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RE: (meteorobs) Excerpts from "CCNet 123/2001 - 22 November 2001"
On Wed, 5 Dec 2001, Robert Hayden wrote:
> Riddle me this. If all meteors from comets are very fragile dust grains,
> explain the flashes on the moon. If, on one hand we readily accept that the
> dust trails include chucks that are large enough to generate a flash on the
> moon visable from Earth, isn't it plausible that similarly sized chunks hit
> Indiana? Not that I would uncritically accept the story of the Yurans
> (presumably from the planet Yura), but the out-of-hand dismissal by
> astronomer Hammergren seems rash in view of the lunar observations.
Image 10kg of flour in a paper bag. It will hit the Moon with the
same kinetic energy as a 10kg metal block (or 10kg of feathers or whatever).
The same bag of flour hitting the atmosphere will soon lose the
protective bag and the loose flour would cause a dramatic flare in
brightness as the surface area is massively increased in a fraction of a
second. It dissipates high in the atmosphere and no meteorite reaches the
Earth's surface.
Cheers, Rob
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