In chapters two and three of the book the war of the worlds, the narrator describes in detail the cylinder that fell to earth. however the radio play does not provide such a descriptive account of the cylinder. what is the effect of the choice by orson welles (author of the radio play) not to include much detail about the cylinder

Orson Welles likely wanted to make the origin of the alien invasion more ambiguous that the author of the novel did. Welles's story was being broadcast live and was attempting, to some measure, to convince his listeners that the invasion was actually happening.  He did not want to provide details - that some listeners to could look up in the sky to see - that would make his story less realistic.