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Re: (meteorobs) Radiant Diameter vs Radiant Activity Period
At 09:03 AM 7/14/99 EDT, you wrote:
>
>A question has occurred to me while talking about the Perseid Radiant spread
>thread. Perhaps someone can explain? As we've noted, photographically the
>Perseid radiant is 1.26 deg in diameter. The activity period for the
perseids
>is several weeks long. Now consider the radiant diameter of the N. Taurid
at
>1.94 deg and the S. Taurid at 2.20 deg. The activity period for the Taurids
>is also several weeks long. It would seem to me that the radiant diameters
>for the above showers would be much larger? It seems this way to me because
>of the longer time the earth is traveling thru the stream that makes up
these
>showers and thus a thick stream? What is making these showers have an
>apparent small radiant from the earth? I suggested for the Perseids that the
>1.26 deg radiant diameter would be for the tight component. But I got this
>gut feeling that this isn't correct and that the 1.26 deg perseid radiant
>includes both the tight and broad components. Planet Venus also crosses thru
>the Taurid radiant, so it definitely has a very thick stream. But why only
>about a 2 deg radiant is noticed here on earth? Why not 5 deg or why not 1
>deg? What's the determining factor?
>GeoZay
*****************************************************
Dear George
Particle density, George. Try this one: Driving in a very light snowfall
you will notice that the radius of the radiant appears much larger than it
does when traveling in blizzard conditions.
If there are fewer particles in general (spread out over a larger area)
then a proportioanally smaller number emanate from near the center, making
the radius appear larger.
Jay
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