# Perseids: Why the multi-color trail? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 14, 2016, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perseids-why-the-multi-color-trail/762817 "2016-08-14T19:23:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2016, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perseids-why-the-multi-color-trail/762817/1 "2016-08-14T19:23:45Z")
Here is a photo I took Saturday morning: [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/8378/28349388494_196ab45bbc_b.jpg "DSC\_1496") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/11822576@N08/28349388494/in/dateposted-public/) Why the multi-color trail? Are the dust particles coated with copper that burns off? I have several images, and they all look similar. ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2016, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perseids-why-the-multi-color-trail/762817/2 "2016-08-14T19:26:07Z")
I’m guessing that it was high enough to still be lit by the sun. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2016, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perseids-why-the-multi-color-trail/762817/3 "2016-08-14T19:35:26Z")
I don’t think so. It was 4 hours before dawn. ---
**Author:** ![Esox\_Lucius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/848f3c/32.png) [@Esox\_Lucius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esox_Lucius)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2016, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perseids-why-the-multi-color-trail/762817/4 "2016-08-14T19:40:56Z")
I think the green is from nickel in the meteor. The Perseids are mostly “stony” meteors but they can have elements like nickel in them. That’s my best guess. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2016, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perseids-why-the-multi-color-trail/762817/5 "2016-08-14T20:39:54Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > I don’t think so. > It was 4 hours before dawn. What’s the giant glowing thing over the horizon? ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2016, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perseids-why-the-multi-color-trail/762817/6 "2016-08-14T21:07:32Z")
This page suggests it is the ionisation of the air that is important > **[Perseid meteor shower peaks August 11/12 | Columbia Valley, Cranbrook, East...](https://www.e-know.ca/regions/east-kootenay/perseid-meteor-shower-peaks-august-1112/)** > > By Rick Nowell The College of the Rockies’ meteor camera is already seeing more bright meteors zipping overhead. The Perseid meteor shower started July 17... > [@](#): > > Look for their colours—at high speed they ionize the air to a green; then that fades to yellow, orange, red as it slows down. If they disrupt and flare, you may see green/bluish wide streaks that glow afterward for a second or two (mainly it’s water ice, but there may be metals present like copper or cobalt). I’ve heard a lot of different theories, but the fact that the colour changes during the trajectory suggests that speed or altitude affects the colour in one way or another. ---
**Author:** ![lazybratsche](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ba8739/32.png) [@lazybratsche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lazybratsche)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2016, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perseids-why-the-multi-color-trail/762817/7 "2016-08-14T21:25:08Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > What’s the giant glowing thing over the horizon? A nearby city or highway. That’ll be brighter than the milky way unless you’re 100+ miles from a city, or somewhere with minimal haze like a mountain in the desert. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2016, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perseids-why-the-multi-color-trail/762817/8 "2016-08-14T21:32:42Z")
Did you see the color change with your naked eye, too, or just with the camera? Another possibility is differing sensitivities in the different color sensors in your camera: It might have been too dim to register on all sensors at some parts of its trajectory. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2016, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perseids-why-the-multi-color-trail/762817/9 "2016-08-14T23:06:15Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > What’s the giant glowing thing over the horizon? The Moon… Moonset was around 1:20AM ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2016, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perseids-why-the-multi-color-trail/762817/10 "2016-08-14T23:16:39Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Another possibility is differing sensitivities in the different color sensors in your camera: It might have been too dim to register on all sensors at some parts of its trajectory. I don’t see how. Looking at the background stars, the color sensitivity is very uniform across the image, and for stars of different brightness. If the trail were almost perfectly vertical or horizontal, I might suspect aliasing, but that’s clearly not the case. Anyway, I think it’s pretty widely accepted that meteors do change color. [Here’s another good example](http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap151223.html), with a [discussion](http://asterisk.apod.com/viewtopic.php?t=35491) to go along with it. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2016, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perseids-why-the-multi-color-trail/762817/11 "2016-08-15T00:46:52Z")
I saw Perseid meteor with a multi-colored trail, too! I thought at the time my eyes were playing tricks on me because I was so damned sleepy. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2016, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perseids-why-the-multi-color-trail/762817/12 "2016-08-15T12:27:52Z")
Oh, sure, there are plenty of possible causes for a genuinely multi-colored trail. I’m just trying to cover all of the bases. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2016, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perseids-why-the-multi-color-trail/762817/13 "2016-08-15T16:32:36Z")
I would suspect the camera too, but it turns out that the Perseids are noted for their colorful tails. The colour effect is apparently caused by burning oxygen. Green in the higher atmosphere, turning red at lower altitudes. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2016, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perseids-why-the-multi-color-trail/762817/14 "2016-08-15T17:19:10Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Oh, sure, there are plenty of possible causes for a genuinely multi-colored trail. I’m just trying to cover all of the bases. You forgot to mention [nyan cats](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nyan_Cat) meteor-surfing. Just sayin’. 😃