◆ SpookStack

e Incident! 227 luminous arcs of grest circles diverging from the radiant point and passing dowmverd to intersect the horizon under angles alwsys large and for the most part apo’ 90° in value. In sharpest contract, the path of the bright green fire! seen from nedr Starvation Peak was very nearly, if not exactly, parallel to the horizon. his green fireball certainly did not emanate from the Geminid radiant. : Subject to discovery that a now (nom-Geminid) meteoric radiant emitting Mumerous vory bright fireballs of a vivid green color (deeper and richer than the green of the beacon at the New Municipal Airport south of Santa Fe, Rew Mexico) has suddenly beoome active during the first half of December, 1 sm nov convinced the various “green Flore" incidents reported to the 0, S. 1. are not meteoric in mature, See Incidents: 225, 226, 223, 223a, 224, 230 the Firebdalle Observed in the Inte: it a. The horizontal nature of the paths of most of the Decesiber fireballs is most unususl. Genuine meteors are rarely observed to move in horizontal paths. >. The very low height of the December fireball i cussed in Section 2 above sets it off in sharp contraet from the gemine meteors for which heights of the order of 40 or more miles cre normally observed. ce. The velocity determined for the fireball of Decemb.r 12 is much less than the velocities determined from typicul meteors (and yet is con- siderably greater tham the speeds of the V-2 Rockets or jet planes or of conventional flares). a, In the conse of meteorites that penetrate to as low levele as that setermined for the fireball of December 12, the observed luminous phenomena are always accomenied by very violent noises. Mo noises whatever heve been observed in connection with toe various December firebslls so far investigated. e, Gemine meteors normally show remarkable variations in brightness beginning as fine thin hair lines, wich are scareely visible to the observer and then brightening up to flash out near the end of their paths. In the case of the December fireballs, most of the observers have reported that ' the green balls appesred almost invtantly at their full brightness. f. Im the case of genuine meteors the paths ave directed toward all points of the compass with equal frequency. On the contrary in the case of the green fireballs, clots of admiceibdle approach sectors show that there ie a very pronounced tendenay for the paths to come in from the north half of the sky. g ‘The three groups of snomalour greenish luminous phenomena show @ carious association with well k@own meteor showers, although none