Unclassified: Dr. Edward Teller and the anomalous nature of Green Fireballs

Above altitude 100 km atmosphere is stratified by molecular weight of molecules. Oxygen O2 molecules among heavier ones occurs at about that level, higher atmosphere almost completely hydrogen (Wikipedia). Green meteors due to ionized oxygen, so probably near 100 km oxygen stratum. Given an idealized model with a layer of pure oxygen, given speed and thickness of the layer, one could figure the time. Conversely, guessing speed=50 km/sec and duration=2 sec, we get half length of path t=50 km. Solving the right triangle with hypotenuse r=6466.2 km and one leg t=50 km we get the other leg s=sqrt(r^2-t^2)=6466.0067 km, so thickness of oxygen layer would be h=r-s=193.3 m. Would be nice if someone could tell us what the actual thickness is, and if layer is reasonably pure oxygen.

I thought it worth noting the following someone shared with me on Thursday: Driving home tonight after giving Alice her first bath I was thinking about Moonz [a mutual friend who just passed away] as I turned into the drive. I saw a meteor flash from east to west and make a pause and explode in a burst of green and pink! That was a woman named Tonnie McKinney Schroeder. She lives in Alaska, but it slips my mind where.

Oh, one aspect of that comes to mind. If the meteor was traveling E->W in the evening, if my thinking is correct, then the meteor was traveling opposite the Earth's direction of travel. With the Earth traveling at about 30 km/sec, the meteor's own 25 km/sec would have been more or less additive, like a head-on collision. That is a pretty good closing speed, 55km/sec.