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Some notes for new observers (was Re: (meteorobs) My Meteor Hunt...)
Howdy, Mark! I wanted to thank you for continuing to share your enjoyable
"meteor hunt" reports on our list. Reports like yours inspire other folks
to go out and do some meteor observing themselves - and that is the key!
Since you did share the reports with the list, I hope you don't mind if I
added a few quick comments on the reports? Hopefully, they'll be of some
interest to you, and maybe also of some use to any of our other readers
who contemplate doing their own observing this season. :)
I went ahead and added some Web references below each of my comments: you
DO NOT have to read a big, technical manual to record meteors well! :) But
using your eyes for a little reading, before you use them to watch the sky
is a great way to make your experience both more fun AND more rewarding!
Here is one general reference, written especially for folks who are just
getting interested in meteor watching, that covers all of the following
in more (and probably more READABLE) detail:
http://www.namnmeteors.org/guidechap2.html
If any of the following info is confusing, just try refering back to this
"NAMN Observing Guide" URL, and it will probably clear things up! And if
it doesn't, don't be shy about posting questions on our list: in fact,
that is the main reason our list is here - for all your questions! :)
>(8:28 - 9:00 P.M. EST)
You often observe in the evenings, Mark - which are very often the most
convenient times for us people unfortunate enough to have tough daytime
work schedules. (And bosses who aren't meteor observers! ;>)
Nothing at all wrong with that - but as you can tell from the sessions
you have done so far, the evenings are usually a VERY QUIET time to be
watching for meteors! To give you an idea what I mean, if you had been
able to get out and observe at close to dawn that morning of 10/11 Dec,
under the conditions you describe, you would have had a good shot at
seeing *20* meteors (or even more!) in a half hour, instead of just 2!
Reference: http://www.meteorobs.org/showers.html#how
Now this should never discourage anyone from going out observing in the
evenings - especially around the time of major showers, or if that is
the only time for them to get out and watch. And in fact, evenings are
a GREAT time to *practice* meteor observing - estimating your Limiting
Magnitude, Obstruction Percentage, times, etc. But do keep it in mind,
in case you start to get bored with those long, cold, quiet evenings! :)
>Obstruction due to trees, hills, etc. across the WHOLE sky: roughly 40%
When you note field obstruction, be sure to log a *total* (including any
buildings, trees, clouds, etc. that are in the field). And most important
of all, only log the percentage obstruction of YOUR FIELD OF VIEW... So
in other words, if 40% of the sky is obstructed, but you aim your body,
head and eyes so that the obstruction is outside of your field of view,
then YOUR obstruction for that period would be *0%*! :)
Reference: http://www.imodot net/visual/major01.html#sec53
>23:30:26 UT 1 SPO -1
It is wonderful that you note the time of every meteor to the second, but
you may be working yourself too hard, Mark. :) At the worst, I generally
log meteors to the minute, unless it's a fireball (mag -3 or brighter).
And in fact, all that the IMO really requires is that you log a timestamp
every "half hour or so"... which is a whole lot easier! :)
Reference: http://www.imodot net/visual/major01.html#watch
In the actual report:
>Time ****** Meteor # *** Shower *** Mag.
>23:35:16 UT 2 SPO 3 or less
> ...
>Meteor # *** Velocity *** Color ***
> 2 5 Wh./Yel.
Your reports show that you are estimating ALL the meteor data you need,
Mark, to make your meteor observations really useful for analysis. Now,
with that later analysis in mind (and to help Mark Davis, hard-working
and long-suffering data collector for IMO in North America), there is a
suggested format for REPORTING what you estimated. Using this format in
your emails to 'meteorobs' will both save you time, and ensure that all
your reports are promptly included in the frequent "press releases" and
"shower circulars" put out by NAMN and by IMO. Here is a sample of how
the above meteors could be reported single-line, without losing any of
your hard-earned data!
SPEED
# TIME(UT) SHOWER MAG (1-5) COLOR TRAIN COMMENT
--------------------------------------------------------------------
1 23:30 SPO -1 4.5 White 30+ deg long, Peg
2 23:35 SPO 3? 5 Whi-Yel ~10 deg long, Peg
Reference: http://www.namnmeteors.org/namn_form.html
What's more, as far as IMO is concerned, only three pieces of data are
really CRITICAL: the period (to the nearest half hour) in which you saw
the meteor, meteor magnitude, and what shower (if any) it belonged to.
Reference: http://www.imodot net/visual/major02.html
> Path Length: long; roughly 30+ deg.
This is great, Mark: getting practice estimating meteor path lengths is
valuable to a meteor observer! Mastering that skill is important to your
recording for two reasons: one, it is actually possible for a meteor at
a certain point in the sky to be TOO LONG to belong to a meteor shower!
Reference: http://www.imodot net/visual/major01.html#sec54
Second, at some point you may wish to start plotting the meteors you see,
and also estimating your meteor speeds in the arcane 'degrees per second',
rather than the "1-5" speed scale that most of NAMN observers (including
me!) usually use. At that point, you will start to make very good use of
all that practice in estimating meteor path lengths! :)
Reference: http://www.imodot net/visual/minor02.html#meteor
>Elevation: 760 feet second session --- Was standing in the lake...
>Temperature: 36 F
Say what now! :) Maybe in your General Comments section, you might want
to explain what you mean by things like "Was standing in the lake". ;>
Well, I guess this email has gotten about long enough! :) Sorry about
that - I tend to run on... I hope it was helpful, and remember, if you
have questions about ANY of the above info, or anything meteor-related
for that matter, we really encourage you to ask them on 'meteorobs'.
Take care, and clear skies for the Quadrantids every one!
Lew Gramer, North American Meteor Network
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