Hi Bernd-
There are two kinds of skips under discussion here. The Grand Teton
fireball you mention is the typical type. I've recorded these on my
cameras (nowhere near as large, of course!) They are easily understood,
and require only a combination of a very shallow entry and enough mass
to survive the trip.
The other type, much rarer (and maybe not even real, but simulated by
other effects?) is what Anita discusses: a meteor that shows a
fragmented path because it actually skips out of the denser atmosphere
enough to stop burning, and then drops back in again- like skipping a
stone on a pond. I've got a few images on my cameras that appear to show
something like that happening, but the multistation data isn't good
enough to be absolutely certain.
Chris
*****************************************
Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
http://www.cloudbait.com
----- Original Message -----
From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com>
Sent: Wednesday, April 02, 2008 10:00 AM
Subject: [meteorite-list] Do Meteoroids "Skip"?
Hi Anita, Chris, and List,
Chris wrote: "...Rarely it may be a true skip in the atmosphere, but
more likely it is something to do with the way the object breaks up"
The light path of the Vilna, Canada (L5) meteorite in 1967 is an
interesting
case in this context. Fortunately, an auroral all-sky camera
accurately tracked
the fireball which pulsed in intensity, probably because it rotated
and after its
terminal explosion, there was a shower of red sparks. Only 48 mg + 94
mg were
recovered!
Another excellent example is the fireball over Jackson Lake, Wyoming,
August 10,
1972, when a mass of about 4,000 metrical tons literally skipped over
the upper layers
of the atmosphere and then bounced back into space.
Bernd
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