Sky & Telescope September 1992 [antikvár]

rFOCAL POINTFly-by-NightsONE ASTRONOMICAL species iias been on the endangered list now for close 10 20 years: the North American visual meteor observer. Think about it. When was the last time you seriously observed a meteor shower other than the Perseids? More important, when was the last time you went out to record meteors on a night with no significant shower activity?The answers, sadly, are almost certainly "Never." Paul Roggemans, secretary-gen-eral of the International Meteor Organization (IMG), notes that during the first year of IMO's existence (1988) a total of 113,451 meteors were observed in 5,742 hours of observations. Close to 350 observers from 17 countries participated, but among them only 22 were from North America.The present Dark Age stands in stark contrast to the tidal wave of enthusiasm earlier this century a development sparked by Charies R Olivier through his "Meteor News" column in Popular Astronomy. Initially, the rising interest was tempered by professional astronomers, who seemed unwilling to devote time to analyzing visual results. This changed once Olivier founded the American Meteor Society (AMS) in 1911.The late Peter M. Millman of Canada's National Research Council carried the torch into the 1950s and '60s. He initiated a program of visual meteor studies (that eventually included hundreds of amateur observers) in conjunction with the International Geophysical Year in 1957-58. Millman, like Olivier before him, encouraged observers through his writings, especially in the Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.By the 1970s, however, no strong central professional figure had risen to replace Millman, and interest in meteor observing started to decline. Organizations interested in meteor activities were run mainly by amateur astronomers who received, stored, and distributed information among themselves. Few observations made it into the professional literature. Only Meteor News, a bulletin published by the AMS, provided useful information and guidance for interested beginning observers as it still does.Actually, interest in visual meteor observing has been on the decline for more than a quarter century a response tochanging trends in astronomy. Consequently, the subject has received less and less exposure in magazines, which has led to a growing perception that such studies haven't produced important results. But this simply is not true. Take, for example, the outburst of Perseid meteors witnessed during the 1991 shower. After Japanese observers first noticed the increased activity, they asked local professional astronomers, who continually monitor the sky with radar, to check their data around the time of the outburst. Data from the 1991 observations, coupled with visual data from three previous Perseid showers, reveal a new feature a secondary peak that occurs before the normal Perseid maximum.Perhaps the most significant problem now facing the North American observer is light pollution. It is becoming increasingly difficult for amateur astronomers simply to step outside their homes and observe the sky in its true splendor (see page 264). This means observers must venture farther to find skies dark enough to make reliable meteor counts. This problem, coupled with the lack of popular articles about meteor observing, only exacerbates the already difficult task of recruiting visual meteor observers.There is, however, hope for a rebirth. Recently the International Astronomical Union created a working group under its Commission 22 (meteor astronomy) to foster communication between amateurs and professionals and to address problems facing amateur groups trying to analyze observations. Also, we hope the recent surge of interest in near-Earth asteroids will spill over to meteor astronomy.Meanwhile, the IMO continues to provide strong support for meteor watchers. Its objectives include coordinating meteor observations, improving the quality of amateur observations, disseminating results, and analyzing global reports. To accomplish these the IMO has established commissions that provide instruction and training in visual, photographic, and radio monitoring of meteors. It also maintains a global electronic network, publishes a book {Handbook for Visual Meteor Observations*), and contributes information to professional literature. Also, the IMO recognizes the growing support of the Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers' meteor section, whose members frequently report their observations in ALPO's quarteriy journal, The Strolling AstronomerDedicated meteor observers are needed in North America to ensure global coverage of meteor showers. If we do not have observers in all portions of our longitude zone, we will not be able to study the detailed behavior of a given stream for the duration of its main activity. This could mean missing phenomena like the dense filament found in the 1991 Perseid stream.Your observations can and do make a difference! North American amateurs who want to contribute to this exciting field should write to the undersigned at Dept. of Physics, University of Western Ontario, London, Ont. N6A3K7, Canada. Observers outside North America should address their correspondence to Paul Roggemans, Pijnboomstraat 25, B-2800 Mechelen, Belgium.PETER BROWNAn avid observer with hundreds of hours of meteor watching to his credit, Canadian Peter Brown is a graduate student studying meteor physics.Focal Point invites contributions from readers who wish to comment on contemporary issues in astronomy and space science.Available from Sky Publishing Corp. for $24.95. ^244 Sky & Telescope, September, 1992