(meteorobs) Question

[Paul Jones]

Bob,
     You just took the words right out of my mouth!  Here is a message I
tried to post to Meteorobs yesterday that got kicked back by the served
outage (great minds think alike!):

 I will chime in with Ed and Wayne here and say that green meteors have
certainly been of no special significance whatosever to me, either,  In
fact, in all my years of observing and dozens and dozens of fireballs seen,
I have never seen one with even the slightest hint of green in it.  I almost
feel deficient sometimes for not having seen any...;o).
   The closest I've ever come to seeing green in meteors is occasionally
during the Geminids, I may see one that appears bluish-green to me (and
never in the Gem fireballs either, just in the ones in the  +1 to -2
range).  But that's it.  For me anyway, the most prominient color I tend to
see in meteors (regular or fireball) is orange, especially in the ones that
are earth grazing or slow moving and very long pathed.
   I recall my fellow meteor veteran Norman McLeod mentioning in the past
that observed meteor color is one of the most subjective parameters in
meteor watching.  No two people see color the same way at low light levels
or for the very short periods of time that most meteors are seen.  My
experience over the years tends to bare him out on that for sure.
   Although I usually observe solo now, back in the 70s and 80s, I had many
group watches with both neophytes and experienced folks and rarely would
anyone agree on the color of an observed meteor.  Bright fireballs tend to
"shock" the observer also and can lead to emotional reactions and
recollections that may not be entirely accurate.

Best regards, Paul in North Florida


On Fri, Jun 3, 2011 at 1:30 PM, Robert Lunsford <lunro.imo.usa at cox.net>wrote:

> I have seen a fair number of fireballs and I must be in the minority as
> very few have been green. What stands out to me about green fireballs is the
> very distinct color. The green fireballs I have seen are always vivid, much
> more so than with any other color. If I recall correctly, all of these green
> fireballs have appeared in the lower one-third of the sky, much closer to
> the horizon than the zenith. My main source of green fireballs has been the
> annual Geminid meteor shower. These meteors possess a medium velocity. I
> never recall seeing a swift, green meteor. Most of my swift meteors tend to
> be blue. My slower meteors tend to be orange and yellow. I have never seen a
> distinctly red meteor, red-orange is the closest.
>
> I recall viewing the Perseid meteor shower with veteran observer Felix
> Martinez back in the early 80's. A majority of the bright meteors he saw
> back then were green. To me, these meteors were nearly all white or slightly
> yellowish. Definitely not green to me!  So when two experienced observers
> see different colors in the same meteors, one has to wonder just how
> subjective this topic is...
>
> Clear Skies!
>
> Bob Lunsford
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