[Prev][Next][Index][Thread]

Re: (meteorobs) The Annual Lampyridae Meteors




Greetings,

I want to throw in my three cents worth on "zigzagging" and "short" and "lampyridae" meteors.

Zigzagging:  Back in the very early '80's I was walking in a parking lot with some friends one summer evening.  I looked up and saw a very long and gently curved meteor go from east to west.  The meteor was nearly straight overhead and I observed it over a roughly 60 degree path through the sky.  It had a warm (red-orange-yellow) hue and left no trail.  To this day I'd swear in a court of law that I saw a curving meteor.

Short:  The shortest meteor I have ever seen was one of the1989 Perseids.  I was observing from the mountains of Utah (USA) with a group of college friends just for fun.  Morning twilight was starting to brush the eastern horizon and I was watching Perseus itself.  A head-on meteor flashed!  It was simply a point in thy sky!   Thank goodness for the intervening atmosphere!  I imagine that even fluffy fluff would hurt going at 60km/s!

Lampyridae:  I would agree that in my first years of scientific meteor observing (beginning in 1996) fireflies were an added confusion.  They don't bother me as much now.  Most of the fireflies I've dealt with amble about near the ground and don't appear in my "active" observing window above.  Also, our fireflies light pattern is more digital (on vs. off) whereas a meteor tends to build in intensity and then fall off again.  And as has already been pointed out, fireflies have a unique color.  It could be fun to go out and spend some time observing fireflies instead of meteors during the "off" season and get a better feel for their differences.

Thanks to all for the question and responses.  This is an interesting thread :)

Matthew