Meteor Showers Associated with the Taurid Complex Asteroids

Recent theoretical and observational work has shown that the asteroids belonging to the Taurid meteoroid complex have a cometary nature. If so, then they might possess related meteoroid streams producing meteor showers in the Earth atmosphere. We studied the orbital evolution of ten numbered Taurid complex asteroids by the Halphen-Goryachev method. It turned out that all of these asteroids are quadruple crossers relative to the Earth's orbit. Therefore their proposed meteoroid streams may in theory each produce four meteor showers. The theoretical orbital elements and geocentric radiants of these showers are determined and compared with the available observational data. The existence of the predicted forty meteor showers of the ten Taurid complex asteroids is confirmed by a search of the published catalogues of observed meteor shower radiants and orbits, and of the archives of the IAU Meteor Data Center (Lund). The existence of meteor showers associated with the Taurid Complex Asteroids confirms that, most likely, these asteroids are extinct comets. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Radar Observations of Leonid Meteor Shower 2003

Observations carried out during Leonid meteor shower 2003, by using Indian MST radar (13.46^N, 79.18^E; dip 12.5^N) are used to determine the number density of meteoroids through the cross section of the meteor streams. Cross sections are calculated for a number of classes of echo duration (particle size). They are also used to determine the relative flux of the shower in particle size ranges producing radar meteor echoes having durations <0.4 s, 0.4–1 s and >1 s. Mean activity profiles along the Earth's passage through the stream show a systematic change of the peak activity and the width of the stream depending on the distribution of echo durations across the stream. The patterns of mass distribution index s are presented and discussed.     

Activities of Parent Comets and Related Meteor Showers

The activity of a meteor shower is thought to be proportional to the activities through time of the parent comet. Recent applications of the dust trail theory provide us not only with a new method to forecast the occurrences and intensities of shower activities, but it is also offers a new approach to explore the history of past activities of the parent comet by retro-tracking its associated meteor showers. We introduce the result of an effort for relating meteor shower activities to the parent comet activities for which we chose the October Draconids and comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner in this paper.     

Comets and asteroids in the Taurid complex: Remarks on a possible common origin

A supposition about the common origin of some cometary and asteroidal members of the Taurid complex is analyzed on the basis of their orbital evolution. It is shown that moments, in which the longitudes of perihelion of comet P/Encke, object (2201) Oljato and six other near-Earth asteroids amount to the value of longitude of perihelion of comet 1967 II Rudnicki, are close to the moment of previous perihelion passage of this long-period comet. Although the conjecture about the membership of comet Rudnicki in the Taurid complex is controversial one, nevertheless the presented results seem to be interesting in itself, and yield a contribution in favour of the hypothesis of the breakup of a giant comet some 10⁴ – 10⁵ years ago in the inner Solar System.     

The P/Halley Stream: Meteor Showers on Earth, Venus and Mars

We have simulated the formation and evolution of comet 1P/Halley’s meteoroid stream by ejecting particles from the nucleus 5000 years ago and propagating them forward to the present. Our aim is to determine the existence and characteristics of associated meteor showers at Mars and Venus and compare them with 1P/Halley’s two known showers at the Earth. We find that one shower should be present at Venus and two at Mars. The number of meteors in those atmospheres would, in general, be less than that at the Earth. The descending node branch of the Halley stream at Mars exhibits a clumpy structure. We identified at least one of these clumps as particles trapped in the 7:1 mean motion resonance with Jupiter, potentially capable of producing meteor ourbursts of ZHR∼1000 roughly once per century.     

Probabilities of Perception and Population Index in Visual Observations of Meteor Showers

Earth, Moon, and Planets -     

Waiting Time Distribution of Emissions in Complex Coronal Mass Ejections

The waiting time distribution of emissions in Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) with several emissions is examined. We define the waiting time as the time interval between the commencement of an emission and the commencement of the next emission considered as parts of a unique CME. The distribution seems to follow a power-law. Two classes of CMEs several emissions are considered: “close” and “separate” depending on angular distance between emissions.     

