Current trends in meteor spectroscopy

The history of progress over more than a century in meteor spectroscopy is summarized. The observational data were originally visual records, but in the beginning of the 20th century photography of meteor spectra was undertaken. In the forties, 60 meteor spectra were photographed. Interest in the upper atmosphere led to the development of more efficient meteor cameras which employ replica gratings, and electronic image intensification systems recordings on video tape which resulted in the availability of several thousand meteor spectra.