IAU Meteor Database of photographic orbits – version 2003

The IAU Meteor Data Center in Lund has acted as a central depository for meteor orbits obtained by photographic, video and radar techniques. The database of precisely reduced photographic meteors contains data on 4581 meteor orbits obtained by 17 different stations or groups in the period 1936–1996. The orbital and geophysical data are available in two separate files as well as in an alternative file with the merged data. In various studies of meteoroid streams as well as in studies of the sporadic meteor background, it is often necessary to utilize both the orbital and the geophysical data files. Since the database is a compilation of partial, not perfectly compatible catalogues from many observing stations, the merging of parameters from one data set to another may sometimes present problems. The present contribution is a note on some problems encountered in the merging procedure. Moreover, it is evident that the database includes a small amount of erroneous data – either in the observations or in the subsequent data reductions. The latter error is not surprising in view of the lack of modern computers at several stations in the past. A final, corrected version of the IAU MDC Lund photographic meteor orbits (eq. 2000.0) can now be requested through the homepage of the Astronomical Institute, Slovak Academy of Sciences (http://www.astro.sk/~ne/IAUMDC/Ph2003/database.html).     

The Canadian Meteor Orbit Radar Meteor Stream Catalogue

The Canadian Meteor Orbit Radar is a multi-frequency backscatter radar which has been in routine operation since 1999, with an orbit measurement capability since 2002. In total, CMOR has measured over 2 million orbits of meteoroids with masses greater than 10 μg, while recording more than 18 million meteor echoes in total. We have applied a two stage comparative technique for identifying meteor streams in this dataset by making use of clustering in radiants and velocities without employing orbital element comparisons directly. From the large dataset of single station echoes, combined radiant activity maps have been constructed by binning and then stacking each years data per degree of solar longitude. Using the single-station mapping technique described in Jones and Jones (Mon Not R Astron Soc 367:1050–1056, 2006) we have identified probable streams from these single station observations. Additionally, using individual radiant and velocity data from the multi-station velocity determination routines, we have utilized a wavelet search algorithm in radiant and velocity space to construct a list of probable streams. These two lists were then compared and only streams detected by both techniques, on multiple frequencies and in multiple years were assigned stream status. From this analysis we have identified 45 annual minor and major streams with high reliability.     

Current Status of the Photographic Meteoroid Orbits Database and a Call for Contributions to a New Version

A central depository for meteor orbits obtained by photographic techniques, as a part of the IAU Meteor Data Center, was moved to the Astronomical Institute of the Slovak Academy of Sciences in Bratislava in 2001. The current version of the catalogue contains data on 4581 meteor orbits obtained by 17 different stations or groups from the period 1936 to 1996. Since 1996 a few huge campaigns were organised including very successful Leonids and Perseids. That is why we would prepare a new more complete version of the database. The main aim of this paper is a call to the observers of meteors having new or recalculated/remeasured data on photographic meteors to send them to the MDC, where after a check and consultations with the observer, the orbits will be included in the database.     

The Canadian Meteor Orbit Radar: system overview and preliminary results

This paper describes the Canadian Meteor Orbit Radar (CMOR) that has been in operation since late 2001. CMOR is a 3 station meteor radar operating at a frequency of 29.85 MHz near Tavistock, Ont. To avoid bias against fragmenting meteoroids that is inherent in the traditional multi-station method of Gill and Davies (Mon. Not. R Astron. Soc. 116 (1955) 105), we use a completely geometrical method similar to that used in the AMOR system (Quart. J. R. Astron. Soc. 35 (1994) 293) based on the interferometric determination of the echo directions and the time delays of echoes from two remote stations to obtain the trajectories and speeds of meteoroids. We describe the hardware and some of the software and present some preliminary results that provide a good indication of present capabilities of the system. Typically, we can measure 1500 individual trajectories, and hence orbits, per day with a mean accuracy of 6° in direction and about 10% in speed. A small subset of these for which it is possible to measure the speeds using Hocking's (Radio. Sci. 35 (2000) 1205) method yield speeds with a precision of about 5%. The purpose of this paper is to show that the radiants and speeds necessary for the computation of orbits are well measured rather than to discuss any orbital surveys.     

A Fine Structure of the Perseid Meteoroid Stream

A fine structure of the Perseid stream in the range of photographic magnitudes is studied using the method of indices. A new completed 2003 version of the IAU Meteor Data Center Catalogue of 4581 photographic orbits is used. The method of indices is used to acquire a basic data set for the Perseids. Subsequently, the method is applied on the chosen Perseids to study their structure. Sixty four percent of chosen Perseids taken into account are attached to one of the 17 determined filaments of orbits. The filaments are not distributed in the space accidentally, but they form a higher structure consisting of at least four well-defined and distinguished “branches”.     

