(meteorobs) Why do some meteors appear to zig-zag?

[Richard Kramer]

At 05:55 PM 7/7/04 -0400, you wrote:

>In any case, thanks to all who have posted so far on this thread: during the
>times between major showers, it's always interesting to bring up these old
>chestnuts from past years' debate on 'meteorobs'. :)

I've been ambivalent about mentioning some non-linear meteors I remember 
seeing, since the observations were a long time ago.  But here goes ...

The Perseids in 1972. I was observing from SW Maine, around local midnight, 
or a bit earlier. I distinctly remember seeing a number of meteors which 
broke into 2 or more fragments during their translation across the sky. The 
fragments followed paths which were not parallel with the "parent" but 
diverged at angles which I would say were generally less than 5 degrees. In 
one case, I remember that one of the fragments travelled a short distance 
and itself fragmented. I seem to recall seeing perhaps 4 or 6 such events 
during approximately 1 or 1-1/2 hours of observation. Overall, I believe we 
were seeing more than 1 meteor per minute for extended periods of time. My 
recollection is that viewing conditions were excellent. I was watching the 
shower with a small group of people all of whom, from their exclamations 
and comments, were seeing pretty much the same anomalies.

I do not recall seeing anything similar since that shower.

Regards,
Richard