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xix, 372 p. 24 cm
Topics: Atmospheric circulation, Atmosphere, Upper, Meteor trails, Radio meteorology
The fluxes and ZHRs from the 2012 Geminid meteor shower as seen in NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office's wide-field meteor cameras are presented, as well as meteoroid densities as found using the meteor's light curve and deceleration.
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), GEMINID METEOROIDS, PARTICLE TRACKS, METEOR TRAILS, FLUX...
We present in this manuscript a 4 year survey of meteor shower radiants utilizing the Southern Argentina Agile Meteor Radar (SAAMER). SAAMER, which operates at the southern most region of South America, is a new generation SKiYMET system designed with significant differences from typical meteor radars including high transmitted power and an 8-antenna transmitting array enabling large detected rates at low zenith angles. We applied the statistical methodology developed by Jones and Jones (Jones,...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), METEOROID SHOWERS, SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE, ZODIACAL DUST, RADAR,...
No abstract available
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), METEOROID SHOWERS, SPACE OBSERVATIONS (FROM EARTH), SPACE...
We report recent 46.8/430 MHz (VHF/UHF) radar meteor observations at Arecibo Observatory (AO) that reveal many previously unreported features in the radar meteor return - including flare-trails at both UHF and VHF - that are consistent with meteoroid fragmentation. Signature features of fragmentation include strong intra-pulse and pulse-to-pulse fading as the result of interference between or among multiple meteor head-echo returns and between head-echo and impulsive flare or "point"...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), METEOROIDS, OPTICAL RADAR, HOLOGRAPHY, ULTRAHIGH FREQUENCIES,...
We present the first global simulations on the occurrence of meteor trail plasma irregularities. These results seek to answer the following questions: when a meteoroid disintegrates in the atmosphere will the resulting trail become plasma turbulent, what are the factors influencing the development of turbulence, and how do they vary on a global scale. Understanding meteor trail plasma turbulence is important because turbulent meteor trails are visible as non-specular trails to coherent radars,...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), METEOR TRAILS, METEOROID SHOWERS, MESOSPHERE, PLASMA DENSITY,...
Established by the NASA Meteoroid Environment Office, the NASA All Sky Fireball Network consists of 6 meteor video cameras in the southern United States, with plans to expand to 15 cameras by 2013. As of mid-2011, the network had detected 1796 multi-station meteors, including meteors from 43 different meteor showers. The current status of the NASA All Sky Fireball Network is described, alongside preliminary results.
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), METEOROID SHOWERS, ALL SKY PHOTOGRAPHY, COMPUTER PROGRAMS,...
In the last months, the Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy has been developing a Belgian network for observing radio meteors using forward scattering technique. This network is called BRAMS for Belgian RAdio Meteor Stations. Two beacons emitting a circularly polarized pure sine wave toward the zenith act as the transmitters at frequencies of 49.97 and 49.99 MHz. The first one located in Dourbes (Southern Belgium) emits a constant power of 150 Watts while the one located in Ieper (Western...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), AERONOMY, FORWARD SCATTERING, YAGI ANTENNAS, METEOR TRAILS,...
Meteoroids bombard Earth's atmosphere daily, but occasionally meteor rates increase to unusual high levels when Earth crosses the relatively fresh ejecta of comets. These transient events in meteor activity provide clues about the whereabouts of Earth-threatening long-period comets, the mechanisms of large-grain dust ejection from comets, and the particle composition and size distribution of the cometary ejecta. Observations of these transient events provide important insight in natural...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), METEOROIDS, METEOROID CONCENTRATION, COMETS, PARTICLE SIZE...
The first infrared spectroscopy in the 3-13 micron region has been obtained of several persistent Leonid meteor trains with two different instrument types, one at a desert ground-based site and the other on-board a high-flying aircraft. The spectra exhibit common structures assigned to enhanced emissions of warm CH4, CO2, CO and H2O which may originate from heated trace air compounds or materials created in the wake of the meteor. This is the first time that any of these molecules has been...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), INFRARED RADIATION, METEOR TRAILS, LEONID METEOROIDS,...
The atmospheric trajectory is calculated of a particularly well studied fireball and train during the 1999 Leonid Multi-Instrument Aircraft Campaign. Less than a minute after the meteor's first appearance, the train curves into a '2'-shape, which persisted until at least 13 minutes after the fireball. We conclude that the shape results because of horizontal winds from gravity waves with a scale height of 8.3 km at 79-91 km altitude, as well as a westerly wind gradient with altitude. In...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), LEONID METEOROIDS, BOLIDES, METEOR TRAILS, WIND EFFECTS,...
