Filling out your meteor report
Using a BAA form to log your sightings is easy, just follow our checklist
Getting started
1 Date is normally stated as a double-date (say, 13/14 December 2020). This removes any ambiguity as it covers the evening to morning observed.
2 Observer(s) records the name(s) of anyone who contributes to the form.
3 Observing site identifies where you observed from, latitude and longitude being ideal. This can be obtained from a map or an online resource such as Google Earth.
4 Sheet of is used to ensure no loose sheets are missed, for example Sheet 2 of 4.
5 Correspondence address is where you can be contacted if the need should arise.
6 Observing conditions is intended as a general statement of the conditions throughout the watch. Augment with times if conditions vary greatly during the watch period.
7 Stellar limiting magnitude is a record of the faintest star which can be seen overhead. Again, augment with timed values if conditions vary greatly during the watch session.
8 The Start, End and, for convenience, Duration of the watch should also be recorded. Use UT throughout.
How to log each of your sightings
A Code No. is a sequential number used to identify
a trail. If you’re in a group and performing central recording functions, it’s useful to leave a gap of say
5 or 10 between numbers so any trails reported out of sequence can be given the correct number even though they are in the wrong row. The row sequence can later
be corrected when the form is formally written up.
B Time UT indicates when the trail was seen. To the nearest minute is acceptable, although recording in higher time resolution is always useful.
C Magnitude can either be a magnitude estimate of the meteor trail or the name of the nearest star of equivalent brightness. The latter tends to remove observer bias. It’s useful to have located a number of comparison stars of varying magnitudes before a session for this purpose.
D Name of shower or if sporadic is for the shower name the trail belongs to or whether it’s a sporadic meteor.
E Constellation(s) in which seen is used to describe the starting and ending constellation of the trail.
F Train details and time to fade is to record any special qualities about meteor trains. Time to fade records the number of seconds the train takes to become invisible to the naked eye. It’s good practice to start counting in seconds in your head after any bright trail, just in case there’s a train visible afterwards.
G Notes is used to indicate any peculiarities about the trail. Examples would include ‘it exhibited a strong green colour’ or ‘meteor trail showed a terminal burst at the end’.