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

[Paul Martsching]

Dear Karl;

In POPULAR ASTRONOMY LVII:10 Dec 1049 (#570) H.H.Nininger had a two page 
article with a drawing of a spiraling/undulating meteor he observed 8 
June 1949.

I have seen more than 30,000 meteors and no more than 5 of these 
noticeably spiraled (more or less head-on) or undulated (viewed from the 
side).  All of these were seen when I was reclining and not moving my 
head during regular meteor observing sessions.

The most notable corkscrewing/spiraling meteor was a magnitude - 1 deep 
yellow Geminid on the night of 12/13 Dec 1991.  It was very nearly 
head-on and extremely foreshortened - it looked like a deep yellow 
teardrop and make two and a half turns.

Several years later I saw a (around +2) sporadic not-quite-so-nearly 
head-on which made one and a half turns.  (It would take me quite a 
while to track down the date and exact details for this one.)

At least one good photo of an undulating/spiraling meteor has been 
published in SKY & TELESCOPE. (Again it would take me a very long time 
to  find the reference.)

Some years before Nininger' article a photo was published in POPULAR 
ASTRONOMY - and every effort was made to show that the undulations were 
caused by camera vibrations (the camera presumably being bumped just 
before the beginning of the exposure and then vibrating at just the 
right frequency to account for the eveness of the undulations) or some 
other cause.  Obviously at that time spiraling/undulating meteors were 
considered to be "impossible".

I will not venture any comment about curving meteors as I have very bad 
astigmatism.  My glasses are very thin vertically in the middle and very 
thick at the inner and outer edges.  Even in the daytime the only truly 
straight lines I see are when I have the object or whatever vertically 
in the very center of my field of view.  I cannot take my glasses off 
and look the thru eyepiece of a telescope because at best focus a star 
is a bright line about 7 times as long as wide.

Paul Martsching
Ames, IA



KARL ANTIER wrote:
> Hello all !
> 
> As I was busy during the last months, and barely under nice clear skies,
> it's far since I observed, but I should start new observing sessions in
> the weeks to come.
> I read the thread introduced by Lew, and all those "anomalous meteors2
> really interested, and I was asked to make a small paper on it. So, I'd
> really be interested in hearing all of your strange meteor observations
> 8 or even photographs ), and of possible explanations that could fit
> them. As much as been said to the list, maybe it woulb be better to
> answer me personnally... I don't know, and let Lew say what would be
> best for the benefit of all the list.
> Thanks in advance !
> 
> Clear skies !
> Karl.
> 
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