Meteor Streams and Comets

Recent progress on the interrelation between meteor streams and comets is reviewed both on dynamical and physical aspects. The topics include the recent concept of the structure of meteor streams, resulted success of the prediction of the meteor storms, and the recent observational situation on the cometary dust grains and meteoroids. Two possible explanations for the origin of the meteoroids together with the implication for the relation between the birthplace of the parent comets and the meteoroids are discussed.     

1998～2000年狮子座流星雨的预报和观测

"1998年狮子座流星雨可能是暴雨,最佳观测地在东亚"的预报,客观上加速了中国对流星雨的现代研究。几年来,对狮子座流星雨的观测和研究,是在全国狮子座流星雨联测小组的组织和领导下发展起来的。这包括使用目视方法、照相方法和无线电方法的观测,以及组织广大天文爱好者在全国范围内的观测。我们的确也观测到了很多重要的现象,如流星雨的纤维结构、尺度分布和质量密度分布的变化等等。我们发展了数据处理方法,将处理其它天文观测数据的"时间窗"方法移植到了流星雨的数据处理中。这一方法如今在流星雨研究中已经在世界上普遍使用了。我们还提出了流星雨的质量流参量ZHMR,它对于今后流星雨的观测比较和预报可能更加有用。在雷达观测方面,我们观测到了1998年所期待的流星雨强度主峰。在此主峰过了大约18h之后,又观测到了地球电离层的反常爆发。从1998年连续两天狮子座流星雨不同的表现,以及从全国不同地区的观测得到的流星质量分布系数的差异,我们提出了大、小2种不同粒子的混合流模型,很好地解释了观测到的现象。从天体力学的基本公式出发,我们发现流星群轨道升交点和其母彗星轨道升交点之差,不仅与当时的抛射速度,而且与彗星抛出这些尘埃粒子时在轨道上的位置有关。对于1998年的观测,最可能的是这些粒子是     

强流星雨及其灾害性空间天气事件的观测与研究

在首届狮子座强流星雨国际联测期间,开展了多学科、多手段的狮子座和天龙座强流星雨及其灾害性空间天气事件的综合观测,并结合近半个世纪的(1957-2003年)狮子座、英仙座和天龙座强流星雨及其相关资料的综合分析,充分证实了非偶现的周期性强流星雨可导致灾害性空间天气事件的形成.下述结论亦得到初步证认:强流星雨形成机制;f_bE_s异常峰出现规律;对宇航安全的严重危害.文中还对彗星尘演化过程、宇宙尘暴出现和丢失规律及中纬区E_s层宇宙尘维持机制作了讨论.     

Arietid Meteor Orbits Measurements

The Arietid meteor shower is one of the strongest of the year. The origin of this daytime shower is unknown; the orbit is therefore of great interest, since an accurate orbit distribution is needed to integrate the shower backward in time to test associations with comets or asteroids. The orbital parameters of the Arietid shower as a function of time, with errors, have been generated using 415 radar orbits gathered at the CMOR facility in Tavistock, Canada.     

The Third Peak of the 1998 Leonid Meteor Shower

1 INTRODUCTIONThe Leonid meteor shower is a well-known periodic meteor shower. Its history is tied upwith the development of the theory of meteor stream astronomy itself. It was the very st.rongshowers of 1799 and 1833 that played a sghficant pat in the recoghtion of the ealstence ofmeteoroid streams. These evellts started the obse~ions of Leoaid meteor shower and broughtabout the birth of meteoritiCS. It is known that the Leould parent comet, 55P/Tempel-TUttle,has an orbital period a…     

Latitudinal Variations of Diurnal Meteor Rates

The presence of a diurnal variation in meteor activity is well established. The sporadic meteor count rates are higher on the local dawn side and lower on the local dusk side. This phenomenon is caused by the Earth’s orbital motion and rotation. Meteor radar measurements have been compared from Esrange, Kiruna, Sweden, at 68° N, from Juliusruh, Germany, at 55° N, and from Ascension Island, at 8° S, to investigate how the diurnal variation depends on season at different latitudes. Data have been used from vernal and autumnal equinoxes and summer and winter solstices to locate the largest seasonal differences.     

Techniques For Measuring Radar Meteor Speeds

We compare the results from the application of four different methods to determine the speed of meteoroids from single station radar data. The methods used are the pre-t ₀ amplitude, post-t ₀ amplitude, pre-t ₀ phase and the Fresnel transform (FT) methods. Speeds from the first three methods are compared to the FT method since, requiring the use of the entire records of both the amplitude and phase data, this method is the most accurate of the four.     

