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Re: (IAAC) Fwd: (meteorobs) LM Star Count vs Milky Way Perception
Sue, you made a vital point - both stellar Limiting Mag *and* extended-object
perception are very dependent on a person's experience!
Don't discount the wide variation in human perceptions too readily, though.
Keep in mind that meteor observers normally measure their naked-eye "LM" 2 to 5
times PER HOUR during a session. And among those blessed with flexible
schedules and often-clear skies, it's not unusual to log 50, 100, 200, even
*500* such hours in a year.
George Zay (originator of this thread), is among those who consistently log
hundreds of hours per year, in George's case for maybe 6 years now. However, it
IS true both Marco Langbroek and Bob Lunsford are meteor observers who have
been observing for many more YEARS than George.
I on the other hand am lucky to log 25 hours a year of meteor time, plus a
comparable number for deep sky observing. So in my case, higher LMs must be
more often due to high perception than greater experience.
Clear skies all!
Lew
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