A2 Notes

You can find out when meteor showers are going to happen from most astronomy magazines.

Make sure you show an understanding in your report of;
- what a meteor is
- why they happen at the the same time every year
- where they get their name, e.g. the Perseids

When you do your observing you will need a star chart, on a clipboard, you can draw on. I suggest photocopying a chart of the area of sky. You can copy your lines onto your own hand drawn chart later. You will need a red torch to see your chart.

You will need a ruler. When you see a meteor hold it up to the sky immediately to judge the length of the trail and its position in the sky. You can then use it to draw the line on your chart.

Mark the magnitudes of a number of stars in the area on your chart. This will make it easier to estimate the magnitudes of your meteors.