[meteorite-list] Re: [meteorite-list]

From: Mark Langenfeld <mlangen_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:22:39 2004
Message-ID: <200306161417.h5GEHcLx081670_at_mail0.mx.voyager.net>

Some "corkscrewing" effects might also be caused by an aerodynamic
vortex in the wake of the meteorite (rather than by spinning or tumbling).

Mark

> I think that a person took a famous photo of the
> Pasamonte fireball as it was happening with a camera.
> According to him, and Nininger who reported it, it
> corkscrewed in flight.
>
> Steve Schoner/AMS
>
>
> --- Marco Langbroek <marco.langbroek_at_wanadoo.nl>
> wrote:
> > Be carefull here. The dusttrails and/or persistent
> > trains left by meteorites
> > will start to twist after formation due to high
> > altitude winds, often
> > creating a cork-screw pattern in the dust-trail or
> > persistent train. I've
> > seen it happen many times with persistent trains of
> > fireballs. It sometimes
> > happens in seconds. This is not due to the meteorite
> > itself cork-screwing
> > down, but it might lure an eye-witness in thinking
> > it was.
> >
> > This is not to say that I want to discount the
> > possibility some do, but it
> > is a fact, I have never seen any good photograph of
> > a bright meteor
> > corkscrewing, other than a few where the effect was
> > instrumental (introduced
> > by camera-movements), or likely to be so.
> >
> > - Marco
Received on Mon 16 Jun 2003 10:17:38 AM PDT