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Re: (meteorobs) Re: FOV of Field definition
In a message dated 12/19/2000 6:21:59 PM Eastern Standard Time,
MeteorObs@charlestondot net writes:
Mark wrote:
<<
I've noticed the same thing Bob. Moving my head also seems to increase the
number of "spurious flashes" of light I see....
>>
I've noticed this, too. There may have been a discussion of this last year,
but I've long noticed these very fast, very dim (5 or 6 mag) flashes. I once
"observed" in the planetarium where I work and noticed these flashes
when I moved my head or stood up and then sat down. Even when all
lights and planetarium stars were turned down to total darkness.
These are different from a category of "diffuse meteors" which I long
noticed. I tried the planetarium sky because of these, originally, after
a question about "diffuse meteors". I found that I saw 2 or so of these
in 15 minutes. Long ago I had thought of these as "floaters", as I have
these in my eyes. My guess was substantiated when I noticed one
of these seemed to be reddish in the planetarium. Then I noticed that
I still had the red "exit" light on in the direction that I saw this flash.
When I turned all lights off, I no longer saw these (not the dim little
flashes). So I concluded that this category was, indeed, floaters,
apparently just reflecting or refracting starlight or other incident
light.
Clear skies,
Bob Young
State Museum of Pennsylvania Planetarium
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