leonids.

This year, it is said, the shower will be spectacular - possibly up to
100,000 hits per hour.  This will peak while it is over north east Asia and
people in Japan and China will have front row seats.

The British Council is an organisation that promotes cultural exchange
between the UK and other countries.  This year the Council is organising a
series of joint activities between the UK and China associated with the
Leonid shower.  

There will be: 
- a competition for UK students to win a trip to observe the shower, 

- school partnerships, linking UK and Chinese schools via the internet for
joint observation and study (other UK observing organisations are welcome
to form  partnerships too - contact me),

- exhibitions of (temporarily) exchanged meteorites will go on public
dispay in the UK and China,

- a competition for Chinese students to win a trip to observe next year's
eclipse.

Our organisation are consultants to the project, and we have prepared
educational materials to help children of all ages (over nine or so) to
observe and understand the shower.  

Initial details of the Project have been posted to our web site.  This will
develop over the next few weeks.

You can find us at: --    http://homepages.primex.codot uk/~omen

We are space education providers and consultants in general, rather than
being specifically interested in meteors, so we are on a bit of a learning
curve ourselves, when it comes to serious meteor observation.  Please take
a look at our site and comment.  Any ideas we have missed or any blunders
we have made, please point them out!

We shall be doing the usual visual and photographic recording, and we shall
try some radio and sound observation as suggested in recent emails.
Results will be posted to the web-site.   The only thing that concerns me
is this: is the event -- assuming it goes as predicted -- going to be just
to overwealming to get any good data by conventional techniques and does
anyone have any alternatives?

Perhaps nearly all of us are virgins in this respect!

Also, we have a unique opportunity in mass meteor observation, here.  We
expect upwards of 30,000 children in China to turn out to watch and record
the shower!

Bearing in mind that the children may be as young as nine, and resources
and equipment are limited, is there anything simple that is worthwhile
doing with this size of observing population, spread out across China?
Ideas, please.

John Hodges





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The Orbital Mechanics Educational Network
email:            omen@primex.codot uk
homepages:   http://homepages.primex.codot uk/~omen
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