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(meteorobs) Re: meteor notes NM
>Long ones can sputter along, give small bursts in brightness, or
>go out completely and reignite.
Normon wrote the above, and it brought to mind one of my Perseids. This was
clearly two illuminated sections (at least 10 deg long each) about mag -1,
separated by a completely dark ( to my +5.5 skies..dot it wasn't a good night,
very hazy) section over 5 degrees. In my mind I have had a hard time
explaining this. Since if it's one Perseid particle, it's still whipping
along at 60 kps, how could it vary in brightness by such a large amount (at
least 6 mag). I can't figure out a way for this to happen; so my best idea
so far is that it was two recently separated particles (or two random
Perseids) that were on identical paths and intersected the atmoshere
several (dozen? hundred?) km apart. To my eye they must have been related
however, since it appeared as one meteor, with a hole in the middle. Anyone
have any other ideas as to how the meteor could be extinguished...I can see
a mag or 3, or a terminal flare by the physics of a tumbling particle
impacting the air or breaking up at the end, but 6 mag +.......
Wayne