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(meteorobs) Re: Meteor Lengths & More



Lew Gramer wrote:
>
> Bob, logically you might think facing the radiant would cause you to
> see more VERY SHORT meteors as well as more stationary shower meteors.
> And so can it also cause you to be better at distinguishing the two?
> 
You would certainly think so Lew. The bottom line is that these very
short meteors are scarce. Perhaps the eye has its limitations when you
consider magnitude verses length with very short faint meteors being
difficult to detect (duh!)

> BTW, how is it you manage to distinguish flashing satellites so well
> from stationary meteors? I see a fair number of both (say as many as
> one of each every 2 or 3 nights' observing), and generally record it
> as a meteor if and only if:
> 
>   1) I watch that general area of sky for a little while after,
>      and notice no additional "flashes"; *OR*
> 
>   2) I see a slight hint of motion which is clearly faster than
>      a normal satellite's, but I can get no definite impression
>      of trail direction from the event afterward. (This is more
>      common with meteors seen 20 or 30 degs from Center of FOV.)
> 
Most of the flashing satellites I see exhibit motion during each flash.
This motion can be very small but detectable. Those that don't show
obvious motion almost certainly show themselves again with the next
flash several degrees away. I usually see at least one flasher every
session or one per every 4 hours. 

> I also discard any "stationary meteors" I happen to "see" while I am
> just laying my head back after a plot or break. Note that these are
> also the same criteria I use to distinguish star scintillations from
> stationary meteors on nights of very bad seeing - so common up here!
> 
> Is there something more I should be watching out for? Or is this
> another case of "I don't see it, so it probably doesn't exist"? ;>
> 
My experience with star scintillations shows that they normally appear
near bright stars at the edge of my field of view. Stationary meteors
are exceedingly rare and one must try at length to distinguish these
occurrences from the many other (and more probable) possibilities that
exist up there.

Lew you probably saw it but it is probably a case of misinterpretation.
Lord knows I am far from perfect and perhaps my criteria is too strict?
This is just my interpretation of this subject derived from my
experience.

Still an interesting subject!

Bob Lunsford

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