Electrophonic Sound Generation by the Chelyabinsk Fireball

Simultaneous, also called electrophonic sounds were widely reported by eye-witnesses to the Chelyabinsk fireball. The available data indicate that such sounds were heard at ranges to at least ~100 km from the fireball’s atmospheric path. We estimate that the fireball may have generated of order 625 W of energy in the form of very low frequency radiation, and we find some tentative evidence to indicate that the acoustic conversion efficiency at a 100 km range was of order 0.1 %. Numerical simulations of the atmospheric flight path indicate that electrophonic sounds should have commenced some 5 s after the fireball first became luminous and would have lasted for some 7.5 s prior to the moment of catastrophic break-up.     

Electrophonic sounds from large meteor fireballs

Abstract Anomalous sounds from large meteor fireballs, anomalous because they are audible simultaneously with the sighting, have been a matter for debate for over two centuries. Only a minority of observers perceive them. Ten years ago a viable physical explanation was developed (Keay, 1980a) which accounts for the phenomenon in terms of ELF/VLF radiation from the fireball plasma being transduced into acoustic waves whenever appropriate objects happen to be in the vicinity of an observer. This explanation has now been verified observationally and supported by other evidence including the study of meteor fireball light curves reported here.     

The Morávka meteorite fall: 1. Description of the events and determination of the fireball trajectory and orbit from video records

Abstract— The Morávka (Czech Republic) meteorite fall occurred on May 6, 2000, 11:52 UT, during the daytime. Six H5–6 ordinary chondrites with a total mass of 1.4 kg were recovered. The corresponding fireball was witnessed by thousands of people and also videotaped by 3 casual witnesses. Sonic booms were recorded by 16 seismic stations in the Czech Republic and Poland and by one infrasonic station in Germany. A total of 2.5% of the fireball eyewitnesses reported electrophonic sounds. Satellites in Earth orbit detected part of the fireball light curve. In this first paper from a series of 4 papers devoted to the Morávka meteorite fall, we describe the circumstances of the fall and determine the fireball trajectory and orbit from calibrated video records. Morávka becomes one of only 6 meteorites with a known orbit. The slope of the trajectory was 20.4° to the horizontal, the initial velocity was 22.5 km/s, and the terminal height of the fireball was 21 km. The semimajor axis of the orbit was 1.85 AU, the perihelion distance was 0.982 AU, and the inclination was 32.2°. The fireball reached an absolute visual magnitude of ?20 at a height of 33 km.     

Exceptional Fireball Activity of Orionids in 2006

We report exceptional fireball activity of the Orionid meteor shower in 2006. During four nights in October 2006 the autonomous fireball observatories of the Czech part of the European Fireball Network (EN) recorded 48 fireballs belonging to the Orionids. This is significantly more than the total number of Orionids recorded during about five decades long continuous operation of the EN. Based on precise multi-station photographic and radiometric data we present accurate atmospheric trajectories, heliocentric orbits, light curves and basic physical properties of 10 Orionid fireballs with atmospheric trajectories that were long enough and, with one exception, were observed from at least three stations. Seven were recorded in within a 2-h interval in the night of 20/21 October. Their basic parameters such as radiant positions and heliocentric orbits are very similar. This high fireball activity originated from a very compact geocentric radiant defined by α = 95.10° ± 0.10° and δ = 15.50° ± 0.06°. These fireballs most likely belonged to a distinct filament of larger meteoroids trapped in 1:5 resonance with Jupiter. From detailed light curves and basic fireball classification we found that these meteoroids appertain to the weakest component of interplanetary matter.     

