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Re: magnitude -12 ore -16 (meteorobs)
At 06:49 PM 4/19/98 +0200, you wrote:
>dear friends, it's only a fwe months,
>that I'm watching meteors, and I'm waiting for a big bolid !
>How is possible to say that a meteor has a magnitude about
>12.0 or -16.0 ? If moon or other bright planets are not
>visible, how is possible to estimate a magnitude over
>-8.0. What is the referring value to judge a meteorob magnitude
>as -9.0 or -10.1 ?
Hi Nico,
Fireballs of that magnitude tend to surprise and excite observers, so the
best advice I can give is to try to remain calm and record all the
pertinent data. In regards to estimating the magnitude of such an event, a
person involved in astronomy will soon learn what to expect from a full
moon with respect to its brightness. This can be used a guide to the
brightness of fireballs of this class.
For fireballs as bright as -8.0 to -10.0, they will tend to "light up" your
surrounding, which you can use as a guide. The more pronounced and clear
the lighting, the brighter the fireball.
Hope this helps!
Mark Davis
NAMN
References: