What velocity range defines a slow moving meteor likely to show a yellow-orange color associated with sodium?
Answer
less than ~15 km/s
The speed at which a meteoroid enters the atmosphere directly correlates with the energy deposited, influencing which elemental emissions are most prominent. Meteors categorized as slow moving, defined as traveling less than approximately 15 kilometers per second, experience lower energy impacts. This lower energy level means the ablation process is less intense, allowing the characteristic glow of sodium—which produces a yellow-orange color—to be strongly represented, often becoming the dominant visible hue because the atmospheric red glow has a greater relative effect.
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