(meteorobs) Genesis Reentry - fireball experiment

[Robert Verish]

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2004/images/genesisreentry/tigermap1024_grid.gif

Hello List,

The above link is a detailed map image which depicts
the ground path of the Genesis daytime fireball.

If any of you are lucky enough to witness this event,
and are interested in participating in a little
experiment, please contact me off-List.
The experiment is a test of our observational skills.
A sort-of "ground-truth" exercise.  

Your participation in this experiment only requires
you to observe and record (to the best of your
abilities) the fireball produced by the reentry of the
Genesis bolide/spacecraft.  Then contact me with your
results. (All-Sky Camera Networks are definitely to be
included in this effort.)

The intent of this exercise is to treat this recorded
data as if it were taken from observations of a "real"
(meteoroid) fireball.  From this observational data we
will then "predict" a most likely fall location for
this "object".  And finally, we will then look to see
how close that location compares to where Genesis
would have landed (had it no drag-shute or parasail). 


The purpose of this exercise is to determine what
degree of accuracy can be expected from solely using
eye-witness interviews to determine a meteorite fall
location.  It is hoped that these results will
develope some degree of confidence in the ability to
recover meteorites by this "eye-witness account"
method.  

Should the "eye-witness" method fail, then the focus
shifts to determining the degree of accuracy by means
of the "All-Sky Camera" network, and to determining
what degree of confidence we can place in the ability
to recover meteorites with just a limited number of
cameras.

Would be interested in hearing your comments and
observations.
Bob V.

-----Original Message-----
From: On Behalf Of NASA Science News
Sent: Friday, September 03, 2004 11:14 AM
To: NASA Science News
Subject: Genesis Reentry

NASA Science News for September 3, 2004

On September 8th, a daylight fireball will streak
across the western United States. It's Genesis,
returning samples of the Sun to Earth.

FULL STORY at

<http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2004/03sep_genesisreentry.htm?list113123>


Science at NASA stories are available in Spanish at our
sister site,
Ciencia at NASA <http://ciencia.nasa.gov/>.

---