[meteorite-list] Do Meteoroids "Skip"?

[Chris Peterson]

Hi Anita-

Yes, that behavior, while not common, has been observed. Rarely it may 
be a true skip in the atmosphere, but more likely it is something to do 
with the way the object breaks up. Even more likely than that, the 
meteor simply went behind a cloud that was otherwise invisible.

Over the years, my cameras have caught maybe a half dozen meteors 
showing this kind of fragmented path.

Chris

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


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Anita D. Westlake" <libawc at emory.edu>
To: <Carrieloman at aol.com>
Cc: <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
Sent: Wednesday, April 02, 2008 8:42 AM
Subject: [meteorite-list] Do Meteoroids "Skip"?



I have a strange question for you...hopefully you can set me straight on
this! Last night I and two friends saw a bright light streaking in the
sky. It had a tail on it, looking like a meteoroid. The object was 
falling
to the ground, and it faded out rather high in the sky, but less than a
second later, and on the course, it appeared again looking like it did
before. Did we see a meteorite? I have seen "shooting stars" before, not
just one or two. One night at my parents house (they lived in the
country) there was a shower that lasted hours. It was beautiful but none 
of
the ones we watched "skipped" like this one did last night. If it was 
just
me, I would have thought it was due to lack of sleep, but since my 
friends
saw it too, I know I didn't imagine it! The question is do meteoroids
behave like this?

Thanks so much for you help!

Ginny

Hi Ginny! Good question. I'll ask my meteorite list and get back to you.
I've never heard of them "skipping" but then, I recently learned I don't
know everything!
Anita