[meteorite-list] Tailess Meteors?

[Chris Peterson]

Hi Tom-

I'm surprised you found this unusual. I'd say that at least 25% of bright
meteors leave no trail. Depending on the composition of the meteoroid, its
velocity, altitude, and angle of entry it is very possible that very little
material was being ablated, and that the conditions were unfavorable for
producing significant atmospheric ionization.

My allsky cameras are sensitive enough to record trails, and I have images
with a range of trails, from invisible to several seconds persistence, all
with meteors of equal intensity.

A meteor that produces a bright trail and has a terminal explosion is a good
candidate for producing meteorites. If the explosion occurs nearly overhead,
start looking!

Chris

*****************************************
Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
http://www.cloudbait.com


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tom AKA James Knudson" <peregrineflier at npgcable.com>
To: <Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
Sent: Friday, November 05, 2004 8:07 PM
Subject: [meteorite-list] Tailess Meteors?


> Hello List,
> I saw a meteor that left no trail.  It was a kind of yellowish orange
color.
> I have not seen a meteor with no tail, is this common?  And what would
cause
> this?
>
> Thanks, Tom