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Re: (meteorobs) Fireball mags...
In a message dated 97-09-21 17:41:28 EDT, you write:
<<
I have never seen a Fireball before. What times of the year do you see them
and around what time do you see them. Any advice would be appreciated.
John
>>
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John,
Fireballs don't keep a schedule like trains, planes and buses. It is possible
to see them at any time of the day and year...though the odds can increase in
a variety of ways for different reasons. The easiet way is to observe during
one of the major meteor showers such as the Geminids, Leonids, or Perseids.
If you watch during their peak nites for several hours...you are most likely
going to see something that is within the fireball class...that is brighter
than -3 magnitude. I personally think the Geminids in December will show the
most fireballs for the amount of observing needed. I recall during three
nites around the Gemind peak in 1993 of seeing 25 fireballs. During the other
times of the year..dot it's mostly pot luck... dependent upon how much observing
time you put in. If you don't look...you won't see very many. There are
periods where sporadics of non-cometary sources...that is of asteroidal
origin, have a better chance at dropping meteorites...which come from their
fireballs. This is because they are composed of a more durable material than
the typical cometary particle....plus they often enter the atmosphere at
slower velocities and is more gentle at surviving the entry. These kind of
fireballs/meteorites will most likely be seen during the evening hours and
with an apparent increase during the Vernal equinox(March) for the Northern
Hemisphere. I typically see about 54 Fireballs of all sources (most are
probably cometary fireballs however) during the course of about 54 observing
nites (around 300 Teff hours). The numbers come out to 1 per night...but this
isn't reality. This includes the nights of the major showers...namely
Perseids, Geminids and lately the Leonids. Probably about 35 or 40 of these
are from these major showers during the course of the year from about 15
observing nites. The sporadic fireballs seem to occur for me at an
approximate rate of about 1 per 8 nites of observing...though this can
fluxuate at a more or less rate in the long run. I hope this helps?
George Zay