The width of meteor trails II.

Abstract

view Abstract Citations (1) References Co-Reads Similar Papers Volume Content Graphics Metrics Export Citation NASA/ADS The width of meteor trails II. Cook, A. F., II ; Hawkins, G. S. ; Steinon, F. M. Abstract A detailed comparison is made between the images of meteor trails and star trails. The photographs were obtained by A. F. Cook during the Geminid shower of 1957 using the 48-inch Schmidt telescope on Mt. Palomar. Adj ustments were made in the focal setting of the telescope to allow for the fact that the meteors were not at infinity. Microdensitometer tracings showed that the intensity distribution in the images was gaussian and the widths were measured at the point where the intensity had decreased by a factor of I/e. A significant dif- ference in width was found between in-focus meteor images and the in-focus star images. The average width of the Geminid meteors was found to be 3 meters and the average magnitude was Y4 One meteor, magnitude 0, showed a width considerably in excess of this value, splitting into three fragments which had separated by as much as 20 meters at the end of the trail. A trail width of several meters is inconsistent with the assumption that meteors are small solid bodies. It is consistent with the dustball hypothesis in which severe fragmentation takes place as the meteor body is disrupted in the upper atmosphere. Harvard College Observatory Cambridge, Mass. Publication: The Astronomical Journal Pub Date: 1959 DOI: 10.1086/107991 Bibcode: 1959AJ.....64Q.327C full text sources ADS |