The beginning heights and light curves of high-altitude meteors

Koten, Pavel; Spurný, Pavel; Borovička, J.; Evans, Stephen; Elliott, Andrew; Betlem, Hans; Štork, R.; Jobse, Klaas

doi:10.1111/j.1945-5100.2006.tb00523.x

Cited by 29 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…It closely resembles the behavior of Leonids described in Spurný et al (2000b). The altitude where the ablation starts to be the dominant source of light should be clearly visible in the part of the light curve where the slope of the light curve changes significantly (Koten et al 2006). The light curve of EN120812 (Fig.…”

Section: Atmospheric Trajectory and Orbitsupporting

confidence: 72%

“…The image-intensified video cameras detected the Perseid at the height of 170.2 km as a meteor of +3 mag. This is the highest Perseid ever observed (160.7 km was the highest Perseid observed by our cameras so far) and one of the highest meteors ever observed by image-intensified cameras (Koten et al 2006). The highest meteors ever observed optically were Leonids in 1998 with the maximum observed height of 199 km (Spurný et al 2000a).…”

Section: Atmospheric Trajectory and Orbitmentioning

confidence: 51%

“…Based on the comparison to the spectrum (see below), the first height (125 km) is connected with the start of ablation of volatile part (Na) and the second height with the start of intensive evaporation. When we compare the altitude of EN120812, where the ablation starts to be dominant (according to the light curve), with other meteors we can sort meteor showers as follows: 125 km for 71 km s −1 Leonids (Spurný et al 2000a,b;Koten et al 2006), 115 km for 68 km s −1 Orionid (Olech et al 2013), and 125 km for 60 km s −1 EN120812 Perseid. The orbit of EN120812 is one of the most precise photographic orbits ever determined for a Perseid fireball.…”

Section: Atmospheric Trajectory and Orbitmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…High-altitude meteors (beginning heights above 130 km) were observed predominantly in the Leonid meteor stream (meteor velocity 71 km s −1 ) (Fujiwara et al 1998;Spurný et al 2000a,b;Koten et al 2006), but also among η-Aquariids (67 km s −1 ), Perseids (60 km s −1 ), Lyrids (45 km s −1 ) (Koten et al 2001), and Orionids (68 km s −1 ) (Olech et al 2013). Here we report a Perseid fireball with a higher beginning than any of these meteors except Leonids.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Bright Perseid fireball with exceptional beginning height of 170 km observed by different techniques

Spurný

Shrbený

Borovička

et al. 2014

A&A

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We report multi-instrumental observation of a bright fireball belonging to the Perseid meteor shower, which was recorded simultaneously by 11 all-sky photographic cameras, one high-resolution 300 mm photographic camera, two digital all-sky cameras, one wide-field digital camera, and two analog image-intensified video cameras on 12 August in 2012 at 22:29:46 UT. An exceptional beginning height of 170 km makes this fireball the highest Perseid ever observed and the highest meteor ever observed with precise atmospheric trajectory and heliocentric orbit not belonging to the Leonid shower. Moreover, one spectral video camera recorded the spectrum of the fireball. The spectrum shows only atmospheric emissions of O, N, and N 2 above 130 km. Below 110 km, the spectrum is not markedly different from other Perseid fireballs. The spectrum of the persistent train was also recorded, and a double-station observation of the persistent train provided its vertical and horizontal motion.

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Section: Atmospheric Trajectory and Orbitsupporting

confidence: 72%

Section: Atmospheric Trajectory and Orbitmentioning

confidence: 51%

Section: Atmospheric Trajectory and Orbitmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Bright Perseid fireball with exceptional beginning height of 170 km observed by different techniques

Spurný

Shrbený

Borovička

et al. 2014

A&A

Self Cite

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show abstract

“…The luminous efficiency (cf. Hill et al 2005) used to compute the photometric mass of meteors has been estimated in the panchromatic band, and not the red (Ceplecha et al 2000;Koten et al 2006). To check for errors introduced when using V magnitudes instead of R, we took a sample of meteor spectra from Borovicka et al (2005), and worked out an average correction factor to convert the R-band meteor magnitude to a V-band meteor magnitude.…”