The rarefied and high Mach number (up to 270) of the flow field of a typical meteoroid as it enters the Earth's atmosphere implies conditions of ablation and atmospheric chemistry that have proven to be as difficult to grasp as the proverbial shooting star. An airborne campaign was organized to study these processes during an intense Leonid shower. A probe of molecular band emission now demonstrates that the flash of light from a common meteor originates in the wake of the object rather than in...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), AEROTHERMOCHEMISTRY, ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY, METEOR TRAILS,...
Eighteen Fe ablation trails were observed during the 17/18 Nov 1998 Leonid meteor shower with an airborne Fe lidar aboard the National Simulation Facility/National Center for Atmospheric Research (NSF/NCAR) Electra aircraft over Okinawa. The average altitude of the 18 trails from the high velocity (72 km/s) Leonid meteors, 95.67 +/- 0.93 km, is approximately 6.7 km higher than previously observed for slower (approx. 30 km/s) sporadic meteors. This height difference is consistent with the...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), ABLATION, IRON, IRON METEORITES, DIFFUSION, METEOROID...
The work performed during the 12-month period of this contract involved: (1) further analysis of latitudinal variations in the Venusian NO nightglow intensity from PVOUVS data; (2) corrections made to the input data for the VTGCM model, relating specifically to a factor of three increase in the three-body recombination rate coefficient of N + O; (3) consideration of limits on the rate of reaction of N-atoms with CO2; (4) consideration of the Venusian equivalent of the terrestrial hot N-atom...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), PIONEER VENUS SPACECRAFT, DATA PROCESSING, LATITUDE...
The results of track study of approximately 80 individual silicate mineral crystals (ol, px, plag) picked out from Kaidun meteorite are presented. A wide range of observed rho(sub VH) value distributions indicate the complex irradiation history of Kaidun minerals. In one anortite crystal having two track groups with different parameters the pre-accretion irradiation traces were observed in all probability.
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), CARBONACEOUS METEORITES, METEORITIC COMPOSITION, MINERALS,...
Visual meteor observations are carried out on a regular basis by many experienced observers worldwide, thus supplying information about activity of meteor showers. The limits of the method are determined by the accuracy of the detection of the meteor trail. This study shows that visual meteor observations provide reliable data for an observable hourly rate of greater than or equal to 3.
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), METEOROID SHOWERS, SPACE OBSERVATIONS (FROM EARTH), VISUAL...
The observation of meteor trails by a vertical mesosphere - stratosphere - troposphere (MST) radar beam has the advantage of good height resolution and an approximate knowledge of the zenith angle since the trails are horizontal or near-horizontal. An extension of the ablation theory of meteors was developed for near horizontal trails which takes into account the curvature of the earth. Observations of the Geminid meteor shower by MST radar reveal the 'diffusion heights' to be in fair agreement...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), GEMINID METEOROIDS, MESOSPHERE, METEOR TRAILS, METEOROID...
A solution to the problem of the diffusion of a meteor train in the geomagnetic field from an initial line density may be written in closed form in terms of effective diffusion coefficients depending on direction, enabling detailed calculations across the entire range of angle of train to field and relevant heights. While the effective diffusion coefficient in the plane of train and field then remains close to the zero field ambipolar value right up to 90 deg, the effective coefficient in the...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), DIFFUSION, DIFFUSION COEFFICIENT, GEOMAGNETISM, MAGNETIC...
A new method of determination of meteor flux density distribution over the celestial sphere is discussed. The flux density was derived from observations by radar together with measurements of angles of arrival of radio waves reflected from meteor trails. The role of small meteor showers over the sporadic background is shown.
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), CELESTIAL SPHERE, DENSITY DISTRIBUTION, FLUX DENSITY, METEOR...
Meteor radar provide measurements of the upper mesosphere and lower thermosphere neutral wind field by using the reflection of electromagnetic waves from meteor trails. These radars are relatively inexpensive and provide an excellent means of monitoring the mean winds and tides in the 80 to 100 km region. Recently new techniques were developed to detect meteor echoes from other ground based radar systems operating in the HF/VHF frequency range. The meteor echo information augments the data that...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION, METEOROLOGICAL RADAR, UPPER...
Studies of meteor showers permit the solving of some principal problems of meteor astronomy: to obtain the structure of a stream in cross section and along its orbits; to retrace the evolution of particle orbits of the stream taking into account gravitational and nongravitational forces and to discover the orbital elements of its parent body; to find out the total mass of solid particles ejected from the parent body taking into account physical and chemical evolution of meteor bodies; and to...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), ASTRONOMICAL PHOTOMETRY, METEORITIC COMPOSITION, METEOROID...
