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Re: (meteorobs) Re: NWM green fireball notes

Norman W. McLeod wrote:

>Most meteors are indeed fast and visible only as streaks.  A handful are
>slow or very slow, and these are the most fun to watch, like one shot out of
>a Roman candle.  You can follow the body easily for several seconds, and
>with a broadside view you see it cover the maximum length path in the sky.

This reminds me of a unique Geminid I observed back in Dec 13/14 1988. 
It was my very first Geminid watch near its peak and also the first GEM 
ever seen. Within minutes, I observed a rather swift intense white "ball" 
that shot from near the radiant down through Orion, decelerating in its 
path
until a near stop and then faded. Its magnitude was about -5. Despite a 
very
long 1/4 sky path, it showed absolutely no train. It really seemed like a 
"roman candle" firework. The long path and decelerating motion really gave
the illusion of a "curved" effect in relation to the horizon.

Also in Dec 13/14 1991, I had another Geminid observation with a group of 
friends. It was an all-night organized -20C observation from an open 
field 
behind the houses. I was probably writting down notes on paper, when 
several
of the observers exclaimed at the same time that there was an obvious 
"curved" meteor. But I was not looking when it happened. 

>>The best way to learn, for certain.  The book came out shortly before I got
>interested in astronomy, and I'm glad my mother got it for me at age 9 in
>1955.  I showed my wife the contrast between the dismal Sky & Telescope
>charts and Rey's charts.  You learn so much more, and so much faster, with
>Rey.  Seeing the pictures in the sky is still beautiful to me after this
>many years.  I always liked anything that glows in the dark : stars,
>fireworks, meteors, fireflies, chemical luminescence and phosphorescence,
>etc.  So that's the common thread for my interests.

Same here! I have always been fascinated by fireworks, rockets and just 
about anything that glows. I wont soon forget all the glow-in-the-dark 
displays with flashing rockets and meteors zipping on strings all over the
room I used to do several years ago. And the hours we spent building a 
summer-sky planetarium with the Milky Way and even a homemade meteor 
simulator. No wonder I love meteor observing today!


                                .    .    . .
Pierre Martin                  . . *  . *  .  .
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Ottawa Valley Observers Group  .  .    .  .   . .
Visual meteor observer          .    . . .  -* .
Ottawa, Ontario, CAN              . .   . .  .
home:  p.martin@cyberusdot ca           /  . .  . .
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Graphic Designer                     .  |    .
National Aviation Museum                |   \
work:  pmartin@nmstcdot ca                 *  . \
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