Periodic Variability of Visual Sporadic Meteor Rates

A long-term variability of visual sporadic meteor hourly rates is studied in the period between 1984 and 2006. The present analysis involves four particular periods of visual sporadic meteor activity in January, March, July and September over two solar cycles, and the results reveal that the observed visual sporadic meteor rates vary periodically in the course of the solar cycle. It is found that the highest sporadic meteor rates are observed in the years near solar activity maxima, and their variability directly correlates with solar activity expressed by International sunspot numbers.