[meteorite-list] Bright Streak of Light in Sky Reported fromSouthern Oregon to Seattle

[Darren Garrison]

On Mon, 14 Mar 2005 09:05:57 -0500, "ks1u" <ks1u at prodigy.net> wrote:

>The thing which is most interesting to me in these fireball sightings is the 
>color of the flame.  The only fireball I saw was an orange/yellow.  Is it 
>reasonable to make a guess as to the composition based on flame colors, in 
>the way geologists do a flame test?  Or, are there too many other variables?

You also have to take into account, I think, the composition of the atmosphere around the meteor.
(Here's a page on the aurora that I googled up, but the info should be fit for the ionization of
atmospheric gasses by a meteroid, too http://www.wonderquest.com/NorthernLightsOxygen.htm).

FWIW, I've seen plenty of fireballs that are green, and about the same apparent size and brightness
as a round from a roman candle.