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Re: (meteorobs) Halley's Comet Returns In Bits And Pieces



On Tue, 20 Oct 1998, Ron Baalke wrote:

> binoculars or a telescope, the naked eye is usually best for seeing meteors
> which can streak more than 45o across the sky. The field of view of most
> binoculars and telescopes is simply too narrow for good meteor observations.

Humbug!  (-:  Yes I know it was directed to beginners, who indeed should
use no optical aid to watch meteors, but why make dogmatic statements?
This is not true.  Telescopic observations reveal the complex multiple
structure of the Orionid radiant.  It is very difficult to do this
visually because the plotting errors are somewhat larger.  Only the
most careful and experienced meteor plotters like Prentice were able
to resolve some strange goings-on in the Orionid radiant.

Malcolm
tele@imodot net

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