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Re: (meteorobs) Re: bolide explosions
Thanks, Rob, that makes total sense! Not only is there suddenly much more
available (and non-aerodynamic) surface area to ablate and ionize the air, but
also - and I remember gleaning this from reading Ernst Oepik's book - smaller
fragments will fail to produce an aerodynamic "cushion" of air around them like
larger particles do, and so the ablation will occur more quickly as a big
dustbunny breaks into smaller ones. And of course, this explains why the bursts
can occur in the MIDDLE of the luminous flight path, rather than just at the
end: after all, the pressure can become critical and a fragment can break loose
at any time during a meteoroid's flight. This is kind of amazing to think about!
(I don't know about y'all, but I get even MORE of a thrill from seeing these
fleeting, beautiful phenomena, if I know the actual reality of what I'm seeing.)
Clear skies all!
Lew
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