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 astr
- PDF / 17,100,361 Bytes
- 198 Pages / 505.436 x 664.057 pts Page_size
- 23 Downloads / 253 Views
Robert Lunsford
ASTRONOMERS’ OBSERVING GUIDES
Meteors
Astronomers’ Observing Guides
For other titles published in this series, go to www.springer.com/series/5338
Robert Lunsford
Meteors and How to Observe Them with 151 Illustrations
Robert Lunsford American Meteor Society Chula Vista, CA, USA [email protected]
Series Editor Dr. Mike Inglis, BSc, MSc, Ph.D. Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society Suffolk County Community College New York, USA [email protected]
ISBN 978-0-387-09460-1 DOI: 10.1007/978-0-387-09461-8
e-ISBN 978-0-387-09461-8
Library of Congress Control Number: 2008941004 © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2009 All rights reserved. This work may not be translated or copied in whole or in part without the written permission of the publisher (Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013, USA), except for brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis. Use in connection with any form of information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed is forbidden. The use in this publication of trade names, trademarks, service marks and similar terms, even if they are not identified as such, is not to be taken as an expression of opinion as to whether or not they are subject to proprietary rights. Printed on acid-free paper springer.com
I would like to dedicate this book to my wife Denise, who has endured far too many nights alone while her spouse was out under the stars with the likes of Cassiopeia and Andromeda
Preface
Preface
In this era of high-tech instruments, meteor observing is the one facet of astronomy that needs nothing more than your naked eye. Meteors can be easily seen without the aid of cameras, binoculars, or telescopes. Just find a comfortable chair and lie back and watch for the surprises that await high above you. It is a great way to involve the family in science where everyone is active at the same time, not waiting to take turns at the eyepiece. The kids especially enjoy the hunt for “shooting stars,” oohing and ahing at each streak of light that crosses the sky. While gazing upwards, it is also a great way to get more familiar with the sky by learning the constellations and seeing if you can see the warrior among the stars of Orion or the scorpion among the stars of Scorpius. Until just recently, one could simply go outside and watch for meteors from his or her yard. Unfortunately, humankind’s fear of the dark and the widespread use of lighting as advertisement have lit the nighttime scene in urban areas so that only the brightest stars are visible. Serious meteor observing under such conditions is nearly impossible as the more numerous faint meteors are now lost in the glare of urban skies. Today, a serious meteor observing session entails organizing an outing to a country site where the stars can be seen in all their glory and meteors of all magnitudes can be viewed. It is not all that complicated to observe meteors and
Data Loading...
