(meteorobs) Falling Meteors

[Bias, Peter V]

Hi Josh,
 
Great question!  
It turns out that the weight of the meteor has no effect on how fast it falls.  So the big, very bright meteors during a meteor shower are falling through the atmosphere at the same speed that their barely visible meteor "cousins" are.
If you drop a large brick it will fall at the same speed that a rubber ball will (try it!).  For the same reason, the weight of the meteor is not important in determining its speed.
But there are other factors that are, and you might want to look into them. Two significant factors are: 
 
     1)  In the big ellipse that it travels, how far away from the sun does the meteoroid go before it starts its journey back?
(this impacts how fast it travels through space around the sun)
 
     2)  At what angle did it hit the earth's atmosphere?
(this impacts how fast it appears to travel to us.  Think of it. If a we're in a car going north at 25 miles an hour, a car going south on the same road, at 25 miles an hour, right at us will cause quite a collision.  But if a car comes from behind in northerly direction at 30 miles an hour, it would be a minor collision.  Well, the earth is moving through space around the sun, just like the meteoroid is.  Did the meteor come right at the earth from the opposite direction?  Did it come from the same direction?  You can see that this will make a big difference in how fast the meteor appears to go.)
 
Josh, I hope this helps (and I hope that others can help with your question, too).
Good luck on your science project!  You chose a great topic!
 
  Pete Bias

	-----Original Message----- 
	From: meteorobs-bounces at meteorobs.org on behalf of Harding 
	Sent: Fri 3/7/2008 4:56 PM 
	To: meteorobs at meteorobs.org 
	Cc: 
	Subject: (meteorobs) Falling Meteors
	
	

	I am doing a science project and I am in the 4th grade.  I read what you
	said about how fast meteors fall.  But does the weight of the meteor affect
	how fast it falls?
	
	
	
	
	
	Thanks,
	
	Josh
	
	_______________________________________________
	Mailing list meteorobs: meteorobs at meteorobs.org
	To UNSUBSCRIBE, email: owner-meteorobs at meteorobs.org
	http://lists.meteorobs.org/mailman/listinfo/meteorobs