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(meteorobs) Leonid reports, Part 1
Reporting on the Leonids - PART I
=================================
Dear meteor enthusiasts,
The peak night of the Leonid meteor shower gets closer, and
I would like to emphasize some issues of reporting your
observations to the International Meteor Organization. The
global activity analyses of the Leonids and other meteor
showers is enormously successful. As every year, everyone
being out for the Leonids is invited to contribute to the
grand totals and the measurement of a precise cross-section
through the Leonid stream.
We can distinguish four groups of observations. Each of them
is most valuable for the analysis of the Leonid shower, you
may decide which version looks suitable for your observing
plans:
(i) Recording meteor counts per minute.
(ii) Recording Leonids/non-Leonids per minute
(iii) Recording Leonids/non-Leonids plus magnitudes
(iv) Recording LEO/TAU/AMO/spo plus magnitudes
During the time of the outburst, when more than say 50 meteors
per hour are visible, the majority of them are Leonids. The
error of simple counts (i) is thus small. In this first of my
messages, let's have a look at the first style:
Recording meteor counts per minute
----------------------------------
The following example is adapted from Lew's recent message about
reporting on the Leonids. Formats may be slightly different;
the important thing is that the report is complete and roughly
follows the below order:
==================
Observer: Tom KING
Place: Huntington, NY (Lat 40.8 N, long 73.4 W)
Time: 9:45-10:46, 19 Nov 2002 UT. [UNIVERSAL TIME = EST+5]
Effective time: 100% (no time lost to looking away or breaks)
Limiting mag.: +5.0 [measured by counting stars]
Field obstructions: none.
Direction faced: Taurus
--
ONE MINUTE COUNTS STARTING 09:45 UT
09:45 23 meteors
09:46 17
09:47 19 (10% cloud)
09:48 15 (30% cloud)
09:49 BREAK
09:55 18
09:56 25
09:57 22
...
==================
Observer: Only counts by single observers should be
reported. If you observe in a party of several
people, these observers should take their
individual notes on meteors, irregardless whether
two people saw the same meteor.
Place: Give a nearby town. Geographic coordinates can
be given as above, or as 40deg48'N, 73deg24'W.
Field obstructions: Usually this means buildings or trees. Note
that a typical field of view has a diameter of
little more than 100 degrees. If there is sky
blocking near the horizon and irrelevant for your
observing, keep 'none' in this line. If you have
cloud moving through your field, note the rough
percentage behind the minute counts (see above).
Direction faced: A constellation name is best here. If the field
center changed during the observation, note it
among the meteor counts. If you like to give RA
and DEC -- even better.
09:45 23 meteors: This one-minute count refers to 09:45:00 to
09:45:59 inclusive. Please make sure that you
have a precisely set observing watch.
Observations should be sent to namn@atmob.org
for North American observers, and to visual@imodot net
for all other observers. Your reports then enter the global analysis
of the Leonid meteor shower.
If you have any questions, do not hesitate to discuss them here via
the meteorobs mailing list.
Coming soon: Part II, Recording Leonids/non-Leonids
Best wishes,
Rainer Arlt
--
Rainer Arlt -- Astrophysikalisches Institut Potsdam -- www.aipdot de
Visual Commission - International Meteor Organization -- www.imodot net
rarlt@aipdot de -- phone: +49-331-7499-354 -- fax: +49-331-7499-526
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