The frequency of window damage caused by bolide airbursts: A quarter century case study

We have empirically estimated how often fireball shocks produce overpressure (∆P) at the ground sufficient to damage windows. Our study used a numerical entry model to estimate the energy deposition and shock production for a suite of 23 energetic fireballs reported by U.S. Government sensors over the last quarter century. For each of these events, we estimated the peak ∆P on the ground and the ground area above ∆P thresholds of 200 and 500 Pa where light and heavy window damage, respectively, are expected. Our results suggest that at the highest ∆P, it is the rare, large fireballs (such as the Chelyabinsk fireball) which dominate the long-term areal ground footprints for heavy window damage. The height at the fireball peak brightness and the fireball entry angle contribute to the variance in ground ∆P, with lower heights and shallower angles producing larger ground footprints and more potential damage. The effective threshold energy for fireballs to produce heavy window damage is ~5–10 kT; such fireballs occur globally once every 1–2 years. These largest annual bolide events, should they occur over a major urban center with large numbers of windows, can be expected to produce economically significant window damage. However, the mean frequency of heavy window damage (∆P above 500 Pa) from fireball shock waves occurring over urban areas is estimated to be approximately once every 5000 yr. Light window damage (∆P above 200 Pa) is expected every ~600 yr.     

中国古代火流星记录的统计分析

本文对中国古代火流星记录,按年统计,用功率谱这一数学方法对它们进行分析。结果发现声音是衡量火流星起源的一个重要参数。有声音的火流星具有170.6±0.0,102.4±0.0,66.1±2.2,27.3±0.4,23.3±0.0,17.9±0.4,14.8±0.1,12.4±0.1,10.5±0.3年的可能周期。有声火流星与陨石坠落周期基本相同,是与陨石同源的,来自小行星带。我们认为影响有声火流星和陨石下落的因素是太阳辐射引起的Yarkovsky效应和木星摄动。有声火流星的10.5±0.3,23.2±0.0,66.1±2.2年周期与Yarkovsky效应有关。12.4±0.1,17.9±0.4,102.4±0.0,170.6±0.0周期与木星摄动有关。至于14.8±0.1,27.3±0.4的周期,可能是木星摄动与Yarkovsky效应联合作用或其他原因所致。     

Analysis of a “flickering” Geminid fireball

Abstract— In the early morning hours of December 13, 2002, a bright Geminid fireball with an absolute magnitude of ?9.2 ± 0.5 was observed from Southern Saskatchewan, Canada. The fireball displayed distinct small‐scale oscillations in brightness, or flickering, indicative of the parent meteoroid being both non‐spherical and rotating. Using the light curve derived from a calibrated radiometer, we determine a photometric mass of 0.429 ± 0.15 kg for the meteoroid, and we estimate from its initial rotation rate of some 6 Hz that the meteoroid was ejected from the parent body (3200) Phaethon some 2500 ± 500 years ago. We find that 70% of Geminid fireballs brighter than magnitude ?3 display distinct flickering effects, a value that is in stark contrast to the 18% flickering rate exhibited by sporadic fireballs. The high coincidence of flickering and the deep atmospheric penetration of Geminid fireballs are suggestive of Geminid meteoroids having a highly resilient structure, a consequence, we suggest, of their having suffered a high degree of thermal processing. The possibility of Gemind material surviving atmospheric ablation and being sampled is briefly discussed, but the likelihood of collecting and identifying any such material is admittedly very small.     

A New Analysis of Fireball Data from the Meteorite Observation and Recovery Project (MORP)

Sixty fireball cameras operated in Western Canada from 1971 to 1985. Over one thousand (1016) fireballs were recorded at more than one station, but only 367 were reduced, of which 285 have been published, including that of the Innisfree meteorite. Digitization of all the data is underway, and procedures are being developed which will allow the automatic reduction of events not previously examined. The results of the analysis of 80 fireballs reduced but not previously published are presented. When the new analysis is complete, the MORP archive will be a valuable source of information on meteoroid orbits.     

