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(meteorobs) A Question of Direction (About Meteors!)

Mark,

I use "true north" for the reasons Mr. Majden provided. Therefore these 
directions are the same whether you are located in New York or Australia.

It should be noted that direction is one of the less important 
parameters in meteor observing. The more important characteristics to 
record are shower association, time of appearance, magnitude, length and 
velocity. Secondary characteristics could include color, direction, 
radiant distance, zenith distance, distance from the center of your 
field of view and train phenomena.

Clear Skies!

Robert Lunsford


Mark Fox wrote:
> November 1, 2002
> 
> Greetings Meteor Enthusiasts!
> 
> First, I would like to apologize for never sending
> reports to all of you of some meteor hunts I conducted
> and spoke about months ago (including my Perseid
> report!)  I had been extremely busy at our fruit stand
> that to take time out to complete meteor reports 
> seemed impractical (especially when I am so slow at 
> it, unfortunately.)  Who knows, I may still get to 
> them some day as they are still on tape.  
> 
> But now, turning to the brighter side, I just did a
> meteor hunt (Oct. 28/29) to help me break into the 
> fall meteor hunting season.  In fact, I am almost 
> done typing up a report for those observations, in the
> "NAMN" style.   I can't promise, but I am trying to 
> get it completed soon and posted to meteorobs. 
> 
> However, a point has been reached where I have come
> across a fundamental question that I have overlooked 
> in the past.      
> 
> In Mr. Robert Lunsford's invaluable meteor activity
> outlooks, he describes where a given active radiant 
> is, not only by coordinates, but often by a direction
> from a nearby star.  My question stems from my feeble
> efforts to record the apparent directions of the
> meteors I see.   In the past, I have been trying to
> record them with magnetic north directions, which just
> so happens to be very close to true north readings for
> my location!   However, what kind of directions is Mr.
> Lunsford using and should I be using them?   This is
> where some enlightenment and tips would be great, not
> only for myself, but also for any meteor observer who
> tries to record the apparent directions of meteors.
> 
> Thank you in advance for all your help.
> 
> Long, slow, bright, and noisy fireballs!
> 
> Mark Fox
> Newaygo, MI USA 
> 
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