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(meteorobs) Getting started...
Angelia -
>I am a student at USC in Columbia, SC. I am an Accounting major, and have
>very little knowledge about meteors. I was fortunate enough to have a
>wonderful professor in Astronomy who really sparked my interest in observing
>the night sky....
Greetings, and welcome to the meteor list! It sure is nice to see some more
ladies on the list! I too, have a mixed background of studies - accounting,
science and literature.
This is a great forum for questions on meteors, and related subjects. There
are a lot of real friendly, knowledgable people here to answer just about
any question you could come up with - whether that be a basic question, or
something really advanced.
>I love to watch meteor showers, and I have shared my interest
>with a few friends as well. I would like to record and submit my
>observations, but I do not understand some of the terminology. How can I
>become more familiar with it?
Whatever questions you may have - just ask!
At the end of this note, I am including an exerpt from the May 1999 issue of
NAMN Notes, which gives some good websites with information on getting
started. For a person just beginning, I would recommend the NAMN site and
the AMS site for starters...
It is lots of fun to get out and observe, and very rewarding to be able to
submit observations in a form that is also useful scientifically!
So... welcome!
- Cathy Hall
Ottawa, Canada
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Exerpt from the May 1999 issue of NAMN Notes:
3. Some Useful Websites for Meteor Observers...
How to find out information on meteor observing:
North American Meteor Network:
http://web.infoavedot net/~meteorobs
American Meteor Society:
http://www.amsmeteors.org
International Meteor Organization:
http://www.imodot net
How to get more info on major and minor showers:
Gary Kronk's Comets and Meteor Showers:
http://comets.amsmeteors.org
How to find an astronomy club in North America nearest to where you live:
http://www.aspsky.org/html/resources/amateur_no.am.html
(on the Astronomical Society of the Pacific webpage)
How to check out viewing sites in the U.S. for light pollution:
http://proxima.astro.virginiadot edu/~ida/darksky
(on the International Dark-Sky Association webpage)
How to tell whether the skies will be clear for observing:
http://www.weather.com/weather/maps
(on the Weather Channel webpage)
How to convert time zones and get UT for your observing site:
http://www.timezoneconverter.com
(thanks to Gaétan Chevalier of Sainte-Foy, Québec for telling us of this
one!)
How to find out what your sky will look like on a given night:
http://www.fourmilab.ch/yoursky
(Your Sky, an interactive planetarium on the web)
How to find out your limiting magnitude:
http://www.seds.org/billa/lm/rjm.html
(on the Students for the Exploration and Development of Space webpage,
adapted from the original on the Finnish Amateur Astronomy Homepage)
How to find out what satellites you will see:
http://www.gsoc.dlrdot de/satvis
(German Space Operations Centre Satellite Predictions)
How to keep warm while observing (even in summer):
http://www.skypub.com/tips/tricks/keepingwarm.html
(on the Sky and Telescope webpage)
Where to find books on meteors to further your knowledge:
Knollwood Books:
http://www.meteorite.com/knollbks.htm
Martin Horejsi's Meteorite & Tektite Books:
http://www.meteorite.com/Martin_Horejsi.htm
Where to learn all about meteorites and impacts on the web:
Meteorite and Impacts Advisory Committee to the Canadian Space Agency:
http://dsaing.uqac.uquebecdot ca/~mhiggins/MIAC
The Meteorite Market webpage:
http://www.alaskadot net/~meteor
Where to get pictures and information on craters all over the world:
http://gdcinfo.agg.emrdot ca/crater/world_craters.html
(Database of Terrestrial Impact Structures, on the Natural Resources Canada
webpage)
Where to view various astro movies, including the Peakskill fireball:
http://image.gsfc.nasadot gov/poetry/movies/movies.html
(Movies and Animations from NASA and Elsewhere)
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