The August θ‐Aquillid fireballs and possible relationship with the asteroid 2004MB6

Three bright fireballs belonging to the August θ‐Aquillid (ATA) meteor shower were photographed by the Tajikistan fireball network in 2009. Two of them are classified as the meteorite‐dropping fireballs according to the determined parameters of the atmospheric trajectories, velocities, masses, and densities. Detection of the more dense bodies among cometary meteoroids points to a heterogeneous composition of the parent comet, and supports the suggestion that some meteorites might originate in the outer solar system, in the given case from the Jupiter‐family comet reservoir. A search for the stream's parent was undertaken among the near‐Earth asteroids (NEAs); as a result, the asteroid 2004MB6 was identified as a possible progenitor of the ATA meteoroid stream. Investigation of the orbital evolution of the 2004MB6 and the fireball‐producing meteoroid TN170809A showed that both objects have similar secular variations in the orbital elements during 7 kyr. The comet‐like orbit of the 2004MB6 and its association with the ATA shower suppose a cometary origin of the asteroid.     

The Fireball Data Center of IMO

The work, aims, and organization of the Fireball Data Center of the International Meteor Organization are presented. First results of calculations of fireball radiants, annual variation, and the population index of fireballs are shown.     

SUPRACENTER: Locating fireball terminal bursts in the atmosphere using seismic arrivals

Abstract— Terminal bursts and fragmentations of meteoritic fireballs in the atmosphere may now be accurately located in four dimensions (three spatial + temporal) using seismic arrival times of their acoustic waves recorded by seismometer, camera, microphone, and/or infrasound stations on the ground. A computer program, SUPRACENTER, calculates travel times by ray tracing through realistic atmospheres (that include winds) and locates source positions by minimization of travel time residuals. This is analogous to earthquake hypocenter location in the solid Earth but is done through a variably moving medium. Inclusion of realistic atmospheric ray tracing has removed the need for the simplifying assumption of an isotropic atmosphere or an approximation to account for “wind drift.” This “drift” is on the order of several km when strong, unidirectional winds are present in the atmosphere at the time of a fireball's occurrence. SUPRACENTER‐derived locations of three seismically recorded fireballs: 1) the October 9, 1997 El Paso superbolide; 2) the January 25, 1989 Mt. Adams fireball; and 3) the May 6, 2000 Morávka fireball (with its associated meteorite fall), are consistent with (and, probably, an improvement upon) the locations derived from eyewitness, photographic, and video observations from the respective individual events. If direct acoustic seismic arrivals can be quickly identified for a fireball event, terminal burst locations (and, potentially, trajectory geometry and velocity information) can be quickly derived, aiding any meteorite recovery efforts during the early days after the fall. Potentially, seismic records may yield enough trajectory information to assist in the derivation of orbits for entering projectiles.     

Polarization light curves and position angle variation of beamed gamma-ray bursts

The recently detected linear polarization in the optical light curve of GRB 990510 renewed interest in how polarization can be produced in gamma-ray burst fireballs. Here we present a model based on the assumption that we are seeing a collimated fireball, observed slightly off-axis. This introduces some degree of anisotropy, and makes it possible to observe a linearly polarized flux even if the magnetic field is completely tangled in the plane orthogonal to the line of sight. We construct the light curve of the polarization flux, showing that it is always characterized by two maxima, with the polarization position angle changing by 90° between the first and the second maximum. The very same geometry as assumed here implies that the total flux initially decays in time as a power law, but gradually steepens as the bulk Lorentz factor of the fireball decreases.     

Meteorites from meteor showers: A case study of the Taurids

We propose that the Taurid meteor shower may contain bodies able to survive and be recovered as meteorites. We review the expected properties of meteorite‐producing fireballs, and suggest that end heights below 35 km and terminal speeds below 10 km s^?1 are necessary conditions for fireballs expected to produce meteorites. Applying the meteoroid strength index (PE criteria) of Ceplecha and McCrosky (1976) to a suite of 33 photographically recorded Taurid fireballs, we find a large spread in the apparent meteoroid strengths within the stream, including some very strong meteoroids. We also examine in detail the flight behavior of a Taurid fireball (SOMN 101031) and show that it has the potential to be a (small) meteorite‐producing event. Similarly, photographic observations of a bright, potential Taurid fireball recorded in November of 1995 in Spain show that it also had meteorite‐producing characteristics, despite a very high entry velocity (33 km s^?1). Finally, we note that the recent Maribo meteorite fall may have had a very high entry velocity (28 km s^?1), further suggesting that survival of meteorites at Taurid‐like velocities is possible. Application of a numerical entry model also shows plausible survival of meteorites at Taurid‐like velocities, provided the initial meteoroids are fairly strong and large, both of which are characteristics found in the Taurid stream.     

