[meteorite-list] Russian meteor composition

From: Nicholas Gessler, Ph.D. <nick.gessler_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Sat, 16 Feb 2013 23:25:22 +0000
Message-ID: <2BF7290C1307A04AAE019182A4FA6D9603F54161_at_ex-mbg-06.win.duke.edu>

Hi Rob et al,

I've spent several hours searching for different video footage of the
fireball, the "smoke" trail, the hole in the ice, etc.

First, can anyone point me to any scientific papers which attempt
to correlate:
a) the color of the "smoky" tail, and/or
b) the color of the "fireball"
with the type of meteorite?
If so, I'd appreciate the reference(s).

It always seemed to me that the "smoke" was so white as to resemble
condensed water vapor than any "burnt material." At a couple of
intervals, some pink or orange tint appeared, but the trail was almost
purely white. That suggests to me that the meteoroid was largely
ice, but I am no expert.

There are several videos zoomed in of the fireball itself (unless they
are fakes). The color was orange-red, but perhaps if someone could
access the camera(s) taking the pictures one might get a clearer assessment
of the emitted spectrum.

One thing that was notable from the fireball and the "smoke" cloud
photos was that the object appeared to be quite flat and stable, the
flames apparent at the two sides, with no flames in between. The
"smoke" cloud seems to confirm this.

I don't think the symmetrically bifurcated incandescence and tail could
have been produced by an object broken in two. It looks like one
object "burning" at both ends. Perhaps some experts in flight dynamics
could tell us under what conditions we could expect that behavior.
Any pointers to literature on the bifurcated entry would also be
appreciated.

Cheers,
Nick
Received on Sat 16 Feb 2013 06:25:22 PM PST