Meteor parallax information
Posted: Fri Sep 24, 2004 2:56 pm
The two following two images captured the same meteor at the same time in both Haleakala and Mauna Kea (near the north star):
I was curious to see what information can be analyzed by using the parallax, but the results where somewhat disappointing. It seems that this object is more than 1400 kilometers away from Haleakala, and its altitude is approximately 760 kilomteres above the earth. This sounds like too much for a meteor. My computations are not yet 100% accurate (for instance, I consider the distance from Haleakala to Mauna Kea as 128 kilometers, which is not the exact number) but I don't think they can be that wrong. I estimate the possible error at no more than 5%.
My conclusion, therefore, is that this object is not a meteor. With the stations located 128 kilimteres from each other, I'm beginning to doubt their ability to get parallax information for objects lower than around 40-60 kilometers. Low altitude objects north or west to Halekala, and south or east to Mauna Kea are not expected to be seen by both stations even if they are much higher. However, since meteors are expected to be seen at around 80-120 kilomteres above the earth, I still think there is a chance for getting parallax information for meteors. Especially when meteors happen to appear in the area between the two stations.
I was curious to see what information can be analyzed by using the parallax, but the results where somewhat disappointing. It seems that this object is more than 1400 kilometers away from Haleakala, and its altitude is approximately 760 kilomteres above the earth. This sounds like too much for a meteor. My computations are not yet 100% accurate (for instance, I consider the distance from Haleakala to Mauna Kea as 128 kilometers, which is not the exact number) but I don't think they can be that wrong. I estimate the possible error at no more than 5%.
My conclusion, therefore, is that this object is not a meteor. With the stations located 128 kilimteres from each other, I'm beginning to doubt their ability to get parallax information for objects lower than around 40-60 kilometers. Low altitude objects north or west to Halekala, and south or east to Mauna Kea are not expected to be seen by both stations even if they are much higher. However, since meteors are expected to be seen at around 80-120 kilomteres above the earth, I still think there is a chance for getting parallax information for meteors. Especially when meteors happen to appear in the area between the two stations.