[meteorite-list] Very Bright Fireball Over Europe on Halloween Night

[Chris Peterson]

Hi Doug-

I don't think atmospheric extinction normally plays much of a role in 
color perception of bright meteors. You don't get a full magnitude 
difference between red and blue until you are about 15° above the 
horizon, or about four air masses. And even at a magnitude difference, 
I'd only expect a small impact on perceived color.

Angle, however, translates to apparent speed, and I do think that might 
be an important factor in how people perceive color. I will say, 
however, that I haven't found any sort of systematic shift in color 
reports based on the distance from the fireball to the witness.

Chris

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

On 11/4/2015 8:25 PM, Doug Ross wrote:
> Thanks for the very informative and interesting discussion. Could the altitude, angle and distance from which a meteor is viewed also affect perceived color? Seems to me that the air between the fireball and the witness might significantly filter the colors, in the same way that the sun can appear red at sunset, viewed at a low angle through more atmosphere.
>
> Doug Ross