Photographic Observations of the 1996 Leonid Fireballs in Japan

Several Leonid fireballs were successfully photographed by the Japanese Fireball Network and by other observers in Japan on 16 November, 1996. A totals of seven of these were simultaneously observed from two or more stations, from which the orbital and physical data were deduced. The radiant of these fireballs were very small, only 0.1°, similar to that of the 1991 Perseids. The 1996 Leonids showed a lower magnitude distribution index similar to those obtained in the 1961 and 1965 Leonids. All of these showers occurred before perihelion passage of the parent comet. We conclude that we have already encountered the elongated front part of the dust trail of the Leonid parent comet, where the trail is probably composed of larger dust particles. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Radio and Meteor Science Outcomes From Comparisons of Meteor Radar Observations at AMISR Poker Flat, Sondrestrom, and Arecibo

Radio science and meteor physics issues regarding meteor “head-echo” observations with high power, large aperture (HPLA) radars, include the frequency and latitude dependency of the observed meteor altitude, speed, and deceleration distributions. We address these issues via the first ever use and analysis of meteor observations from the Poker Flat AMISR (PFISR: 449.3 MHz), Sondrestrom (SRF: 1,290 MHz), and Arecibo (AO: 430 MHz) radars. The PFISR and SRF radars are located near the Arctic Circle while AO is in the tropics. The meteors observed at each radar were detected and analyzed using the same automated FFT periodic micrometeor searching algorithm. Meteor parameters (event altitude, velocity, and deceleration distributions) from all three facilities are compared revealing a clearly defined altitude “ceiling effect” in the 1,290 MHz results relative to the 430/449.3 MHz results. This effect is even more striking in that the Arecibo and PFISR distributions are similar even though the two radars are over 2,000 times different in sensitivity and at very different latitudes, thus providing the first statistical evidence that HPLA meteor radar observations are dominated by the incident wavelength, regardless of the other radar parameters. We also offer insights into the meteoroid fragmentation and “terminal” process.     

The Velocity Distribution of Meteoroids at the Earth as Measured by the Canadian Meteor Orbit Radar (CMOR)

The velocity distribution of meteoroids at the Earth is measured using a time-of-flight measurement technique applied to data collected by the CMOR radar (29.85 MHz). Comparison to earlier velocity measurements from the Harvard Radio Meteor Project suggests that HRMP suffered from biases which underestimated the number of fragmenting meteoroids. This bias results in a systematic underestimation of the numbers of higher velocity meteoroids. Other works (cf. Taylor and Elford, 1998) have also found additional biases in the HRMP which suggest the original HRMP meteoroid velocity analysis may have underestimated the fraction of high velocity meteors by factors up to 10⁴.     

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     

STEREO卫星的CME观测研究进展

简要回顾利用"日地关系天文台"(Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory,STEREO)卫星的立体观测资料在日冕物质抛射(Coronal Mass Ejection,CME)研究方面已取得的一些重要进展,主要包括(1)通过极紫外成像仪观测到的日冕极紫外暗化来更准确地估计CME质量,研究CME演化的结构特征;(2)利用STEREO卫星日冕仪的双角度观测,在CME立体传播特征方面取得的新进展;(3)STEREO卫星日球成像仪具有广阔的视场范围,可以跟踪研究CME从太阳表面爆发到形成行星际日冕物质抛射(Interplanetary CME,ICME),及其在内日球层和近地空间的演化特征以及运动特征等。同时,也介绍了利用三角测量技术测定CME特征物理量的新方法。     

Automatic Detection and Tracking of Coronal Mass Ejections in Coronagraph Time Series

