The American Meteor Society, Ltd. (AMS) is a
non-profit scientific organization established to encourage and support the research activities of both amateur and professional
astronomers
An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, moons, comets and galaxies – in either obse ...
who are interested in the field of meteor astronomy. Its affiliates observe, monitor, collect data on, study, and report on
meteors,
meteor showers, meteoric fireballs, and related meteoric phenomena.
The society was founded in 1911 by
Charles P. Olivier of the
Leander McCormick Observatory
The Leander McCormick Observatory is one of the astronomical observatories operated by the Department of Astronomy of the University of Virginia, and is situated just outside Charlottesville, Virginia (US) in Albemarle County on the summit of M ...
. The initial enrollment was fifteen members. These were recruited by Dr. Olivier by letter. The first paper based on the observations of the members appeared in the ''Astronomical Journal'' in 1912, describing the
η Aquarid meteor shower. In 1926, Dr. Olivier began to publish meteor notes from the society on a nearly monthly basis in ''Popular Astronomy'' magazine under the title "Monthly Notes". This continued until his editor, Curvin H. Gingrich, died.
Some time prior to 1932, Dr. Olivier began appointing regional directors to facilitate the data collection for the society. A director was appointed to the Pacific Northwest region in 1932. Initially this consisted of Washington and Oregon states, but later came to include the western provinces of Canada plus Idaho and Montana. In 1938, the Canadian provinces were withdrawn from the society, while California was added. This western division was headquartered at the
University of Oregon in Eugene.
In 1960, Dr. Olivier published the first catalogue of hourly meteor rates based upon the data collected by the society members from 1901 to 1958. The second catalogue was published in 1965, which included data up to 1963.
During the late 1970s, David Meisel became Executive Director of the society. The headquarters for the society was relocated to
Geneseo, New York. The society research was expanded to include radio meteor studies, then spectroscopy of meteors.
The society publishes observations and scientific interpretations quarterly in ''
Meteor Trails, The Journal of American Meteor Society''. Once per year they give the ''
American Meteor Society Award'' to a person who has contributed to research on meteors. They also provide an annual research grant to a student of SUNY-Geneseo who has contributed to meteor research or to the AMS.
See also
*
International Meteor Organization
*
List of astronomical societies
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Amateur astronomy organizations
Astronomy societies
Scientific societies based in the United States
1911 establishments in the United States
Scientific organizations established in 1911
Astronomy in the United States