[meteorite-list] fall patterns

[Chris Peterson]

Hi Pat-

You can't reliably determine anything about the path of an unwitnessed 
meteor by analyzing a strewn field. That's because the effect of winds 
can completely erase the effects of the trajectory. As a simple example, 
you can't distinguish between a meteor that came in at a vertical angle 
with strong easterly winds, and one that came at a shallower angle from 
the west with no wind, or with a headwind. It is perfectly possible for 
a strewn field to be oriented with the largest meteorites up-path from 
the smallest- all it takes is a single terminal explosion (as opposed to 
a long breakup) and a strong tailwind.

Analyzing a strewn field is useful for estimating where else to look for 
meteorites, but that's about it.

Chris

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


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Pat Brown" <radio_ranch at yahoo.com>
To: "Robin Galyan" <robin_707a at ifiles.com>; 
<meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
Sent: Sunday, April 08, 2007 10:15 PM
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] fall patterns


> Hi Robin,
>
> The heavier parts of a body after breakup will fly
> further. The lighter parts will slow down faster and
> not travel as fardown range. The reason for this is
> that the smaller parts have more aerodynamic drag per
> unit of mass and slow down quicker. The heaier parts
> have less drag per unit mass and will not slow down as
> quickly.
>
> In a strewn field that is carefully mapped with the
> location and mass of each fragment, it is east to see
> which direction a meteoroid approached from. A line
> drawn from the lightest fragment to the heaviest
> fragmet will show the direction of travel. This is one
> of the reasons that keeping good records is important.
>
> Best Regards,
>           Pat Brown
/meteorite-list