(meteorobs) Tumbling meteoroids? Tumbling meteors?

[Pat]

I have to agree with Chris, while I have not done the calculations. I suspect most meteors are spinning or tumbling to some degree but stabalize (depending on shape) when they enter the atmosphere. I suspect the upper levels of the Ionosphere do not do much to stabalize and orient the meteorite, but before burn-up or burn-out I suspect most (probably not all) are not spinning.

--- In meteorobs at yahoogroups.com, Chris Peterson <clp at ...> wrote:
>
> Everything in the Universe spins, and that includes meteoroids. Usually, 
> "spin" means to rotate about a single axis, and "tumble" means to rotate 
> about more than one axis. Many, perhaps most, meteoroids also tumble 
> while in space.
> 
> Certainly, the aerodynamics of a meteoroid in the atmosphere will alter 
> the spin/tumble behavior. That means that it may be introduced, or more 
> commonly, stabilized from a tumble to a simple spin or fixed 
> orientation. There are a number of papers on this subject.
> 
> Chris
> 
> *******************************
> Chris L Peterson
> Cloudbait Observatory
> http://www.cloudbait.com
> 
> On 8/27/2011 1:54 PM, Thomas Ashcraft wrote:
> > Questions:
> >
> > Are meteoroids generally tumbling in space?
> >
> > When a meteoroid/meteor enters into the Earth's atmosphere can the
> > atmosphere or ionosphere itself cause any tumbling?
> >
> > Thomas in New Mexico
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