Precursors and e± pair loading from erupting fireballs

Recent observations suggest that long-duration γ -ray bursts and their afterglows are produced by highly relativistic jets emitted in core-collapse explosions. As the jet makes its way out of the stellar mantle, a bow shock runs ahead and a strong thermal precursor is produced as the shock breaks out. Such erupting fireballs produce a very bright γ -ray precursor as they interact with the thermal break-out emission. The prompt γ -ray emission propagates ahead of the fireball before it becomes optically thin, leading to e^± pair loading and radiative acceleration of the external medium. The detection of such precursors would offer the possibility of diagnosing not only the radius of the stellar progenitor and the initial Lorentz factor of the collimated fireball, but also the density of the external environment.     

A search for large meteoroids in the Perseid stream

Abstract— We report on two surveys conducted during the times of Perseid shower maximum in 1997 and 1998. The first survey entailed the video monitoring of the Moon's disk with the intent of recording the optical flashes that should result when large meteoroids strike the lunar surface. The second survey consisted of a combination video camera and very low frequency (VLF) radiowave receiver system capable of detecting electrophonic meteors during their ablation in the Earth's atmosphere. Using standard ablation theory, we find that for a Perseid meteoroid to be capable of generating electrophonic sounds, it must have an initial mass in excess of 495 kg. We also find, as a result of the surveys, an upper limit of 2 × 10^?17 m^?2 s^?1 to the flux of electrophonic Perseid meteors entering the Earth's atmosphere. Although our study indicates that large, meter-sized meteoroids must, at best, be sparsely distributed within the Perseid stream, we briefly discuss some tantalizing lines of evidence, found from within the astronomical literature, that hint at their true existence.     

Photographic observations of fireballs in Tajikistan

Since 2006, systematic double-station photographic observations of fireballs using all-sky cameras equipped with Zeiss Distagon “fisheye” objectives (f/3.5, f = 30 mm) with a 180° field of view have been carried out at two observatories, Gissar (GisAO) and Sanglokh (IAOS), of the Institute of Astrophysics of the Tajik Academy of Sciences. In the method of astrometric reduction of fireball photographs, the empirical formulae for converting the measured coordinates to horizontal celestial coordinates are used. These formulae contain 12 unknown constants to be determined by the least-squares method and the iteration method. Such an approach enables the determination of the coordinates of an object at any point of the celestial hemisphere with a precision close to the theoretical limit whose value is quite comparable with the measurement errors. In the photometric reduction, the dependence of the measured width of the diurnal star trails on their magnitudes was used. As a result of astrometric and photometric reduction of the double-station photographs of five fireballs, the data on atmospheric trajectories, the coordinates of radiants, orbits in interplanetary space, light curves, and photometric masses of meteoroids which produced fireballs were obtained, and the belonging of fireballs to the known meteor showers was determined as well.     

An entry model for the Tagish Lake fireball using seismic,satellite and infrasound records

