meteorobs -- Global Meteor Observing Forum
About meteorobs	English (USA)
The archive and Web site for our list is at http://www.meteorobs.org A daily Digest version of our list is also available. PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE BEFORE POSTING TO THIS LIST! You have been subscribed to a mailing list! This means you will soon begin receiving emails at the address you provided! These emails will be EXCLUSIVELY related to meteor ('shooting star') observing. Each email will contain a 'Subject:' line that begins with the keyword '(meteorobs)'. TO UNSUBSCRIBE from this mailing list at any time, please use the WEB FORM at the bottom of this message... Or you may unsubscribe VIA EMAIL, by placing the following text in the BODY (not the Subject!) of an email message to the address 'owner-meteorobs@meteorobs.org': unsubscribe meteorobs end *PLEASE SAVE THESE INSTRUCTIONS* for future reference! Remember that YOU subscribed yourself to this list, and so YOU are also responsible for any email you receive, and for unsubscribing yourself should you wish to leave! However, your List Elves are always ready to help with any problem. Just email us at: owner-meteorobs@meteorobs.org WHERE/WHEN/HOW CAN I SEE SHOOTING STARS?... WHAT WAS THAT I JUST SAW IN THE SKY LAST NIGHT?... WHERE/WHEN/HOW CAN I SEE THE LEONIDS/PERSEIDS/GEMINIDS?... ========================================================== If asking any of the above questions is the reason you've just subscribed to 'meteorobs', PLEASE DO *NOT* POST YOUR QUERY TO THE LIST right away! We receive many, many variations on these questions each week, even though their answer is most easily found at the 'meteorobs' Web site! So instead of barraging the list with these questions, and then never getting a good reply anyway, just point your browser to the following site: http://www.meteorobs.org and read up on meteors! In particular, you may wish to read "Meteor Showers", "Meteor Storms", and "FAQs" and "Links". METEOROBS? ========== The email mailing list 'meteorobs' is dedicated to email discussions relating to amateur meteor astronomy. To post a message to all other subscribers of the list, send it as an email to the address: meteorobs@meteorobs.org To do automatic subscription, unsubscription, or change your subscription configuration, use the Web form at the bottom of this page... OR you can send an email to: owner-meteorobs@meteorobs.org METEORS? ======== Meteor astronomy or 'meteorics' is the area of astronomy dealing with the study of meteors, or shooting stars. A meteor results when a particle in space (actually called a 'meteoroid') enters the earth's atmosphere with a high initial velocity and ionizes the gases there, producing visible light and a fiery 'train'. By recording and studying the characteristics of these fiery meteoroid deaths, astronomers can learn more about the composition and origins of the solar system, dynamics in our own atmosphere, the orbits and history of comets and asteroids, and even some things about our own human sensory apparatus! METEOR OBSERVING ================ Meteor observing represents a unique opportunity for the amateur astronomer for two reasons: 1. There are very few professional scientists in the world studying meteors, so any quality data which an amateur can gather is very valuable, and 2. The most common technique for observing meteors involves nothing more complex than your naked eye, and a clipboard or tape recorder. No telescopes, strip charts, or other doohickeys required! For this reason, amateur meteorics has been called 'the last bastion of naked eye astronomy'. To learn more about meteors, meteoroids, and meteor observing, visit some of the Web sites below, or subscribe to this mailing list and ask some of the most experienced meteor observers in the world! LEARNING MORE ============= A great starting point for learning more about meteors in general is Gary Kronk's "Comets and Meteor Showers" Page at: http://comets.amsmeteors.org Other contacts for people interested in OBSERVING meteors: The North American Meteor Network: Contacts: NAMN Staff Mark Davis Lew Gramer URL: http://www.namnmeteors.org International Meteor Organization: Contacts: Robert Lunsford Rainer Arlt Sirko Molau Juergen Rendtel URL: http://www.imo.net Mirror: http://www.amsmeteors.org/imo-mirror The American Meteor Society: URL: http://www.amsmeteors.org Meteor Showers and Meteor Storms: Following is a list of informational Web sites regarding the Leonids and other meteor showers and possible meteor storms! http://www.meteorobs.org/showers.html http://www.meteorobs.org/storms.html http://www.amsmeteors.org/comets/meteors/showers/leonids.html http://www.imo.net/news/leohints.html http://leonid.arc.nasa.gov/ http://www.skypub.com/meteors/meteors.shtml To see the collection of prior postings to the list, visit the meteorobs Archives.
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