How to observe meteor trains?

Observing meteor trains is very easy, the only thing you have to do is estimate the train duration for every meteor seen! (Just mentioning the occurance of a persistent train is not enough!!) Apart from that, it is also useful to carefully plot drifting trains, since they are quite rare.

How to process and report a meteor train observation?

A special "train form" has been designed, to help you process and report the trains seen during a visual observation. You can download this form as a pdf-file or an ascii-textfile.

The first table gives the variation of trains during the night. The periods used for the standard visual observation can also be used here, thus periods from 1 to 2 hours (or 10 to 15 meteors when a shower maximum occurs). Per period and for each shower the number of meteors, the average magnitude, the number of trains and the average duration of the trains should be mentioned. If more periods are necessary or more showers are observed, a second form can be used.

The second table is needed to specify the different trains for the most active shower observed (during the whole observation). In the first line the magnitude distribution has to be filled in. The rest of the table is used for the train distribution of the shower. The last line gives the percentage of trains per magnitude class. Meteors brighter than -6 or train durations exceeding 5 seconds duration don't fit in the table, and must be specified below the table.

The last lines are used for the other showers or sporadics; each first line for the magnitude distribution, and each second line for the trains. Write down the data of all observed showers, also if you didn't see a meteor or train coming from that shower (simply write 'no meteors' or 'no trains' in that case), this is valuable information too!

Where to send the train forms to?

The form can be sent to us both by classical and electronical mail (jver@urania.be). You can put your data in your e-mail body or send it as an ASCII/txt-attachment.