To: Windflier; bigheadfred
I saw an orange meteor once. Sodium, maybe?
To: thecodont; bigheadfred
I saw an orange meteor once. Sodium, maybe? Dunno. Fred?
42 posted on
03/10/2012 8:11:40 PM PST by
Windflier
(To anger a conservative, tell him a lie. To anger a liberal, tell him the truth.)
To: thecodont; Windflier; Randy Larsen
" The color of many Leonids is caused by light emitted from metal atoms from the meteoroid (blue, green, and yellow) and light emitted by atoms and molecules of the air (red). The metal atoms emit light much like in our sodium discharge lamps: sodium (Na) atoms give an orange-yellow light, iron (Fe) atoms a yellow light, magnesium (Mg) a blue-green light, ionized calcium (Ca+) atoms may add a violet hue, while molecules of atmospheric nitrogen (N2) and oxygen atoms (O) give a red light. The meteor color depends on whether the metal atom emissions or the air plasma emissions dominate. "
LINK
But I'm sticking to the copper theory for the one I saw.
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