Just saw an incredible meteor burn up. What made this one different is that it turned green before it burned out. It was traveling NW about 20 miles West of Chicago.
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Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.I posted a response yesterday and it disappeared, so here goes again. Meteors are vaporized by the heat of air compression (NOT air “friction&rdquo
as they hit the atmosphere at ultrasonic speeds. A thick pad of air compressed to several thousand PSI forms on the leading edge. At that pressure the temperature rises to several thousand degrees, melting, then vaporizing the meteor. So technically it’s not “burning,” but vaporizing. The color is a result of the chemical makeup, just like in a spectrometer. As others have noted, several metals will produce blue or green light.
Rghurst
Level 5
Mar 16, 2019
1
Thanks much for that info 
BTW, You clearly know what you're talking about. What is your degree in?
@chucklesIII I have a BS in biology, a Masters in Environmental Pollution Control, and a law degree. I’ve always been interested in science, so my knowledge encompasses a wider range than my education might suggest. The insight into the myth of air “friction” arose a few years ago with an offhand comment from someone about the space shuttle.
@Rghurst , Impressive.
Chicago, Chicago my kind of town.
Jolanta
Level 9
Mar 16, 2019
1
"Chicago burns me up!" - the meteor
copper?
hankster
Level 9
Mar 15, 2019
1
Exactly what I was thinking. But wouldn't that have been one of the first things to burn up?
@mzbehavin I didn't know nickle burns green. That's why I love this website!
@chucklesIII idk much about this stuff. maybe it was at the center? maybe you couldn't see the green because other stuff burning off first was brighter or something.
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