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Re: (meteorobs) observed magnitude
Thanks for those calculations, Jim - as always, they were cogent and interesting
to read. In answer to the question of how bright the meteor would APPEAR to be
near the radiant vs. further away, I think you have to end up making some
assumptions about human visual perception: in particular, over what duration and
what angular resolution do the eye and brain "integrate" to form impressions of
light intensity? (It's clear that the eye-brain system DOES in fact integrate on
some level, as any serious deep-sky observer who uses "concentrated averted
vision" to see faint fuzzies will attest.)
And by the way, one other factor that must be taken into account is whether
there is a persistent train accompanying the meteor! A foreshortened train,
visible within the same small area of sky as the meteor head itself, is bound
to increase the meteor's apparent magnitude - sometimes markedly.
Anyway, this is an excellent question, Tom! One of the most interesting things
for me about visual meteor observing, is how it sometimes points up the strange
interaction between human perception and physical reality: for example, the
exact nature of the fall-off in human meteor perception with magnitude, or with
distance from one's center of field. Color is yet another area where this is
true, as for that matter are "electrophonic" sounds!
Clear skies,
Lew
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