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Re: (meteorobs) Meteor spectrum components




>Re meteoroid burn ups that the list is also noting under the
>P/2000 G1 LINEAR & Vgeo thread:

John, FYI we've now moved the meteor physics aspects of this discussion to
a new thread, with the Subject line noted above.

BTW, to answer a question hidden in someone's else post on this thread, (a
question, coincidentally, which has been discussed at length on our list no
less than four times since our inception in early 1996):

Like the IMO, DMS, AMS, and many similar organizations, we suggest that all
'meteorobs' participants use the following fairly "standard" terminology as
per the classic D.W.R. McKinley book, "Meteor Science and Engineering" and
other sources: A *meteoroid* is any particle in interplanetary space, up to
such time as it actually impacts a planet, excluding objects of larger size
which might more properly be termed asteroids or cometary nuclei. A *meteor*
is observable phenomenon in a planet's atmosphere, involving production of
light at visible and possibly other wavelengths, whose head, wake and/or train
(terms themselves defined per McKinley, and sometimes called confusingly the
'meteor trail') can also be detected by their reflectivity of radio waves. A
*meteorite* is any individual component of a meteoroid that has survived
entry into a planetary atmosphere, and impacted the surface of that planet.


>I think that some little time ago something similar to this was well
>debated and cleared up on a meteorite list.  Could anyone who is aware
>of this summarize the conclusions [I'm sure I've seen a posting by one
>person who is on both lists]?

It'd certainly be of interest if you can find it, for you to summarize that
discussion for us, John. Although one thing to keep in mind when mixing talk
of meteors and meteorites is this: the physics of meteorites has an inherent
selection bias which the physics of meteors does not - i.e., that a meteoroid
be capable of surviving atmospheric entry. Unlike meteoriticists, meteoricists
discuss not only particles capable of becoming meteorites, but also particles
whose physics is quite distinct from that - namely cometary debris.


Glad to see this interesting thread continues to thrive - thanks, y'all!

Lew

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