Section: Photometrymentioning

confidence: 99%

Bulk density of small meteoroids

Kikwaya

Campbell-Brown

Brown

2011

A&A

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Aims. Here we report on precise metric and photometric observations of 107 optical meteors, which were simultaneously recorded at multiple stations using three different intensified video camera systems. The purpose is to estimate bulk meteoroid density, link small meteoroids to their parent bodies based on dynamical and physical density values expected for different small body populations, to better understand and explain the dynamical evolution of meteoroids after release from their parent bodies. Methods. The video systems used had image sizes ranging from 640 × 480 to 1360 × 1036 pixels, with pixel scales from 0.01 • per pixel to 0.05 • per pixel, and limiting meteor magnitudes ranging from M v = +2.5 to +6.0. We find that 78% of our sample show noticeable deceleration, allowing more robust constraints to be placed on density estimates. The density of each meteoroid is estimated by simultaneously fitting the observed deceleration and lightcurve using a model based on thermal fragmentation, conservation of energy and momentum. The entire phase space of the model free parameters is explored for each event to find ranges of parameters which fit the observations within the measurement uncertainty. Results. (a) We have analysed our data by first associating each of our events with one of the five meteoroid classes. The average density of meteoroids whose orbits are asteroidal and chondritic (AC) is 4200 kg m −3 suggesting an asteroidal parentage, possibly related to the high-iron content population. Meteoroids with orbits belonging to Jupiter family comets (JFCs) have an average density of 3100 ± 300 kg m −3 . This high density is found for all meteoroids with JFC-like orbits and supports the notion that the refractory material reported from the Stardust measurements of 81P/Wild 2 dust is common among the broader JFC population. This high density is also the average bulk density for the 4 meteoroids with orbits belonging to the Ecliptic shower-type class (ES) also related to JFCs. Both categories we suggest are chondritic based on their high bulk density. Meteoroids of HT (Halley type) orbits have a minimum bulk density value of 360 +400 −100 kg m −3 and a maximum value of 1510 +400 −900 kg m −3 . This is consistent with many previous works which suggest bulk cometary meteoroid density is low. SA (Sun-approaching)-type meteoroids show a density spread from 1000 kg m −3 to 4000 kg m −3 , reflecting multiple origins. (b) We found two different meteor showers in our sample: Perseids (10 meteoroids, ∼11% of our sample) with an average bulk density of 620 kg m −3 and Northern Iota Aquariids (4 meteoroids) with an average bulk density of 3200 kg m −3 , consistent with the notion that the NIA derive from 2P/Encke.

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Strong E region ionization caused by the 1767 trail during the 2002 Leonids

et al. 2014

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Intensive E region ionization extending up to 140 km altitude and lasting for several hours was observed with the European Incoherent Scatter (EISCAT) UHF radar during the 2002 Leonids meteor shower maximum. The level of global geomagnetic disturbance as well as the local geomagnetic and auroral activity in northern Scandinavia were low during the event. Thus, the ionization cannot be explained by intensive precipitation. The layer was 30-40 km thick, so it cannot be classified as a sporadic E layer which are typically just a few kilometers wide. Incoherent scatter radars have not to date reported any notable meteor shower-related increases in the average background ionization. The 2002 Leonids storm flux, however, was so high that it might have been able to induce such an event. The Chemical Ablation Model is used to estimate deposition rates of individual meteors. The resulting electron production, arising from hyperthermal collisions of ablated atoms with atmospheric molecules, is related to the predicted Leonid flux values and observed ionization on 19 November 2002. The EISCAT Svalbard Radar (ESR) located at some 1000 km north of the UHF site did not observe any excess ionization during the same period. The high-latitude electrodynamic conditions recorded by the SuperDARN radar network show that the ESR was within a strongly drifting convection cell continuously fed by fresh plasma while the UHF radar was outside the polar convection region maintaining the ionization.

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The beginning heights and light curves of high-altitude meteors

Cited by 29 publications

References 30 publications

Bright Perseid fireball with exceptional beginning height of 170 km observed by different techniques

Bright Perseid fireball with exceptional beginning height of 170 km observed by different techniques

Bulk density of small meteoroids

Strong E region ionization caused by the 1767 trail during the 2002 Leonids

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