Meteor societies and books

The International Meteor Organization. Founded in 1988, the IMO seeks to bring together meteor enthusiasts from all over the world. www.imo.net.

The American Meteor Society. Founded in 1911, this organization brings together serious meteor observers. www.amsmeteors.org.

Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand. For southern hemisphere observers, the RASNZ has an active comet and meteor section headed by John Drummond. www.rasnz.org.nz/Sections.htm#comet.

The Dutch Meteor Society is one of the most active of the European meteor organizations. home.wxs.nl/~terkuile/.

Another excellent website is Gary Kronk's Meteor Calendar. It offers detailed histories and observing information for major and minor showers each month. comets.amsmeteors.org/meteors/calendar.html.

In addition, almost every national astronomy society has a section, or a program, involving meteor observing. These sections can usually be found in the web pages of the various national societies.

There are several good books on meteors and meteorites. Mike Reynolds' Falling Stars: A Guide to Meteors and Meteorites (Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2001) offers advice from an experienced meteorite collector and meteor observer.

Finally, more advanced readers will enjoy and benefit from Peter Jenniskens' Meteor Showers and their Parent Comets (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006).