The α-Monocerotids meteor outburst: the cross section of a comet dust trail

One minute counts obtained during the meteor outburst of α-Monocerotids on November 22, 1995, are analyzed in order to examine the possibility of filamentary structure in the stream profile. None is found. It is argued that far-comet type outbursts are due to the Earth's passage through the dust trail of a long period comet, thus offering a direct means of studying such comet dust trails. Hence, the meteor stream activity curve is the first accurate cross section of dust densities through a comet dust trail.     

Meteor Outburst Profiles and Cometary Ejection Models

The spatial structure of meteor streams, and the activity profiles of their corresponding meteor showers, depend firstly on the distribution of meteoroid orbits soon after ejection from the parent comet nucleus, and secondly on the subsequent dynamical evolution. The latter increases in importance as more time elapses. For younger structures within streams, notably the dust trails that cause sharp meteor outbursts, it is the cometary ejection model (meteoroid production rate as a function of time through the several months of the comet’s perihelion return, and velocity distribution of the meteoroids released) that primarily determines the shape and width of the trail structure. This paper describes how a trail cross section can be calculated once an ejection model has been assumed. Such calculations, if made for a range of ejection model parameters and compared with observed parameters of storms and outbursts, can be used to constrain quantitatively the process of meteoroid ejection from the nucleus, including the mass distribution of ejected meteoroids.     

Orbital Elements of 2004 Perseid Meteoroids Perturbed by Jupiter

Jupiter and Saturn produce important gravitational impulses on meteoroids released by comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle. The meteoroids from this comet once released follow retrograde orbits that during their periodic approaches to these planets (within 1.6 and 0.9 A.U., respectively) are impulsed gaining orbital energy. This perturbation effect is translated into a net inward shift in the node of the perturbed meteoroids. Such geometry with Jupiter occurred in 2004 over a meteoroid trail ejected by this comet during the 1862 A.D. return of the comet to perihelion. In order to study the predicted outburst produced by one-revolution meteoroids, the Spanish Photographic Meteor Network (SPMN) performed an extensive campaign. As a part of this observational effort here are presented 10 accurate meteoroid orbits. We discuss their origin by comparing them with the theoretical orbital elements of the dust trails intercepting the Earth during the 2004 Perseid return.     

Meteor outbursts from long-period comet dust trails

Long-period comets have narrow one-revolution old dust trails that can cause meteor outbursts when encountered by Earth. To facilitate observing campaigns that will characterize and perhaps help find Earth-threatening, long-period comets from their trace of meteoric debris, we use past accounts of outbursts from 14 different showers to calculate the future dust trail positions near Earth’s orbit. We also examine known near-Earth, long-period comets and identify five potential new showers, which can be utilized to learn more about these objects. We demonstrate that it is the one-revolution trail that is responsible for meteor outbursts. A method that calculates in what year these showers are likely to return and at what hour is presented. The calculations improve on earlier approximate methods that used the Sun’s reflex motion to gauge the trail motion relative to Earth’s orbit.     

Large Leonid Meteoroids And The Historical Activity Of Comet 55p/Tempel–Tuttle

We interpret the historical activity of comet 55P/Tempel–Tuttle in terms of the observed characteristics of present-day short period comets. In this respect, it is now realized that such comets are liable to undergo significant outburst and mantle loss events at intervals separated by of order a few hundred years. On this basis one might well expect comet 55P/Tempel–Tuttle to have undergone several outbursts since its earliest sighing in 1366. The limited absolute magnitude data available for 55P/Tempel–Tuttle is not inconsistent with the suggestion that the comet underwent outbursts during its 1699 and 1865 perihelion returns. If the outbursts of comet 55P/Tempel–Tuttle are interpreted in terms of mantle loss events then the bright, electrophonic sound producing fireballs reported during the great Leonid meteor storm of 1833 may have been due to the Earth sampling mantle material ejected during the outburst of 1699. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The origin of the June Bootid outburst in 1998 and determination of cometary ejection velocities

Numerical integrations are used to show that the main contribution to the outburst observed in the June Bootid meteor shower in 1998 was a subset of meteoroids released from the parent comet, 7P/Pons–Winnecke, at its 1825 return. A substantial part of the June Bootid stream is in 2:1 resonance with Jupiter. This inhibits chaotic motion, allowing structures in the stream to remain compact enough over centuries that meteor outbursts can still be produced. Circumstances of ejection in 1825 are calculated that exactly result in orbits capable of producing meteors at the observed time in 1998. Required ejection velocities are  10–20 m s^-1  .     

