[meteorite-list] "corkscrewing" meteorites

From: Marco Langbroek <marco.langbroek_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:22:39 2004
Message-ID: <007501c333f5$0f08e0b0$61244451_at_HAL>

Be carefull here. The dusttrails and/or persistent trains left by meteorites
will start to twist after formation due to high altitude winds, often
creating a cork-screw pattern in the dust-trail or persistent train. I've
seen it happen many times with persistent trains of fireballs. It sometimes
happens in seconds. This is not due to the meteorite itself cork-screwing
down, but it might lure an eye-witness in thinking it was.

This is not to say that I want to discount the possibility some do, but it
is a fact, I have never seen any good photograph of a bright meteor
corkscrewing, other than a few where the effect was instrumental (introduced
by camera-movements), or likely to be so.

- Marco

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Drs Marco Langbroek

marco.langbroek_at_wanadoo.nl
meteorites_at_dmsweb.org
http://home.wanadoo.nl/marco.langbroek

"What seest thou else
 In the dark backward and abysm of time?"

                            William Shakespeare
                            The Tempest act I scene 2
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Received on Mon 16 Jun 2003 06:49:30 AM PDT