I have mentioned that we at PAS can try to do some astronomy science projects.
Next month at the Perseid meteor shower at Mike's we could try to do a meteor
count. The editors of Sky and Telescope on August 20, 2012 listed several
projects that astronomy enthusiasts can try. One was a meteor count. I found a
free app for my Android called "The Perseid Meteor Counter". I then installed
it for free on my Galaxy 5
Samsung phone. It gives instructions on the project, requires a reasonably
dark site (Mike's should do being around Bortle 4.5), reasonably clear
horizons, and use of the app that has buttons for starting the count and for
pausing the count and continuing the count and ending the count. You also press
a button when a meteor is spotted and it is recorded and sent to a central
processing center for analysis. It sounds like we could have fun trying it
where we sit in a group and people shout when they a see a meteor and then a
person with the cell phone can press the button. If a mistake is made, an oops
button can be pressed to cancel the
sighting. There may be other apps available for Iphones or laptops or Ipads.
I've never done it before but am willing to bring my phone to see if it works.
If anyone else has done something like this or has other ideas let us know.
Take care, Sam
