[meteorite-list] A Twisted Meteor Trail Over Tenerife

From: Mike Hankey <mike.hankey_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed, 2 Jun 2010 21:28:53 -0400
Message-ID: <AANLkTikoinsZcfqvW9UgtnaGGhkehlHfKZ2_8MnyJIsx_at_mail.gmail.com>

So if the bump/vibration theory is true for this recent picture, is it
also true for this picture:

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap050202.html

On Wed, Jun 2, 2010 at 8:48 PM, Sterling K. Webb
<sterling_k_webb at sbcglobal.net> wrote:
> Hi, Listoids,
>
> Rob is right. As usual.
>
> Not having done any astrophotography, I had
> the trail direction wrong and a misconception
> of the duration of the event.
>
> Obviously, I need more coffee...
>
>
> Sterling K. Webb
> --------------------------------------------------------------
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Matson, Robert D."
> <ROBERT.D.MATSON at saic.com>
> To: <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
> Sent: Wednesday, June 02, 2010 6:51 PM
> Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] A Twisted Meteor Trail Over Tenerife
>
>
>> Hi Sterling,
>>
>>> If there was a "bump" during the last few seconds of a 1-minute
>>
>> exposure,
>>>
>>> the exposure of the right-most 97% of the trail would be 97% complete
>>
>> --
>>>
>>> and straight. Only the left end would be "wiggled." Wiggling of the
>>
>> right
>>>
>>> end would be very, very faint, if visible at all. Not a bump.
>>
>> I'm not sure I follow you. A bump (and the meteor) could have occurred
>> at
>> any time during the exposure, not just the beginning or end.
>>
>>> However, the sinusoidal "motion" can be traced back to the start of
>>
>> the
>>>
>>> trail. There are slightly more than 8 full cycles recorded, each of
>>> increasing amplitude.
>>
>> *Increasing* amplitude? So you are suggesting that the meteor was rising
>> as seen by the observer? While this is certainly possible (e.g. a very
>> shallow entry angle), it is far more likely that the meteor was moving
>> left to right in this image, not right to left. I believe the bump
>> (whether by wind, bat, bug, human or magna) occurred a little before
>> the meteor first appeared, perfectly explaining the appearance of the
>> trail: ?high initial amplitude, damped down to nothing after 8 or 9
>> cycles. ?--Rob
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Received on Wed 02 Jun 2010 09:28:53 PM PDT