Abstract— We present instrumental observations of the Tagish Lake fireball and interpret the observed characteristics in the context of two different models of ablation. From these models we estimate the pre‐atmospheric mass of the Tagish Lake meteoroid to be ?56 tonnes and its porosity to be between 37 and 58%, with the lowest part of this range most probable. These models further suggest that some 1300 kg of gram‐sized or larger Tagish Lake material survived ablation to reach the Earth's surface, representing an ablation loss of 97% for the fireball. Satellite recordings of the Tagish Lake fireball indicate that 1.1 times 10¹² J of optical energy were emitted by the fireball during the last 4 s of its flight. The fraction of the total kinetic energy converted to light in the satellite pass band is found to be 16%. Infrasonic observations of the airwave associated with the fireball establish a total energy for the event of 1.66 ± 0.70 kT TNT equivalent energy. The fraction of this total energy converted to acoustic signal energy is found to be between 0.10 and 0.23%. Examination of the seismic recordings of the airwave from Tagish Lake have established that the acoustic energy near the sub‐terminal point is converted to seismic body waves in the upper‐most portion of the Earth's crust. The acoustic energy to seismic energy coupling efficiency is found to be near 10^?6 for the Tagish Lake fireball. The resulting energy estimate is near 1.7 kT, corresponding to a meteoroid 4 m in diameter. The seismic record indicates extensive, nearly continuous fragmentation of the body over the height intervals from 50 to 32 km. Seismic and infrasound energy estimates are in close agreement with the pre‐atmospheric mass of 56 tonnes established from the modeling. The observed flight characteristics of the Tagish Lake fireball indicate that the bulk compressive strength of the pre‐atmospheric Tagish Lake meteoroid was near 0.25 MPa, while the material compressive strength (most appropriate to the recovered meteorites) was closer to 0.7 MPa. These are much lower than values found for fireballs of ordinary chondritic composition. The behavior of the Tagish Lake fireball suggests that it represents the lowest end of the strength spectrum of carbonaceous chondrites or the high end of cometary meteoroids. The bulk density and porosity results for the Tagish Lake meteoroid suggest that the low bulk densities measured for some small primitive bodies in the solar system may reflect physical structure dominated by microporosity rather than macroporosity and rubble‐pile assemblages.     

Spectral Investigation of Two Asteroidal Fireballs

High resolution photographic spectra of two fireballs have been analyzed. The fireballs were produced by meteoroids of asteroidal origin of the mass of the order of 1 kg. Temperature, size, and mass of the vapor cloud around the meteoroid was derived at selected points along the trajectory. Abundances of 11 elements, including lithium, were determined. The abundances of refractory elements in the vapors of the first meteoroid indicate that only 90–95% of the ablated material was vaporized. The meteoroid was likely a chondritic body. Relative stability of the vapor cloud was disturbed for 0.1 s after a major fragmentation of the meteoroid at the height of 42 km. Size and mass of the cloud decreased after the fragmentation and this enabled more intensive heat transfer from the incoming airflow. Both the vapor temperature and the vaporization temperature of the ablated melt increased. A brief millisecond flare of the fireball was produced under these conditions by a violent vaporization of small amount of material. The composition of the vapors of the second meteoroid can be explained either by an anomalous meteoroid composition with severely depleted Al, Ca, and Mg or by highly incomplete evaporation of the ablated material reaching only about 50%.     

The outburst of the κ Cygnids in 2007: clues about the catastrophic break up of a comet to produce an Earth-crossing meteoroid stream

Using high-resolution, low-scan-rate, all-sky CCD cameras and high-level CCD video cameras, the SPanish Meteor and fireball Network (SPMN) recorded the 2007 κ Cygnid fireball outburst from several observing stations. Here, accurate trajectory, radiant and orbital data obtained for the κ Cygnid meteor are presented. The typical astrometric uncertainty is 1–2 arcmin, while velocity determination errors are of the order of 0.3–0.6 km s⁻¹, though this depends on the distance of each event to the station and its particular viewing geometry. The observed orbital differences among 1993 and 2007 outbursts support the hypothesis that the formation of this meteoroid stream is a consequence of the fragmentation of a comet nucleus. Such disruptive process proceed as a cascade, where the break up of the progenitor body leads to produce small remnants, some fully disintegrate into different clumps of particles and other remaining as dormant objects such as 2008ED69, 2001MG1 and 2004LA12 which are now observed as near-Earth asteroids. In addition to the orbital data, we present a unique spectrum of a bright  κ  Cygnid fireball revealing that the main rocky components have chondritic abundances, and estimations of the tensile strength of those fireballs that exhibited a catastrophic disruption behaviour. All this evidence of the structure and composition of the κ Cygnid meteoroids is consistent with being composed by fine-grained materials typically released from comets.