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(meteorobs) Re: Recording meteors while fatigued

Greetings all,

Recording meteors while fatigued... well, thought I'd reply while fatigued
as no aurora seems to be materializing here anytime soon, and cloud is
moving in.

Lew wrote:
> frequently face when observing with fatigue, is deciding exactly what to
> count and record as being an actual meteor!

I haven't been too prolific this past year due to transportation problems,
but am now back in the game again.  I always figure that if it looks like a
meteor, moves like a meteor, and quacks like a meteor, then it's a meteor!
;>  If I don't know with absolute certainty that it is a meteor, I don't
call it.

I have worn eyeglasses for many years, and for all of my meteor observing
years, starting back in high school.  I have always tried for large frames,
to maximize my field of view.  I get the prescription updated every 2
years - and more importantly, get that new glass put in.  They are regular
lenses, although with this past prescription, I had an 'anti-glare' coating
put on.  I haven't noticed any problems with it - it is not a tint of any
kind.

On occasion, I will see a meteor outside the frame of my glasses - but it is
rare, as the lenses are large.  On rare occasions, I can still call the
meteor, and its magnitude.  Usually, I cannot.  If there is any doubt at all
that it was a meteor, I don't call it.

John Greaves wrote:
> Stare at a clear blue sky, which we've got here at the mo' for the first
> time in days!  Concentrate on a small area.  Can you just detect the
> "wee wiggly wormies" at the edge of perception
> You're seeing the electric nerve impulses moving in your retina.

Aren't you referring to 'floaters' here.. those translucent floating things
that you can notice if looking up at a clear blue sky?  When you move your
eyes up, they float up, and when you move your eyes down, they float down...
they have a bit of time lag, but follow the motion of your eyes.  Pulling
out my handy eye reference book here... "Eyes" by Marvin Kwitko and Marvin
Ross, 1994, Key Porter Books, endorsed by the Canadian Medical Association -
and a great source of information...   it defines floaters as "small
particles
or cells that move about in the vitreous body and appear in the field of
vision", and mentions that they are usually seen with an otherwise normal
retina.

For anybody in a hobby or pursuit involving eyes, this book is really a
wealth of information, and also gives a lot of eye maintenance tips for
keeping your vision in good shape...

Jim Greaves also wrote:
> Now, sometimes you get to see these at night as well, and especially if
> you are tired and your eyes are strained, you may actually see them as
> very short, tight and quick little "lightning strikes" [they are
> slightly ziggy-zaggy, and not too linear]!  All appear to be emanate
> from the back of the eye.

I have never, ever, seen floaters at night.  However, if I am extremely
tired, bordering on <comatose>, my eyes will have problems keeping the
<stars> from moving.  I will focus, hold the stars still with my eyes, then
the stars will move again.  If this doesn't stop, and my alertness improve
within a couple minutes, I have to sign off and grab a nap.

Kim Youmans wrote:
>      Multiple attestation:  One several occasions I have discounted a
flash
> only to have an observing partner immediately say, "there's one!" and
point to
> the appropriate area of the sky.  So I know that I see more meteors on a
given
> night than I actually record -- there's no doubt in my mind that a
percentage
> of the flashes discounted are true meteors.

I could agree with this.  As mentioned above, wearing glasses adds a factor
here, quite apart from the peripheral vision of my eyes themselves.  If
'outside the picture frame' as it were, I rarely call the meteor.  If I am
not absolutely sure, I don't count it.

Kim Youmans wrote:
> >fact, I would probably be quite startled if, while lying awake in bed at
> night,
> >I began seeing +5 and +6 flashes with slight linear motion!

and Steve Harrison replied:
> Perhaps because the ambient light in the bedroom is brighter than the
> "clear, dark starry sky" (ever try doing a LM estimate while lying in bed
> :o))))))??

Now this one, I did chuckle over!  I have seen about a 6th mag meteor while
lying awake in bed at night... ;>  However, I did have my head on my pillow,
balancing my 8x35 binoculars, as I looked out the window of my 12th floor
apartment before going off to sleep... ;>  It's the only meteor I've ever
seen while in bed.  I am not sure of the LM for that session though... ;>

However, it is interesting to see the effect of low light on your eyes,
especially for coloured surroundings.  I have a multicoloured quilt, done in
squares, on my bedroom wall, and the pattern my eye detects in daylight is
very very different from the pattern I can detect at night.  Some colours
are more prominent, some less, some disappear.  I rarely see colour in
meteors.... it has to be really vivid for me to detect colour at night...
fatigued or alert.

Steve added:
> Just remember your main goal: you're trying to count meteors WITHIN a
> desired FOV, not those elsewhere.

And on that note, I think I'll sign off here.  My eyes are getting a little
fatigued.... :>

Clear skies all!

- Cathy Hall
   Ottawa, Canada



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