Parts of this chapter have been updated from S. J. Edberg and D. H. Levy, Observing Comets, Asteroids, Meteors, and the Zodiacal Light (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994).

How to record showers

The easiest way to record a meteor shower is to use a counter of some kind. I use a simple metal counter – I push it once whenever I see a meteor. The numbers range from zero – just didn't see anything – to 2403 meteors, which my wife Wendee and I saw on the night of November 18/19, 2001. Personally, I enjoy observing in this manner most of all. It requires absolutely no auxiliary equipment except the counter.

Counter

If you are observing alone and all you want is simple hourly rates, you can use a gate counter, or a golfer's stroke counter that you press every time you see a meteor. You will get hourly rates this simple way, but not the other information which is also useful. The advantage of the counter, when pressed for each shower meteor you see, is that it allows you to observe with the specific goal of determining shower rates.