The relationship between the semi-major axis, mass index and age of the Leonid meteor shower

Owing to sublimation of ice, comet nuclei eject dust particles when they are near to the sun. Those particles assume velocities and then vary their orbits to ones similar to that of the comet. The most notable difference between the orbit of the parent comet and those of the particles is their semi-major axes. This difference (Δ a ) has been widely used in modern meteor shower predictions. Observational evidence of the distribution showed that it is a function of Δ a , and the age of the dust trail. However, the relation is not well known. In this paper, a simplified relation between Δ a , the mass index ( s ) and the age of the dust trail is presented, taking the instance of a recent Leonid meteor shower.     

The Leonid meteor storms of 1833 and 1966

The greatest Leonid meteor storms since the late eighteenth century are generally regarded as being those of 1833 and 1966. They were evidently due to dense meteoroid concentrations within the Leonid stream. At those times, the orbit of Comet 55P/Tempel–Tuttle was significantly nearer that of the Earth than at most perihelion returns, but still some tens of Earth radii away. Significantly reducing this miss distance can be critical for producing a storm. Evaluation of differential gravitational perturbations, comparing meteoroids with the comet, shows that, in 1833 and 1966 respectively, the Earth passed through meteoroid trails generated at the 1800 and 1899 returns.     

Spectral,Photometric, and Dynamic Analysis of Eight Draconid Meteors

A Draconid meteor shower outburst was observed from on board two scientific aircraft deployed above Northern Europe on 8th October 2011. The activity profile was measured using a set of photographic and video cameras. The main peak of the activity occurred around 20:15 ± 0:0.5 UT which is consistent with the model prediction as well as with the IMO network visual observations. The corrected hourly rates reached a value of almost 350. The brighter meteors peaked about 15–20 min earlier than the dimmer ones. This difference can be explained by different directions of the ejection of the meteoroids from the parent comet. One of the instruments was even able to detect meteors connected with the material ejected from the parent comet before 1900 and thus confirmed the prediction of the model, although it was based on uncertain pre-1900 cometary data. Another small peak of the activity, which was caused by material ejected during the 1926 perihelion passage of the parent comet, was detected around 21:10 UT. The mass distribution index determined using the narrow field-of-view video camera was 2.0 ± 0.1. This work shows that the observation of meteor outbursts can constrain the orbital elements, outgassing activity and existence of jets at the surface of a comet.     

Leonids 2006 observations of the tail of trails: Where is the comet fluff?

In 2006, Earth encountered a trail of dust left by Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle two revolutions ago, in A.D. 1932. The resulting Leonid shower outburst was observed by low light level cameras from locations in Spain. The outburst peaked on 2006 Nov. 19d 04h39m ± 3m UT (predicted: 19d 04h50m ± 15m UT), with a FWHM of 43 ± 10 min (predicted: 38 min), at a peak rate of ZHR=80±10/h (predicted: 50-200 per hour). A low level background of older and brighter Filament Leonids (χ∼2.1) was also present, which dominated rates for Leonids brighter than magnitude +4. The 1932-dust outburst was detected among Leonids of +0 magnitude and brighter. These outburst Leonids were much brighter than expected, with a magnitude distribution index χ=2.60±0.15 (predicted: χ=3.47 and up). Trajectories and orbits of 24 meteors were calculated, most of which are part of the Filament component. Those that were identified as 1932-dust grains penetrated just as deep as Leonids in past encounters. We conclude that larger meteoroids than expected were present in the tail of the 1932-dust trail and meteoroids did not end up there because of low density. We also find that the radiant position of meteors in the Filament component scatter in a circle with radius 0.39°, which is wider than in 1998, when the diameter was 0.09°. This supports the hypothesis that the Filament component consists of meteoroids in mean-motion resonances.     

The 'silent world' of Comet 15P/Finlay

Comet 15P/Finlay is unusual in that, contrary to ab initio expectations, it demonstrates no apparent linkage to any known meteor shower. Using data contained within the Electronic Atlas of Dynamical Evolutions of Short-Period Comets, we evaluate theoretical shower radiants for Comet 15P/Finlay, but find no evidence to link it to any meteoric anomalies in recorded antiquity. This result, however, must be tempered by the fact that any Comet 15P/Finlay-derived meteoroids will have a low, 16 km s⁻¹, encounter velocity with Earth's atmosphere. Typically, therefore, one would expect mostly faint meteors to be produced during an encounter with a Comet 15P/Finlay-derived meteoroid stream. We have conducted a D -criterion survey of meteoroid orbits derived from three southern hemisphere meteor radar surveys conducted during the 1960s, and again we find no evidence for any Comet 15P/Finlay-related activity. Numerical calculations following the orbital evolution of hypothetical meteoroids ejected from the comet, at each perihelion epoch since 1886, indicate that Jovian perturbations effectively 'drive' the meteoroids to orbits with nodal points beyond the Earth's orbit. The numerical calculations indicate that, even if Comet 15P/Finlay had been a copious emitter of meteoroids during the past 100 years, virtually none of them would have evolved into orbits capable of being sampled by the Earth. There are good observational data, however, to suggest that Comet 15P/Finlay is becoming a transitional comet–asteroid object, and that it has probably not been an efficient producer of meteoroids during the past several hundreds of years.     

