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Re: Lyrid Meteor Shower reminder

In a message dated 98-04-17 20:35:23 EDT, you write:

terrafirma<< 
 Thank you for pointing out something that has eluded  my novice mind.
 Let me clarify what you said and see if I have it:  Meteor showers
 contain only grain size pieces of debris from a comet set free by the
 heating process and really are not in the same league as meteors of
 larger size which may be debris from a comet, early formation of solar
 system, result of collision, or from the infamous Asteroid belt formerly
 known as Planet X. <<

Meteor showers are made up with a variety of particles of varying sizes. From
particles smaller than smoke dust to the huge chunks of the comet itself. In
any given meteor stream, you will find lots of smaller particles and fewer
larger particles. Nearly all known showers originated from comet debris. The
Geminids are one possible exception. It's debris is apparently from the
asteroid 3200 Phaethon. Some meteor showers are ecliptic showers with material
coming from the Zodiacal Dust cloud. The Zodiacal dust cloud basically has two
sources. One is the residue left over from planetary formation and the other
is a constant replenishment from comets. The asteroid belt is not part of a
one time destruction of a Planet X. It is the remains of material that never
formed a planet primarily due to Jupiters gravitational interference. 

  terrafirma>> Further, they orbit
 stars not planets - and they do this parallel to each other. <<

Generally true...but what do you call those particles that makes up the rings
of Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune? Each shower follows it's own basic
orbit like a shotgun blast. Each individual particle can be independently
influenced from gravitational forces and the solar wind. The smaller particles
in a meteor stream can be swept away by the solar wind leaving the larger
particles behind. This makes the population Index a larger number...around
2.5...also a partial indication of an older meteor stream. 

 terrafirma>>It would
 seem then that when,  in the outermost reaches of the solar system and
 are heated by impact, star, whatever, that at the moment of release they
 might indeed 'radiate' since the source of their release is heat.  At
 some point then in their approach to a gravitational pull they become
 orbital and therefore, parallel.  This means that the railroad track
 analogy does not hold up since originally the debris most probably
 radiated or flew off in random directions, not parallel.  <<

For the most part, material sloughed off a comet is relatively parallel to
it's parent source. The radiant can vary in dimension. Some can be just a
degree or two all the way up to 30 or more degrees even. The railroad track
analogy does hold although in some cases the tracks may appear to be very
wide.

terrafirma>>  (It seems they should be called  'comet debris
 showers' for distinction)<<

For the most part, meteor showers are recognized as the debris of comets.
Essentially when one thinks of meteor showers they should also think of "comet
debris showers".
George Zay