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(meteorobs) Hale-Boppids redux...
Lew,
Let me give a simple but instructive example showing how large a distance of 0.1
AU is:
We may assume a typical diameter of the core component of a meteoroid stream
like the Leonids of 10^5 km (~1 hour duration). Let the meteor number observable
be 100,000 per hour. Now we have to dilute this meteoroid number on a
cross-section with 0.1 AU diameter to reach the Earth. The ratio of the circular
areas with 10^5km and 1.5*10^7km is 440,000. We'll observe 0.2 meteors per hour,
and that's the upper limit as we distributed the meteors equally over the area.
The example is far from being a correct description, but it shows the
unlikeliness of meeting meteoroids travelling that far from the comet.
Rainer
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Rainer Arlt -- Visual Commission Director
International Meteor Organization
100114.1361@compuserve.com
Home page of IMO: http://www.imodot net
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