The 2007 Aurigid meteor outburst

A rare outburst of the Aurigid meteor shower was predicted to occur on 2007 September 1 at 11:36 ± 20 min  ut due to Earth's encounter with the one-revolution dust trail of long-period comet C/1911 N1 (Kiess). The outburst was predicted to last ∼1.5 h with peak zenithal hourly rate of ∼200 h⁻¹, which is ∼20 times higher than the annual Aurigid shower. Three members of Armagh Observatory observed this outburst from the general area of San Francisco, CA, USA, where the shower was anticipated to be best seen. Observed radiant, velocity and activity peak time were consistent with the predictions, whereas the zenithal hourly rate was about half of the predicted value. Five Aurigids were observed by two stations simultaneously, enabling their spatial trajectory to be worked out. The orbits of these double station meteors are in good agreement with that of their parent comet Kiess. The outburst was abundant in bright (−2 to +1 mag) meteors. The first high-altitude Aurigid, with a beginning height of 137.1 km, was recorded.     

On the unusual activity of the Perseid meteor shower (1989–96) and the dust trail of comet 109P/Swift–Tuttle

We present the first measurements of the radiant and orbit of meteoroids that are part of the unusual Perseid activity called the 'Perseid Filament'. This filament was encountered by Earth in the years before and after the return of the comet to perihelion in December of 1992. Between 1989 and 1996, there were brief meteor outbursts of near-constant duration with a symmetric activity profile. In 1993, however, rates increased more gradually to the peak. That gradual increase is identified here as a separate dust component, which we call the 'Nodal Blanket'. We find that the Nodal Blanket has a very small radiant dispersion. On the other hand, the Perseid Filament has a radiant that is significantly dispersed and systematically displaced by 0.3°. This dispersion implies that unusually high ejection velocities or planetary perturbations must have had time to disperse the stream. In both cases, one would expect a rapid dispersion of matter along the comet orbit. In order to explain the concentration of dust near the comet position, we propose a novel scenario involving long-term accumulation in combination with protection of the region near the comet against close encounters with Jupiter due to librations of the comet orbit around the 1:11 mean-motion resonance.     

Real-Time Flux Density Measurements of the 2011 Draconid Meteor Outburst

During the 2011 outburst of the Draconid meteor shower, members of the Video Meteor Network of the International Meteor Organization provided, for the first time, fully automated flux density measurements in the optical domain. The data set revealed a primary maximum at 20:09 UT ± 5 min on 8 October 2011 (195.036° solar longitude) with an equivalent meteoroid flux density of (118 ± 10) × 10^?3/km²/h at a meteor limiting magnitude of +6.5, which is thought to be caused by the 1900 dust trail. We also find that the outburst had a full width at half maximum of 80 min, a mean radiant position of α = 262.2°, δ = +56.2° (±1.3°) and geocentric velocity of v_geo = 17.4 km/s (±0.5 km/s). Finally, our data set appears to be consistent with a small sub-maximum at 19:34 UT ±7 min (195.036° solar longitude) which has earlier been reported by radio observations and may be attributed to the 1907 dust trail. We plan to implement automated real-time flux density measurements for all known meteor showers on a regular basis soon.     

PREDICTING MARTIAN AND VENUSIAN METEOR SHOWER ACTIVITY

Based on the number of planet-approaching cometary orbits at Mars and Venus relative to the Earth, there should be ample opportunities for observing meteor activity at those two planets. The ratio of planet-approaching Jupiter family comets (JFCs) at Mars, Earth, and Venus is 4:2:1 indicating that JFC-related outbursts would be more frequent at Mars than the Earth. The relative numbers of planet-approaching Halley-type comets (HTCs) implies that the respective levels of annual meteor activity at those three planets are similar. We identify several instances where near-comet outbursts (Jenniskens, P.: 1995, Astron. Astrophys. 295, 206–235) may occur. A possible double outburst of this type at Venus related to 45P/Honda-Mrkos-Padjusakova may be observable by the ESA Venus Express spacecraft in the summer of 2006. Similarly, the Japanese Planet-C Venus orbiter may observe an outburst related to 27P/Crommelin’s perihelion passage in July 2011. Several additional opportunities exist to observe such outbursts at Mars from 2019 to 2026 associated with comets 38P/Stephan-Oterma, 13P/Olbers and 114P/Wiseman-Skiff.     

