(meteorobs) question(s) about fireball magnitude
GeoZay at aol.com
GeoZay at aol.com
Sun Jul 10 11:52:55 EDT 2011
>>What is the biggest contributor to the magnitude of a fireball?
Is this mass or velocity or a combination of both?
Are there other factors?>>
Well...both mass and velocity effects magnitude. Also the location of the
observer in regards to the meteor. If the meteor appeared low on the
horizon, the magnitude will appear dimmer due to the light being reduced by the
atmosphere. This is called magnitude extinction. This effects the meteors
magnitude quite a bit. For example, a 0 magnitude meteor right above the
observer could appear 2 magnitudes dimmer to an observer that sees it 25
degrees above the horizon. Another observer who see's the same meteor 10 degrees
above the horizon will see it 4 magnitudes dimmer than the observer who saw
it right above his head. If yet it appeared to another observer who see's
it 1 degree above the horizon, it will appear 9 magnitudes dimmer...in this
case he probably won't see it at all with the naked eye.
George Zay
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