Meteors and How to Observe Them

ASTRONOMERS’ OBSERVING GUIDES provide up-to-date information for amateur astronomers who want to know all about what it is they are observing. This is the basis of the first part of the book. The second part details observing techniques for practical astronomers, working with a range of different instruments.

Have you ever been on the beach at night, watching the sky overhead, and seen streaks of light against the background of stars? Though many people still refer to these as shooting stars, they are, of course, not stars. They are meteors—small chunks of rock and ice debris from disintegrating comets that are careening through our Solar System and sometimes enter Earth’s atmosphere. Most are so small that they burn up as they enter the atmosphere. These are called meteors. In a meteor shower, many meteors can be seen streaking across the sky in a short time. A few meteors make it through intact and descend to Earth as meteorites. Watching these beautiful streaks of light in the sky can be an exciting pastime, and it can result in some important science.

Robert Lunsford explains what meteors are, where they come from, and what happens to them as they whiz through space and enter our atmosphere. He tells how to observe meteors and meteor showers, what equipment to use, what you should look for, where you should look, and much more. Armed with the information in this book and with very little effort and equipment, you can begin your regular search of the heavens right now and join the ranks of those who have made this rewarding pastime a lifetime hobby.

Practical Astronomy

ISBN 978-0-387-09460-1

springer.com

The focus of this book is to introduce the novice to the art of meteor observing. It explains in straightforward language how best to view meteor activity under a variety of conditions, regardless of the observer’s location. Instead of focusing on just one region in the world, the book includes observing conditions for four different regions; high northern latitudes, low northern latitudes, equatorial regions, and low southern latitudes. The observing conditions for each meteor shower are vastly different from these regions and this book would be valuable to any potential observer from Australia to Alaska. This will be a valuable tool for all observers, regardless of their experience level – and even those located in the southern hemisphere and the tropical areas of the world.

The calendar chapters list activity as it occurs throughout the year. The list is limited to showers that the amateur observer can actually see (some sources list radiants that are impossible to observe without photographic or video methods). Not only are the annual showers discussed, but the random sporadic meteor activity is also included for each region. This is important, as there are many more nights throughout the year when the sporadic background will provide more activity than that provided by the annual showers!

Meteors, and How to Observe them contains many pictures of actual meteors against the stellar background, instead of (often-confusing) star charts. It presents meteor shower activity throughout the year in an appealing calendar-like format.

Since fireballs are often the first experience many have with meteors (or even astronomy), this topic is discussed in detail, and includes fireball activity as it occurs throughout the year. While much of this activity is unpredictable, there are certain periods when the observer has a much better chance of seeing one of these spectacular events.

Finally, the ultimate goal of this book is to kindle (or re-kindle) an interest in viewing meteor activity up to a level where the observer can effectively contribute to our knowledge of the subject by holding systematic observing sessions that accurately list the meteor activity observed in a particular night.

Robert Lunsford has had forty years experience viewing meteors and meteor showers, and is a memberv of the American Meteor Society (AMS) and the International Meteor Organization (IMO).