(meteorobs) General OT question....RADAR accuracy.

[Roberto G.]

From: "Larry" <ycsentinel at att.net>

> How accurate are RADAR returns of a Bolide explosion in terms of azimuth
> and
> elevation?
>
> Are the RADAR returns so dependant on wake products(persistant trains),
> that
> an accurate fix on the point of explosion cannot be determined as closely
> as
> an all-sky camera aligned to True North with an accurate elevation and
> azimuth overlay. Astrometric measuring not a part of this question.
>
> In other words... is RADAR positioning usefull at all for accurate ground
> searching of Bolide spawned meteorites? Or just a general area(strown
> field)
> of a drop path?
>
> YCSentinel

There are two different sides in your question:

a) the body of a meteorite

b) the bolid

I want to said that I never saw a radar record then that I write
it's theorical:

b) a bolid (the ionized head) can to be biggest of a cubic mile
    then a radar should to see it very very easy, but in general the radars
    see the horizon then the trail of a meteor/bolid can missed
    by radar, in many cases the radar should record radio noise
    from the bolid and from its trail. A record of radar should
    to be very useful for to known the traiectory of the bolid,
    but perharps not for find meteorites (if the point of fall
    it's at 100 km or more, the data of radar have an error
    so big that you cannot utilize for search meteorites)

a) after the end of ionization phase when the meteorite it's free falling,
    if the meteorite it's so big that its reflection section
    can to see by the radar, in this case you can utilise
    the data for the search meteorites, a meteorite
    until a tn falling has near the same speed of a jet the
    an aeronautic radar should see it without problem and too
    to can said where it fell with an error maximum of some
    hundred meters, possible too some dozen meters.

All this it's theorical, I have not experience in this field, and it must
remembered that there are different types of radars, the best
in this field should be the long range radar (meteo) and the military
radar but certainly the data of military, and in many Countries too the
meteo radars, are not available.
Best greetings.
Roberto Gorelli