(meteorobs) How "large" is that meteor?

[Geert Barentsen]

Hello Jeff,

Interesting question, I have never wondered about this before.

Here's a wild guess. Let's say we have a homogeneous, tangential, 
cylinder-shaped meteor trail. According to a quick sketch and my rusty 
geometry, the diameter d could be written as:
d = tan(alpha) * ( h / sin(beta) )     with alpha = apparent width at the 
sky (arc degrees), h = meteor height, beta = angle between horizon and meteor.

For a typical meteor (90km high, 60 degrees above the horizon), an apparent 
size of 1 arc minute would correspond to a trail diameter of +- 30 meter.

But once again, this is only a wild geometric guess. I find it hard to 
estimate the apparent size of a typical meteor. Also, I have no idea about 
the relation meteroid size/speed <-> trail width.  Surely some people on 
this list will be able to tell us more.

Geert




At 07:56 27-3-2005, you wrote:
>The various text that I've read (not all by any means) speak of how 
>meteors range in size from a pea to a fist sized rock etc.  What I've 
>never read and maybe someone can tell me is how large is the area in space 
>that we see illuminated(width wise not length wise) approximately 
>understanding that it is different for each meteor.
>
>
>Jeff W.
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