Predictions for the Aurigid Outburst of 2007 September 1

The September 2007 encounter of Earth with the 1-revolution dust trail of comet C/1911 N1 (Kiess) is the most highly anticipated dust trail crossing of a known long period comet in the next 50 years. The encounter was modeled to predict the expected peak time, duration, and peak rate of the resulting outburst of Aurigid shower meteors. The Aurigids will radiate with a speed of 67 km/s from a radiant at R.A. = 92°, Decl. = +39° (J2000) in the constellation Auriga. The expected peak time is 11:36 ± 20 min UT, 2007 September 1, and the shower is expected to peak at Zenith Hourly Rate = 200/h during a 10-min interval, being above half this value during 25 min. The meteor outburst will be visible by the naked eye from locations in Mexico, the Western provinces of Canada, and the Western United States, including Hawaii and Alaska. A concerted observing campaign is being organized. Added in proof: first impression of the shower. Prepared as a contribution to the conference proceedings of “Meteoroids 2007”, to be published in the journal “Earth, Moon, and Planets”.     

Analysis of the upper limit of the Southworth-Hawkins <Emphasis Type="Italic">D</Emphasis> criterion for the Pons-Winneckid and Perseid meteoroid streams

The value of the upper limit of the Southworth-Hawkins D criterion for the Pons-Winneckids (June Bootid) and Perseids meteor streams is analyzed on the basis of the comparison of the parent comet orbit with the model orbits of meteoroids ejected at different points of the comet orbit with the most likely ejection velocities. The change of the D values is investigated depending on the dynamic evolution of the streams by integrating forward the orbital elements of the model particles using the Cowell method taking into account the perturbations from all planets. It is shown that after ten rotations, for Pons-Winneckids the upper limit of the D criterion is higher than 0.5 and for Perseids the D criterion does not exceed 0.2.     

A dynamical model of the sporadic meteoroid complex

Sporadic meteoroids are the most abundant yet least understood component of the Earth's meteoroid complex. This paper aims to build a physics-based model of this complex calibrated with five years of radar observations. The model of the sporadic meteoroid complex presented here includes the effects of the Sun and all eight planets, radiation forces and collisions. The model uses the observed meteor patrol radar strengths of the sporadic meteors to solve for the dust production rates of the populations of comets modeled, as well as the mass index. The model can explain some of the differences between the meteor velocity distributions seen by transverse versus radial scatter radars. The different ionization limits of the two techniques result in their looking at different populations with different velocity distributions. Radial scatter radars see primarily meteors from 55P/Tempel-Tuttle (or an orbitally similar lost comet), while transverse scatter radars are dominated by larger meteoroids from the Jupiter-family comets. In fact, our results suggest that the sporadic complex is better understood as originating from a small number of comets which transfer material to near-Earth space quite efficiently, rather than as a product of the cometary population as a whole. The model also sheds light on variations in the mass index reported by different radars, revealing it to be a result of their sampling different portions of the meteoroid population. In addition, we find that a mass index of s=2.34 as observed at Earth requires a shallower index (s=2.2) at the time of meteoroid production because of size-dependent processes in the evolution of meteoroids. The model also reveals the origin of the 55° radius ring seen centered on the Earth's apex (a result of high-inclination meteoroids undergoing Kozai oscillation) and the central condensations seen in the apex sources, as well as providing insight into the strength asymmetry of the helion and anti-helion sources.     

Radar observations of 8P/Tuttle: A contact-binary comet

Arecibo radar imagery of Comet 8P/Tuttle reveals a 10-km-long nucleus with a highly bifurcated shape consistent with a contact binary. A separate echo component was also detected from large (>cm-size), slow-moving grains of the type expected to contribute to the Ursid meteor stream.     

The Dynamics of Meteoroid streams

Meteors are streaks of light seen in the upper atmosphere when particles from the inter-planetary dust complex collide with the Earth. Meteor showers originate from the impact of a coherent stream of such dust particles, generally assumed to have been recently ejected from a parent comet. The parent comets of these dust particles, or meteoroids, fortunately, for us tend not to collide with the Earth. Hence there has been orbital changes from one to the other so as to cause a relative movement of the nodes of the meteor orbits and that of the comet, implying changes in the energy and/or angular momentum. In this review, we will discuss these changes and their causes and through this place limits on the ejection process. Other forces also come into play in the longer term, for example perturbations from the planets, and the effects of radiation pressure and Poynting–Robertson drag. The effect of these will also be discussed with a view to understanding both the observed evolution in some meteor streams. Finally we will consider the final fate of meteor streams as contributors to the interplanetary dust complex.