流星暴的航天定义

定义ZHR^*以每小时穿过1000平方公里天顶截面的，能在铝质表面打出直径不小于1厘米的弹坑的流星体数，作为流星群对航天安全威胁强度的定量标志，给出了从ZHR到ZHR^*的换算公式．用ZHR^*取代ZHR来评价20世纪90年代以来的一些强流星雨，发现1998年的贾可比尼(天龙座)流星雨对航天安全来说，是比公认的1999、2001、2002年3次狮子座流星暴强数倍的更强流星暴．     

Observation and Research on Strong Meteor Showers and Their Catastrophic Space Weather Events

During the first international joint observation of the Leo strong meteor shower, multidisciplinary and multi-media synthetic observation of Leo and Draco strong meteor showers and their catastrophic space weather events were carried out. The comprehensive analysis of the observed and related data of the Leo, Perseus and Draco strong meteor showers obtained for near half a century (from 1957 to 2003) fully verifies that the non-sporadic periodic strong meteor shower may lead to catastrophic space weather events. Preliminary identification is made of the following: the mechanism of formation of strong meteor showers, the law of occurrence of the f_bE_s abnormal peak and serious safety hazards for astronavigation. Also discussed in this paper are the evolutionary process of cometary dust, the law of occurrence and loss of cosmic dust storm and the mechanism of maintaining cosmic dust in the mid-latitude E_s layer.     

The Geminid Meteor Stream Activity Profile

The existence of two maxima of the activity of the Geminid meteor stream and the general shape of the stream activity (rate curve) are discussed. The data of visual and radar observations are compared to the results of mathematical simulation. The distribution of the orbits of meteoroids, which are observed on the Earth, is determined from the mathematical model. This distribution cannot as yet be confirmed or disproved because of the absence of appropriate experimental data.     

Meteoroid Stream Searching: The Use of the Vectorial Elements

In this initial study, we propose a new distance function D _V involving heliocentric vectorial orbital elements. The function measures differences between: the orbital energies, the angular momentums vectors and the Laplace vectors. In comparison with the widely used D _SH criterion of Southworth and Hawkins, D _D criterion of Drummond and their hybrid D _H by Jopek, the new function contains one invariant with respect to the principal secular perturbation: the orbital energy. The new function proved to be useful in the classification amongst the IAU2003 meteoroids which we searched for streams by D _V function and also using D _SH and D _N -function given by Valsecchi et al. For major streams, the results agree very well. For minor, and near-ecliptical streams the results sometimes differ markedly.     

Meteor velocities: A new look at an old problem

Meteoroids that orbit the Sun encounter the Earth with speeds between 11 and 74 km/sec. However, the distribution of the velocities of meteoroids between these limits is not well known. The uncertainty is caused by the difficulty in measuring the true flux of meteors at the extrema of the velocity distribution. Whilst the most comprehensive measurements of meteor flux are those obtained using radio techniques, meteors with speeds > 50 km/sec occur at heights where the effects of initial radius of the trail and diffusion significantly reduce the radio reflection from the trails; on the other hand the high dependence of the collisional ionization probability on velocity (to the power 3.5) significantly inhibits the detection of meteors with speeds < 20 km/sec. Recent developments in meteor radar systems are now making it possible to measure the velocity of meteors at the extrema of the distribution. For meteoroids ablating at heights between 100 and 120 km the speed of entry can be measured at 2 and 6 MHz using a radar with a 1 km diameter array located near Adelaide; these observations will commence early in 1995. In the meantime a 54 MHz MST radar is being operated at a pulse repetition frequency of 1024 Hz to search for the presence of interstellar (speed > 74 km/sec) meteors. Both these radars exploit the phase information available prior to the closest-approach (t_o) point.     

TV Observation of the Daytime Meteor Shower; The Arietids

We have carried out multi-station TV observations since 1994 in order to determine the orbit of the Arietid daytime meteor stream. In 1999, one possible Arietid meteor was recorded by our simultaneous observations and its orbit was determined. In 2003, two Arietid meteors were observed from two stations of our observing site, those orbits were determined precisely, the orbital elements were in good agreement with each other. This is the first time that determination of the precise orbit of the Arietids has been made from optical observations. The orbit of these Arietid meteors, and comparison with the orbit obtained from radar observations are discussed.     

Determination of Meteoroid Orbits and Spatial Fluxes by Using High-Resolution All-Sky CCD Cameras

By using high-resolution, low-scan-rate, all-sky CCD cameras, the SPanish Meteor Network (SPMN) is currently monitoring meteor and fireball activity on a year round basis. Here are presented just a sampling of the accurate trajectory, radiant and orbital data obtained for meteors imaged simultaneously from two SPMN stations during the continuous 2006–2007 coverage of meteor and fireball monitoring. Typical astrometric uncertainty is 1–2 arc min, while velocity determination errors are of the order of 0.1–0.5 km/s, which is dependent on the distance of each event to the station and its particular viewing geometry. The cameras have demonstrated excellent performance for detecting meteor outbursts. The recent development of automatic detection software is also providing real-time information on the global meteor activity. Finally, some examples of the all-sky CCD cameras applications for detecting unexpected meteor activity are given.