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re: (meteorobs) Zenith Attraction Quuestion
Some confusion may come up about what is actually shifted. It's the radiant of
any meteor which is always shifted towards the zenith, strongly for slow speeds
and low (true) radiant elevations and negligible for high speed and high
altitude. The meteor may just be tilted a little but this displacement is not
meant when talking of zenith attraction.
Imagine a slightly bended meteor trajectory, then the end path prolonged to
infinity will point to a higher altitude in the celestial sphere than the
original trajectory without gravity of the Earth. This is the radiant shifted
towards the zenith.
If this has been clear already, sorry for redundance.
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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