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Re: (meteorobs) What I think I know (and don't know) ...
There have been some wonderful replies in this thread from Esko and
Hartwig. Perhaps a couple of additional points could be made
Firstly, dust trails TEND to lag the comet but are continuous through
the comet and have the same (reversed) structure preceeding the comet
on shorter period orbits. However, due to solar radiation pressure, the
bulk of the visual meteors lag the comet.
Secondly, the further the Earth passes from the comet, the greater the
gaps between the dust trails. So although there can be high density cores
to dust trails (fascinating about 2003 Esko), the probability of the Earth
intersecting any decreases, the more widely seperated they are. This is the
probabilistic nature of storms.
Cheers, Rob
Robert H. McNaught
rmn@aaocbn.aaodot gov.au
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