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(meteorobs) The Value Of "Side Dishes" During Meteor Observations

December 1, 2002

Greetings Meteor Enthusiasts!

I would like to thank everyone for their stupendous 
help in answering my latest question regarding 
Sirius!  From what I have gathered, the reason of the
differences in apparent magnitude (at least in part)
stem from the fact of how hard it is to measure bright
stars and/or objects like Sirius.  The differences 
in distance may also have a similar answer.      

As for becoming familiar with variable stars during 
the "hunt", I too can picture the benefit of such 
dual observations, especially in regard to the meteor
part.  When trying to estimate meteor magnitudes, it 
is helpful to realize what nearby stars you are
comparing them too.  This is notably true for variable
stars, as nobody wants to potentially underestimate 
(or the other way around) the brightness of a meteor.
Of course, such differences in brightness are usually
only minor and I would think it normally should not
pose a problem--- at least for conducting an average
observation.

Also, the sharpening of ones awareness is probably 
quite true in regard to variable stars and other 
meteor hunting "side dishes".  I think such additional
activity on our part has the potential of enhancing 
and adding depth to our meteor observing skills like
Bruce explained.  After all, like he also elaborated,
it does spread out meteor hunting during the annual
drought and during weak showers.  But, what's more,
some actual undiscovered link to meteor showers may be
unearthed in the process of additional observing as
such things, too, have their mysteries.
      

Long, bright, and stony, Geminids!

Mark Fox
Newaygo, MI USA 


--- Bruce McCurdy <bmccurdy@telusplanetdot net> wrote:
> 
> A while back Mark Fox also wrote:
> 
> > Although a starry topic may seem slightly "O.T.,"
> I think stars are so
> entwined with meteor observing that they make up a
> necessary aspect of
> meteor science rather than an unrelated subject
> matter set aside for star
> gazers and trained telescopes.  If the latter were
> so, picture how difficult
> meteor hunting would be if observers ignored the use
> of stars!
> 
>     Now here is a man after my own heart. To me one
> of the most wonderful
> benefits of visual meteor observing is that when
> you're not observing
> meteors, you're still observing. Indeed, I've
> compared meteor watching to
> fishing, especially with company: one can enjoy the
> wait so much, and the
> fish stories, that the fish themselves are almost a
> bonus. There is much in
> the sky to be appreciated with the naked eye:
> constellations and asterisms,
> the subtle motions of the planets, a number of deep
> sky objects, the
> fabulous edge-on galaxy we call the Milky Way.
> 
>     There is even a little science that can be done.
> 
>     I've been observing the Perseids and other major
> showers for a dozen
> years, but recently my meteor program has broadened
> for personal and
> professional reasons. When I took on my current job
> with the Sky Scan
> Science Awareness Project, which detects meteors by
> radio, I decided to get
> more serious about visual meteor observing as well.
> I wanted to have a sense
> of the character of each shower, as well as try to
> match times of observed
> meteors with radio spikes. Observing in a suburban
> backyard during thin
> showers such as the Lyrids, eta Aquarids, and south
> delta Aquarids left long
> intervals between fish. I cast about for another
> challenge to keep me
> occupied.
> 
>     A close friend whose own observing opportunities
> have to be close to
> home due to family commitments had reawakened his
> observing bug with
> variable stars. He raves about their accessibility:
> moderate light
> pollution, moonlight, and perpetual twilight are
> mere inconveniences which
> might up the limiting magnitude a bit, but are
> absolutely no reason to put
> the scope away. There is a range of stars accessible
> to big scopes, small
> scopes, binoculars, no optical aid whatever...
> 
>     ..and here the penny dropped. Why not learn some
> of the naked eye
> variables, so that I could slip in a few
> observations during the meteoric
> dry spells? (How's that for an oxymoron?) There's a
> goodly number of
> variables brighter than magnitude 5.0 at least near
> maximum, a fair number
> of which I knew already. Betelgeuse, Algol, delta
> Cephei, beta Lyrae, and
> Mira are but a few of the available targets.
> Learning the comparison stars
> in the fields around them is the only slightly
> tricky part, and good charts
> are available online at http://www.aavso.org/ . 
> (The A scale charts are
> appropriate for naked eye obs.)
> 
>     So I started to slip in a few variable obs here
> and there. I am
> committed to doing naked eye stars only, as meteors
> have to come first, but
> I have found there is usually no significant
> conflict. I use a microcassette
> recorder in any event, and indeed I find that adding
> purpose to my evening
> keeps me alert. I think it has also sharpened my
> observing skills, some of
> which are useful for my meteor work, such as
> magnitude estimates. It has
> made me (slightly) more disciplined about recording
> and transcribing my
> observations. And improved knowledge of the sky
> makes me a better observer,
> period. So I heartily second Mark's sentiments about
> the complementary
> relationship between meteors and stars.
> 
>     I've recently applied to AAVSO for my observing
> initials (MBR) and am
> about to submit my backlog of observations, which
> they welcome from members
> and non-members alike. I was frankly surprised by
> how few observers seem to
> be monitoring the likes of Betelgeuse, and for me to
> do so will require no
> huge amount of effort. Indeed, knowing how bright it
> is will be valuable
> information when a bright meteor zips by the
> Armpit's vicinity.
> 
>     I suspect that there may be other visual
> observers among this
> knowledgeable group who may also be so inclined. Or
> perhaps you have a
> different naked eye observing project which
> compliments your meteor program
> that you'd like to share. If not, maybe there's an
> idea here which you might
> want to follow up.
> 
>     regards, Bruce
> 
> The archive and Web site for our list is at
> http://www.meteorobs.org
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