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Re: (meteorobs) Re: Automated video detection of meteors
In a message dated 99-07-21 07:10:18 EDT, you write:
sirko<<
Well folks, if _you_ promise to observe next February 10 hours each
night at -10 deg centigrade, full moon, and minimum sporadic activity,
I'll switch off my system. :-)<<
In other words, since you have this period well covered and a lot more
accurately, I probably shouldn't bother if the mood for visual recording was
there?
sirko>>You should see that not as something competiting with visual
observers,
but as an useful addition. Everybody knows how big the gaps in monitoring
meteor activity through the year are, even if we collect data from all
over the world. Video systems will help to make these gaps smaller, and to
overcome them eventually.<<
Probably initially they would be looked upon as useful additions, but as more
and more automated visual systems come into play, there would be less and
less motivations for the visual observer to make the effort to plot and do
other manual recording. For the amateur, meteor data recording is becoming
less and less something that can be done cheaply by simply looking up nestled
in a warm lawn chair and start recording. Like meteor radio monitoring, the
effort is being taken over by specialized automated equipment. Instead of
being active in data gathering, the amateur observer is becoming essentially
just a spectator going out only on the nights with major activity....sorta
like going to the movies at a given hour when the show is known to start. If
the accuracy of a visual observer is no match for the automated video
equipment, would a visual observers data even be used for scientific
purposes? Would they simply be set aside while only using the video data to
get more accurate results? What would be the draw to keep the visual observer
interested?
GeoZay
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