We present the current capabilities of a software tool to automatically detect coronal mass ejections (CMEs) based on time series of coronagraph images: the solar eruptive event detection system (SEEDS). The software developed consists of several modules: preprocessing, detection, tracking, and event cataloging. The detection algorithm is based on a 2D to 1D projection method, where CMEs are assumed to be bright regions moving radially outward as observed in a running-difference time series. The height, velocity, and acceleration of the CME are automatically determined. A threshold-segmentation technique is applied to the individual detections to automatically extract an approximate shape of the CME leading edge. We have applied this method to a 12-month period of continuous coronagraph images sequence taken at a 20-minute cadence by the Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph (LASCO) instrument (using the C2 instrument only) onboard the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft. Our automated method, with a high computational efficiency, successfully detected about 75% of the CMEs listed in the CDAW CME catalog, which was created by using human visual inspection. Furthermore, the tool picked up about 100% more small-size or anomalous transient coronagraph events that were ignored by human visual inspection. The output of the software is made available online at . The parameters of scientific importance extracted by the software package are the position angle, angular width, velocity, peak, and average brightness. Other parameters could easily be added if needed. The identification of CMEs is known to be somewhat subjective. As our system is further developed, we expect to make the process significantly more objective.     

Acceleration Phase of Coronal Mass Ejections: II. Synchronization of the Energy Release in the Associated Flare

We analyze the relationship between the acceleration of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and the energy release in associated flares, employing a sample of 22 events in which the CME kinematics were measured from the pre-eruption stage up to the post-acceleration phase. The data show a distinct correlation between the duration of the acceleration phase and the duration of the associated soft X-ray (SXR) burst rise, whereas the CME peak acceleration and velocity are related to the SXR peak flux. In the majority of events the acceleration started earlier than the SXR burst, and it is usually prolonged after the SXR burst maximum. In about one half of the events the acceleration phase is very closely synchronized with the fastest growth of the SXR burst. An additional one quarter of the events may be still considered as relatively well-synchronized, whereas in the remaining quarter of the events there is a considerable mismatch. The results are interpreted in terms of the feedback relationship between the CME dynamics and the reconnection process in the wake of the CME.     

潮汐效应、系统自转效应对双星物质交换过程的影响

现今双星演化理论中,以子星的半径等于临界洛希瓣半径,作为双星中发生物质交换过程的判据,仅仅是一个为了将三维计算简化为一维计算而引入的近似判据．它在理论上是不严格的．本文给出了一个理论严格而又能一维计算的判据．并用新的判据和用子星半径等于临界洛希瓣半径的判据,对一个由９Ｍ和６Ｍ恒星组成的双星系统,进行了情况Ａ的演化计算（即物质交换过程发生在主星中心氢燃烧阶段）．结果证明,用新的判据时,双星中发生物质交换过程的起始时间提前,快速物质交换过程变短,平均物质交换率增大,但慢速物质交换过程变长．在物质交换过程结束时,主星和次星的质量、双星系统的轨道周期以及主星在赫罗图中的位置,都与采用子星半径等于相应洛希瓣半径作为判据的计算结果明显不同．这说明,发生物质交换过程的判据是否严格,对于双星演化的影响是不可忽略的．     

Observations of Mercury's exosphere: Spatial distributions and variations of its Na component during August 8, 9 and 10, 2003

Following the observations of August 2002 [Barbieri, C., Verani, S., Cremonese, G., Sprague, A., Mendillo, M., Cosentino, R., Hunten, D., 2004. Planet. Space Sci. 52, 1169-1175], the high resolution spectrograph of the 3.5-m Galileo National Telescope (TNG) has been used to obtain several spatially resolved spectra of Mercury's Na-D on the evenings of 8, 9 and 10 August 2003. The resolution of the spectrograph was 115,000, the slit dimensions were ^0.4″×^27″. With respect to Paper I, the planet was in a fairly similar orbital configuration, being at a geocentric distance of approximately 1 AU, and having a True Anomaly Angle (TAA) from 163°-168° instead of 171°-174°. We present here a significantly larger set of observations and discuss several important features regarding the formation of Mercury's sodium exosphere, in particular the role of photon stimulated and thermal desorptions, as well as of the solar wind sputtering and micro-meteoroid vaporization. Thanks to the very good seeing of these observations, we also report and discuss the origins and variations of equatorial structures in Mercury's early morning sodium exosphere.     

