News Astronomy

Some meteors leave trails lasting up to an hour. Now we may know why

The most important thing for creating a persistent train is the chemistry in the atmosphere

A bright flash in front of a field of stars leaves a faint snakelike trail drifting in its wake; another shooting star is visible in the background

This meteor left a persistent train that lasted at least 22 minutes before it drifted out of the camera’s view (this video excerpt is sped up to about one second per minute). Winds in the mid-atmosphere pushed the glowing train around, changing its shape.

L.E.