How far away from each other can people see the same shooting star

Question

I LOVE meteor showers and am excited again this year about the Perseids peaking August 12th. Does anyone know how far away people can see the same shooting star? For example, I am in NY. How far away can someone else see the same shooting star? Thanks!

Answer 1

Raymond has calculated how far apart two people may be to see the same meteor at the same time. A large meteor on a low trajectory may be seen disappearing below the horizon by one observer just as another observer sees it rising from the horizon. It might be seen by a third observer up to half a minute later. So the max separation possible is several hundred miles farther than what Raymond calculated.

Check out the list of fireball observations at AMS. The fireball that I saw on March 12, 2005 (sighting #55aa), was reported from Reno, NV, to BC, a range of 1000 km. I saw three successive plumes of red hot steam where the meteor skipped across 8-foot swells of the Pacific Ocean. My best guess is that the meteor kept on going; it may have even returned to space over Alaska.  

Answer 2

I used an altitude of 120 km.  This is the maximum altitude for a meteor (most of them are lower).

120 km is around 400,000 feet (it is a bit less, but round figures are nice).

Using an old "Distance To Sea Horizon" table, I find a distance of 727 nautical miles (836 miles).  Which means that, in theory, two persons separated by 1672 miles (2670 km) could see the same meteor.

Wow.

In practice, the meteor would have to be a bit higher (say, at least 10 degrees above the horizon) to be recognized as a meteor.  Also, the meteor is more likely to be at a lower altitude (say 80 km).

Combining these two factors reduces the limiting distance to 1120 miles (1790 km).

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The table is normally used to find out how far at sea one can see a light house (knowing the height of the light above sea level) or a mountain.

I imagined a mountain 120 km tall and used the table (probably a bit beyond its intended range).

But the real distance should still be around the values given.

If you use a thousand miles (1600 km), you'll be safe.

Answer 3

Raymond gave a very thorough answer.

A lot depends on the magnitude (brightness) of the meteor.