A Study of Surges: II. On the Relationship between Chromospheric Surges and Coronal Mass Ejections

Liu et al. (Astrophys. J. 628, 1056, 2005a) described one surge – coronal mass ejection (CME) event showing a close relationship between solar chromospheric surge ejection and CME that had not been noted before. In this work, large Hα surges (>72 Mm, or 100 arcsec) are studied. Eight of these were associated with CMEs. According to their distinct morphological features, Hα surges can be classified into three types: jetlike, diffuse, and closed loop. It was found that all of the jetlike surges were associated with jetlike CMEs (with angular widths ≤30 degrees); the diffuse surges were all associated with wide-angle CMEs (e.g., halo); the closed-loop surges were not associated with CMEs. The exclusive relation between Hα surges and CMEs indicates difference in magnetic field configurations. The jetlike surges and related narrow CMEs propagate along coronal fields that are originally open. The unusual transverse mass motions in the diffuse surges are suggested to be due to magnetic reconnections in the corona that produce wide-angle CMEs. For the closed-loop surges, their paths are just outlining stable closed loops close to the solar surface. Thus no CMEs are associated with them.     

银河系中球状星团的空间分布和运动轨道

选用银河系中29个累积光谱型为F型的球状星团样本。根据它们的视向速度，绝对自行等参数，归算处理后得出了各样本星团的空间分布和运动速度。并以此作为初始条件，在给定的3种银河系引力势模型中，采用数值积分方法计算出各样本星团的运动轨道。计算结果表明：（1）大部分样本星团都位于银心距5kpc-10kpc的范围内，相对于银心呈球对称分布，它们的速度也呈椭球分布；（2）29个样本星团按其金属度大小和基本性发类，可分属HB和MP两个次系，且样本星团数随金属度[Fe/H]而变化，在[Fe/H]＝－1．6处出现一个峰值；（3）所有样本星团的轨道运动都呈周期性，大都在一个有界而不封闭的周期轨道上运动，其最大银心距大都在40kpc以内。不同的引力势模型对球状星团轨道的具体形态影响不大，在给定的引力势模型下，当某些星团的运动轨道穿越距银心1kpc附近的区域时会出现“混沌”行为。而样本星团的金属度与其轨道形态之间的相关性并不明显；（4）29个样本星团的轨道半长轴、远银心距和方位周期随金属度的变化规律基本相似。轨道偏心率与金属度有关，对于所选的晕族样本星团而言，大约有24％的样本星团的轨道偏心率低于0．4，不同的引力势模型对近银心距、偏心率和参数的不确定度等量影响较小，但是对远银心距、径向周期和方位周期等参数影响较为明显。     

Image and non-image parameters of atmospheric Cherenkov events: a comparative study of their γ-ray/hadron classification potential in ultrahigh energy regime

In this exploratory simulation study, we compare the event-progenitor classification potential of a variety of measurable parameters of atmospheric Cherenkov pulses which are produced by ultrahigh energy γ-ray and hadron progenitors and are likely to be recorded by the TACTIC (TeV atmospheric Cherenkov telescope with imaging camera) array of atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes. The parameters derived from Cherenkov images include Hillas, fractal and wavelet moments, while those obtained from non-image Cherenkov data consist of pulse profile rise time and base width and the relative ultraviolet to visible light content of the Cherenkov event. It is shown by a neural-net approach that these parameters, when used in suitable combinations, can bring about a proper segregation of the two event types, even with modest sized data samples of progenitor particles.