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Re: (meteorobs) Observing meteor from space



Ok. I searched the web and found nothing about a meteor observing
program performed by any space crew. But I found this site at Nasa:
http://leonid.arc.nasadot gov/leonidnews25.html

It's about a satellite observation of the last year leonid shower. The
CCD images of the meteors are like some ilustrations in the magazines.
There's also a link to the full paper, in PDF format.

Beside this I found an article of the Shuttle-Mir program astronaut Andy
Thomas.
http://spaceflight.nasadot gov/history/shuttle-mir/history/h-f-thomas-view.htm

He says:
"Meteors are visible from space too. However, we have the unique vantage
of being able to look down on the Earth and see meteors streaking into
the atmosphere way below us. Having that perspective is a compelling
reminder that we are indeed flying in space."

In another article, from S&T news, another astronaut impression about
meteors from space (I lost the link):

"Two nights ago Claude Nicollier, Steve Smith, and I went out to view
the Geminid meteor shower when the constellation Gemini was near the
zenith. Amongst discussions of the origin of the universe, life on
Earth, and our upcoming mission, we were entertained by a brilliant show
of meteor traffic. Our observations yielded 27 meteors in the span of 45
minutes, a nice reward for our preflight relaxation, and better observed
from the ground than in the Space Shuttle."

I think this is because the shuttle's windows offer a narrow field of
view. Or the competition to observe through it may be great among crew
members.

In another article I read that the Mir crew used to stay in the Soyuz
capsule during major meteor showers to protect themselves in the event
of a meteoroid impact in the station. The Soyuz capsules have a more
rugged construction to survive reentry and can cope with bigger
meteoroids (how bigger?)

I think It could be a good idea to install a video camera (with image
intensifier) on the exterior of the ISS to monitor meteors on the night
side of earth on a semi-continuous basis. The data could be sent in
real-time to stations on earth.

Isn't it a good project?
Would it be too expensive?
Could it be conducted by amateurs?


Kiko Soares
P. Prudente - Brasil
22.07 S - 51.22 W


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