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Re: APOD: A Colorful Quadrantid Meteor (2021 Feb 02)

Posted: Thu Feb 04, 2021 2:44 pm
by Chris Peterson
Mike Attas wrote: Thu Feb 04, 2021 2:25 pm Thank you all for your comments and observations about the direction of the train (or is it trail?). I’m glad others found it an interesting question too.
Both a trail and a train. The trail is the path we see from the glowing meteoroid. The train is its afterglow of ionized gases, as well as any visible dust. Because this is a long exposure, the trail and the train largely overlap, so we can't tell what's what, except for the stuff that's blown to the side.

Re: APOD: A Colorful Quadrantid Meteor (2021 Feb 02)

Posted: Fri Feb 05, 2021 4:35 pm
by neufer
Chris Peterson wrote: Thu Feb 04, 2021 2:44 pm
Mike Attas wrote: Thu Feb 04, 2021 2:25 pm
Thank you all for your comments and observations about the direction of the train (or is it trail?).
Both a trail and a train. The trail is the path we see from the glowing meteoroid. The train is its afterglow of ionized gases, as well as any visible dust. Because this is a long exposure, the trail and the train largely overlap, so we can't tell what's what, except for the stuff that's blown to the side.
https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=trail wrote:
trail (n.) early 14c., "trailing part of a robe, gown, etc.," from trail (v.). The meaning "track or smell left by a person or animal" is also from 1580s. Meaning "path or track worn in wilderness" is attested from 1807. Trail of Tears in reference to the U.S. government's brutally incompetent Cherokee removal of 1838-9 is attested by 1908.
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train (n.) early 14c., "a drawing out, delay;" late 14c., "trailing part of a skirt, gown, or cloak;" also "retinue, procession," from Old French train "tracks, path, trail (of a rome or gown); act of dragging," from trainer "to pull, drag, draw," from Vulgar Latin *traginare, extended from *tragere "to pull," back-formation from tractus, past participle of Latin trahere "to pull, draw". General sense of "series, progression, succession, continuous course" is from late 15c.
https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2017/12/worlds-longest-wedding-dress-train-could-almost-cover-mount-everest-506087 wrote:
<<The world’s Longest wedding dress train has been unveiled in Caudry, a French town famous for its production of lace, 11 years after the Guinness World Records title was first set there. The spectacular white gown has an 8,095.40 m train which is almost long enough to cover Mount Everest (8,848 m)! Construction company Dynamic Projects, with the help of 15 volunteers, spent two months stitching individual pieces of the train before sewing them all together to form a whole. The attempt took place at the annual French fundraising event, AMF Telethon, which raises money for non-profit organisations such as the French Muscular Dystrophy Association.>>