Re: [APML] The Kolb Fireball?

[Glenn Shaw <gshaw@alaska.net>]

Hello everybody:

Jon Kolb points out that two people who saw the same event in our atmosphere
from 1500 miles apart might see a difference due to perspective. Here he is
commenting on a photograph of a meteor that smashed into the atmosphere in the
recent leonid meteor display. Two people on this list evidently saw a "cloud"
from this incoming meteor in a different way.

Indeed, Jon is correct in surmising that people observing the same event in the
high atmosphere would see things quite differently when separated by 1500 miles.

The "glow" from incoming meteors is about 80 kilometers, or 50 miles in height.
Thus the triangulation "error" between the two observers is 50/1500 or 30 in
difference. This corresponds to 3 degrees of difference, or about 6 times the
diameter of the full moon or the Andromeda Galaxy.

glenn shaw

Jon Kolb wrote:

> Chris,
>
> > I've posted three new images from the Leonids outing a few weeks ago.
> > I'm wondering if the fireball I caught in the one image is
> > the same one Jon
> > caught in Auriga?...Although mine is more into Perseus.  If
> > this is the same
> > monster, the different lat and long of my site would cause
> > the slight shift
> > I would think?
>
> Nice shot, Chris!  The clouds really add an interesting feel to the image.
> It could be the same one I shot, although the smoke train looks a little
> different.  I guess the perspective on that would be different from your
> site as well.  Let's see, we were maybe 1500 miles apart, the meteor I shot
> in Auriga was nearly overhead and what, 50 miles up (anyone know what
> altitude these things tend to burn up at on average?), so yeah, you should
> have a noticeably different perspective than I did.  What time was it when
> you caught this one?
>
> There were so many big fireballs that night, just about everyone on the list
> could have shot a different one.  I still can't get over those big ones
> lighting up the mountains and trees around me - like fireworks without the
> sound.  Amazing.
>
> > Also, I was pleasantly surprised to find I caught a six pack
> > of Leonids in
> > the wide field Leo/radiant star trail image.  Also, the Fuji
> > Press 800 did a
> > pretty good job...except look at M42 in the wide field image...no red
> > recorded....we already knew that though...right Jon....
> > URL's below:
>
> More nice shots - the clouds add a really cool effect!  It looks like you
> had to do some surgery on the 20mm f/2.8 shots.  I was shooting the 20mm
> f/2.8 AF-D Nikkor, and there are pteradons, not seagulls, in the corners.
> It makes me wonder if there's much point to using such wide lenses on
> tracked shots for meteors next time.  When they're wide open, the usable
> image area is so small, it might be just as well to shoot a faster 50mm lens
> stopped down to f/2.8.  Of course, there probably won't be a next time quite
> like last time.
>
> The 800 Press did indeed do the job on the meteors, and so did the NHG-II
> 120 format.  It's been interesting to look at the way different films
> recorded the meteor colors.  We can definitely end all discussion on whether
> the Fuji Superia 800, Press version or not, can record emission nebulae - it
> can't, and least not the current emulsions.  BTW, I like to catch a six-pack
> once in awhile myself.
>
> Sincerely,
> Jon Kolb
> Adventures in Astrophotography
> http://home.datawest.net/jkolb/
> jkolb@mindport.com
>
>
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