Published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 August 2015
Meteor luminosity is frequently used for the computation of meteor mass. This procedure is a rough approximation only if the spectral distribution of the light energy and its changes during the meteor flight are not known. A good-quality photograph of a meteor spectrum includes much more information on the meteor phenomenon than any other method can provide. There is of course a stronger limitation by meteor brightness than for direct meteor photography. Detailed spectral analysis is available for meteors 4 or 5 magnitudes brighter than for those photographed directly. This could be the reason that meteor spectroscopy is not applied to a desirable extent for the study of meteor phenomenon.