Jump to content

Banner.jpg.b89429c566825f6ab32bcafbada449c9.jpg

Slow meterors


Recommended Posts

How slow can a meteor be?

Looking out earlier this evening and trying to decide if it was worth setting up the scope I saw a meteor go overhead, quite bright but slow. Normally I'm used to meteors being something that if you mention it to someone else you're wasting your breath because by the time you say "Look at that" it's gone. This however seemed to take a few seconds to crawl it's way across the zenith, certainly slow enough that if anyone else had been there I could have pointed it out to them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 minutes ago, jnb said:

How slow can a meteor be?

Looking out earlier this evening and trying to decide if it was worth setting up the scope I saw a meteor go overhead, quite bright but slow. Normally I'm used to meteors being something that if you mention it to someone else you're wasting your breath because by the time you say "Look at that" it's gone. This however seemed to take a few seconds to crawl it's way across the zenith, certainly slow enough that if anyone else had been there I could have pointed it out to them.

Iridium flare perhaps?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm with Pipnina - it sounds like a satellite. Perhaps a 'satellite-flare,' or a very bright one - maybe even the ISS. Here's some information on flares:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satellite_flare

And more:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satellite_flare#Iridium_flares

If you're interested in satellites and flares and would like to be able to identify many of these man-made critters, here's a link to Previsat, a very nice satellite-tracking software-program available through SourceForge - the same download site that brings us Stellarium. And like Stellarium, Previst is completely free to download and use:

https://sourceforge.net/projects/previsat/

This program will also help you know when & where a satellite-flare is predicted through it's telemetry. Just keep it updated. Full instructions are included.

Enjoy!

Dave

Link to comment
Share on other sites

They can be very slow especially in the evening when they have to catch up with the earth. I attach a capture made by members of the Nemetode network  http://www.nemetode.org/index.html. By combining several observations the meteor trajectory and orbit prior to hitting the earth can be calculated.

 

Regards Andrew

Just added the meteor image which last longer than my 30 deg field. The gaps are due to the way the video capture works.

B20160401_001156GMAP.png

 

M20160401_001156_Delamere_1P.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.