# I saw a nice meteor tonight **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 24, 2007, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-a-nice-meteor-tonight/423787 "2007-10-24T03:18:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-a-nice-meteor-tonight/423787/1 "2007-10-24T03:18:17Z")
So this meteoroid hit the atmosphere and lit up green-white. Nice and large, heading for Canada. Lasted over a second. Very pretty! Any way of knowing its composition from its green-white colour? ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-a-nice-meteor-tonight/423787/2 "2007-10-24T03:37:46Z")
[QUOTE=Johnny L.A.] Any way of knowing its composition from its green-white colour? [/QUOTE] [It’s tricky:](http://www.meteorobs.org/maillist/msg13013.html) > [@](#): > > In fast meteors the H and K lines of CaII at 3394A and 3968A are often the brightest lines. The MgI triplet in the green is often very bright, and FeI contributes a complex series of lines with bright features in the blue and yellow. Perhaps the bright green MgI lines, and the combination of blue CaI and FeI lines with the yellow FeI lines yield reports of green fireballs/meteors [NASA says:](http://leonid.arc.nasa.gov/meteor.html) > [@](#): > > The color of a meteor is an indication of its composition and the excitation temperature: sodium atoms give an orange-yellow light, iron atoms a yellow light, magnesium a blue-green light, calcium atoms may add a violet hue, while silicon atoms and molecules of atmospheric nitrogen give a red light. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-a-nice-meteor-tonight/423787/3 "2007-10-24T04:54:56Z")
I saw a nice one last night, but I couldn’t discern a color. Is there a shower going on? Mine was in the southern sky, about 9:30 CST. ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-a-nice-meteor-tonight/423787/4 "2007-10-24T05:47:15Z")
[QUOTE=Johnny L.A.] Any way of knowing its composition from its green-white colour? [/QUOTE] Green you say? Kriptonite, no doubt. ---
**Author:** ![scotandrsn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a4c791/32.png) [@scotandrsn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scotandrsn)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-a-nice-meteor-tonight/423787/5 "2007-10-24T07:03:08Z")
[QUOTE=AuntiePam] I saw a nice one last night, but I couldn’t discern a color. Is there a shower going on? Mine was in the southern sky, about 9:30 CST. [/QUOTE] The Orionids peaked a couple of days ago. They’re dust left behind by Halley’s Comet, whose path we’re passing through right now. [Second time I’ve used this link in ten minutes](http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/ataglance) > [@](#): > > The annual Orionid meteor shower should peak very late tonight and/or tomorrow night, but activity should be nearly the same for several additional nights too. An observer under a dark sky may see about 20 meteors per hour between 2 or 3 a.m. and the first light of dawn, when the shower’s radiant gets high in the sky. Any light pollution will reduce the numbers visible. ---
**Author:** ![Staggerlee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/staggerlee/32/3134_2.png) [@Staggerlee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Staggerlee)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-a-nice-meteor-tonight/423787/6 "2007-10-24T14:56:43Z")
[QUOTE=Johnny L.A.] Any way of knowing its composition from its green-white colour? [/QUOTE] I’d guess Triffid spores, mainly. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-a-nice-meteor-tonight/423787/7 "2007-10-24T16:17:52Z")
How do you know it wasn’t an _evil_ meteor, bent on human destruction? or at least Canadian destruction. StG ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-a-nice-meteor-tonight/423787/8 "2007-10-24T20:41:29Z")
The particulates from the SoCal fires probably stretch all around the planet by now. That’s going to mess with sky colors to some extent. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-a-nice-meteor-tonight/423787/9 "2007-10-24T20:53:14Z")
[QUOTE=AuntiePam] I saw a nice one last night, but I couldn’t discern a color. Is there a shower going on? Mine was in the southern sky, about 9:30 CST. [/QUOTE] There was a shower that started Sunday morning and was supposed to be visible through today. I was wandering around in my yard at 5:30 am, freezng and drinking coffee, but nary a meteor was seen by me. Damn it anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Yeticus\_Rex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a698b9/32.png) [@Yeticus\_Rex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeticus_Rex)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-a-nice-meteor-tonight/423787/10 "2007-10-24T21:35:30Z")
[QUOTE=scotandrsn] The Orionids peaked a couple of days ago. They’re dust left behind by Halley’s Comet, whose path we’re passing through right now. [Second time I’ve used this link in ten minutes](http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/ataglance) [/QUOTE] This link sent me to an article on Comet Holmes, which was interesting as well…gonna go check it out tonight.