[meteorite-list] A Twisted Meteor Trail Over Tenerife

From: Meteorites USA <eric_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed, 02 Jun 2010 15:09:32 -0700
Message-ID: <4C06D69C.9080301_at_meteoritesusa.com>

Hi Sterling, List,

Calling the irregular wobbling or spinning meteoroid "suspect" seems to
imply there's an overly complex explanation here? Forgive me. I'm not
sure what "electrodynamic interaction" is, but physically speaking isn't
the image explainable by an oblong or asymmetrical meteoroid tumbling
through the atmosphere then twisting into a spiral by the aerodynamic
forces exerted on it. Not unlike a curve-ball thrown by a pitcher?

 From my point of view it seems like a side on view of a spiral smoke
train left by a weirdly shaped object entering our atmosphere that
flipped and spiraled through the air. Am I reaching or is it too hard to
believe that a space rock can spiral through the air upon entry and
leave such a trail?

The only question I had was the frame rate/shutter speed at which this
image was captured... If the image frame was taken in 1/25 of a second,
there a big difference in the elapsed time between a five minute
exposure, which this image does not seem to be from. So I looked it up...

The data from the image states:
Canon EOS 20D
Shutter Speed: 1.0 (meaning 1 second, not one minute) If it were one
minute this would say "Bulb" if I remember correctly.
Exposure Program: Manual
F-Stop: f/0.0
ISO: 1600
No Flash

This data suggests that it's not upper level winds dispersing the smoke.
It does not seem like enough time in the 1 second the exposure was taken
for winds to distort the smoke train such.

If the camera/tripod was bumped or jarred during the exposure please
explain why ALL the stars in the photo aren't "squiggly" too. Only the
smoke train is.

No offense to anyone, just my opinion of the image.

Regards,
Eric





On 6/2/2010 2:29 PM, Sterling K. Webb wrote:
> Ho,
>
> There is no 3-D to any flat image from a single
> observation site. More properly, all we can say is
> that the trail is "waved." Whether this is a side
> view of a helix or a view of a flat wave cannot
> be determined from one photograph.
>
> Clearly, the trail commences as straight and
> increasingly acquires the "wave" in the portions
> of the trail that are "older," that is, have interacted
> with the upper atmosphere for a longer and longer
> time at the moment the photo was taken.
>
> This clearly implies that the "wave" is induced by
> a progressive interaction with the atmosphere. It
> may be more of a "plasma" or electrodynamic
> interaction than simple wind.
>
> The suggestion of an irregular or wobbling or spinning
> meteoroid is suspect, as material shed with varying
> lateral motion components would disperse into an
> irregular pattern much closer to the "head" of the
> trail than what is seen here.
>
>
> Sterling K. Webb
> -------------------------------------------------------------------
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Paul H." <oxytropidoceras at cox.net>
> To: <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
> Sent: Wednesday, June 02, 2010 4:04 PM
> Subject: [meteorite-list] A Twisted Meteor Trail Over Tenerife
>
>
>> A Twisted Meteor Trail Over Tenerife
>> Astronomy Picture of the Day, June 2, 2010
>> http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap100602.html
>>
>> "Did this meteor take a twisting path? No one is sure.
>> Considered opinions are solicited."
>>
>> APOD: A Twisted Meteor Trail Over Tenerife (2010 Jun 02)
>> http://bb.nightskylive.net/asterisk/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=19638
>> http://bb.nightskylive.net/asterisk/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=19638&sid=651816506a79643b02a83499866b4cdb&start=25
>>
>>
>> Yours,
>>
>> Paul H.
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Received on Wed 02 Jun 2010 06:09:32 PM PDT