Meteor and fireball trajectories for high values of the mass loss parameter

Trigo-Rodríguez

2015

Icarus

Despite ablation and drag processes associated with atmospheric entry of meteoroids were a subject of intensive study over the last century, little attention was devoted to interpret the observed fireball terminal height. This is a key parameter because it not only depends on the initial mass, but also on the bulk physical properties of the meteoroids and hence on their ability to ablate in the atmosphere. In this work we have developed a new approach that is tested using the fireball terminal heights observed by the Meteorite Observation and Recovery Project operated in Canada between 1970 − 1985 (hereafter referred as MORP). We then compare them to the calculation made. Our results clearly show that the new methodology is able to forecast the degree of deepening of meteoroids in the Earth's atmosphere. Then, this approach has important applications in predicting the impact hazard from cm-to metersized bodies that are represented, in part, in the MORP bolide list.

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 87%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

New methodology to determine the terminal height of a fireball

Moreno-Ibáñez

Trigo-Rodríguez

2015

Icarus

“…The product 𝑐 𝑑 𝐴 0 of the initial shape factor and the drag coefficient in Eq. 7 is often assumed to fall within the range 1.55-1.8 for a realistically shaped body (Gritsevich and Popelenskaya, 2008;Gritsevich et al, 2017;Shober et al, 2022) and equals 1.21 for an initially spherical meteoroid.…”

Section: Model Of the Ablation Of Small Meteoroidsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Meteor phenomena in the atmosphere of Venus

Christou¹,

2023

Preprint

Meteor astronomy employs the atmosphere of the Earth as a large area detector for 0.01-1000 mm meteoroids [1]. Monitoring the atmospheres of other planets for meteor activity offers the opportunity to study the parent bodies of as-yet-undetected meteor showers, test ablation models under non-terrestrial conditions and allow spacecraft operators to mitigate the risk of meteoroid impact damage [2]. By adjusting existing techniques to simulate meteoroid ablation in a Venus-like atmosphere [3-8], we show that Venusian meteors are generally brighter but shorter-lived than terrestrial meteors and ablate at a higher altitude, in a predominantly clear region of the atmosphere.&#160;These simulations are complemented with a list of cometary bodies and known meteoroid streams that we consider to be prime candidates for producing significant meteor activity at Venus [9,10]. Such predictions may be used in developing future observational campaigns to be carried out from Earth or from Venus orbit. References: [1]&#160;Jenniskens, P. (2006) Meteor Showers and their Parent Comets, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. [2] Christou A. A. et al (2019) In: Meteoroids: Sources of Meteors on Earth and Beyond, Cambridge University Press, p.119-135. [3] Christou A. A. (2004) Icarus 168, 23-33 [4] McAuliffe, J. P., Christou, A. A. (2006) Icarus 180, 8-22 [5] Gritsevich M., Koschny D. (2011) Icarus 212, 877-884 [6] Bouquet A. et al (2012) Planet. Space Sci. 103, 238-249 [7] Gritsevich, M. I. (2009) Adv. Space Res. 44, 323&#8211;334 [8] Lyytinen, E., Gritsevich, M. (2016) Planet. Space Sci. 120, 35-42 [9] Christou A. A. (2010) MNRAS 402, 2759-2770 [10] Christou, A. A., Vaubaillon, J. (2011) In: Proc. Meteoroids Conf, NASA/CP-2011-216469, p.26

“…Additionally, there is no terminal height related term in Equation 5. In this regard, Gritsevich & Popelenskaya (2008), Gritsevich, Lukashenko & Turchak (2016), and Moreno-Ibáñez et al (2015, 2017 discussed the accuracy of various simplifications of the general formulation introduced by Stulov et al (1995) to calculate the terminal height of fully ablated fireballs as well as meteorite-droppers. To match the assumptions made by Ceplecha & McCrosky (1976) (namely: no meteor deceleration, meteoroid final disintegration, constant shape, and isothermal atmosphere), the most suitable terminal height formulation simplification is the hI solution outlined in Moreno-Ibáñez et al (2015, 2017:…”

Section: Derivation Of the Criterionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Physically based alternative to the PE criterion for meteoroids

Moreno-Ibáñez

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

Trigo-Rodríguez

et al. 2020

Meteoroids impacting the Earth atmosphere are commonly classified using the PE criterion. This criterion was introduced to support the identification of the fireball type by empirically linking its orbital origin and composition characteristics. Additionally, it is used as an indicator of the meteoroid tensile strength and its ability to penetrate the atmosphere. However, the level of classification accuracy of the PE criterion depends on the ability to constrain the value of the input data, retrieved from the fireball observation, required to derive the PE value. To overcome these uncertainties and achieve a greater classification detail we propose a new formulation using scaling laws and dimensionless variables that groups all the input variables into two parameters that are directly obtained from the fireball observations. These two parameters, α and β, represent the drag and the mass loss rates along the luminous part of the trajectory, respectively, and are linked to the shape, strength, ablation efficiency, mineralogical nature of the projectile, and duration of the fireball. Thus, the new formulation relies on a physical basis. This work shows the mathematical equivalence between the PE criterion and the logarithm of 2αβ under the same PEcriterion assumptions. We demonstrate that log(2αβ) offers a more general formulation which does not require any preliminary constraint on the meteor flight scenario and discuss the suitability of the new formulation for expanding the classification beyond fully disintegrating fireballs to larger impactors including meteorite-dropping fireballs. The reliability of the new formulation is validated using the Prairie Network meteor observations.