There is no reliable experimental evidence so far of either the presence or absence of nonisothermal effects in newly formed meteor trails. Neither is there a common opinion on the most effective mechanism of electron cooling. According to the laboratory experimental data collisions of atomic and molecular particles of all kinds having velocities of 10 to 70/kms often yields 1 eV electrons and not infrequently some have energies reaching several electron volts. These highest energy electrons...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), ELECTRON ENERGY, METEOR TRAILS, NONISOTHERMAL PROCESSES,...
Mechanisms of excitation of individual spectral line radiation were studied experimentally and theoretically and it was demonstrated that such processes as oxidation, resonant charge exchange, dissociative recombination and others play an important part in the chemistry of excited particles. The foundation was laid toward simulating the elementary processes of meteor physics. Having a number of advantages and possibilities, this method is sure to find a wide use in the future.
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), ATMOSPHERIC IONIZATION, METEOR TRAILS, METEOROID SHOWERS,...
GLOBMET (the Global Meteor Observation System) was first proposed by the Soviet Geophysical Committee and was accepted by the Middle Atmosphere Program Steering Committee in 1982. While the atmospheric dynamics data from the system are of primary interest to MAP, GLOBMET also encompasses the astronomical radio and optical observations of meteoroids, and the physics of their interaction with the Earth's atmosphere. These astronomical observations and interactional physics with the Earth's...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), METEOR TRAILS, METEOROID SHOWERS, METEOROLOGICAL PARAMETERS,...
Spectral observations of meteors have been carried out for several years using an optical electronics facility. Interest has centered on faint meteors and their trails in the period of intensive meteor showers. Over 800 meteors were registered during the observation period, with spectrograms obtained for 170 of these. A total of 86 meteors were photographed from two sites and for 25 of these spectrograms of the meteors as well as their trails were obtained. All meteors have undergone routine...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), LINE SPECTRA, METEOR TRAILS, METEORITIC COMPOSITION,...
At present, there are a great number of radio meteor, ionosphere and rocket observation data for the altitude range of 80 to 100 km which indicate the existence of large scale circulation systems in the mesopause to low thermosphere range which change regularly with season and latitude. But the existing observation network and observation programs are not optimal for revealing the main factors forming the circulation mode at these altitudes. A generalized optimum monitoring mathematical model...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), ATMOSPHERIC IONIZATION, MATHEMATICAL MODELS, METEOR TRAILS,...
The classical spatial representation of meteor streams is an elliptical torus with variable cross section. The position of this torus in space is determined by the mean orbit elements that may be obtained directly from observations of individual meteor stream particles when crossed by the Earth. Since the orbits of individual particles of a stream differ from each other, the distance between them on a plane normal to the mean orbit of elliptical torus forms some area, i.e., a cross section. The...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), INCIDENT RADIATION, METEOR TRAILS, METEOROID SHOWERS,...
The distribution of orbital elements and flux density over the celestial sphere are the most common forms of representation of the meteor body distribution in the vicinity of the Earth's orbit. The determination of flux density distribution of sporadic meteor bodies was worked out. The method and its results are discussed.
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), METEOROID CONCENTRATION, PARTICLE FLUX DENSITY, SPORADIC...
Complex photographic and radar meteor observations were carried out. Using the available observational data, the density of incident flux of meteoroids was estimated over a wide mass range of 0.001 to 100 g. To avoid the influence of apparatus selectivity a special technique was applied. The main characteristics of this technique are given and discussed.
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), INCIDENT RADIATION, MASS DISTRIBUTION, METEOR TRAILS,...
The exploration of the ionospheric E region is a pressing problem, both in the applied and fundamental studies. Results are presented of an investigation: (1) to estimate the meteor ionization contribution to the night time E layer and influx; (2) to study the phenomenon of intensive sporadic layer formation following cessation of meteor stream activity; and (3) to access the role of metallic ions of meteor origin in the diurnal and seasonal variations in the occurrence probabilities of...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), ATMOSPHERIC IONIZATION, E REGION, METAL IONS, METEOR TRAILS,...
In a previous paper, it was shown that concentration of atomic oxygen in overdense meteor trails may exceed that of the normal atmosphere by a factor of several hundred times. This may lead to the formation of meteoric ozone. Therefore, it is imperative to estimate the concentration of ozone in the trails of meteor bodies with different masses. It seems that meteoric ozone must be taken into account when studying the balance of ionization in the meteor trails formed by particles with masses...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), CHEMICAL REACTIONS, EARTH ATMOSPHERE, METEOR TRAILS,...
Previous analyses of meteoroid compositional groupings have utilized the end height of fireballs as a diagnostic tool. From an observational perspective this definition is straight forward, but from a theoretical viewpoint there are problems with using this operational definition. In order to realistically assess the estimated geometric uncertainty of + 1 km in the observed end height, a theoretical definition of the end height of meteoritic fireballs is proposed using the results from the...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), BOLIDES, HEIGHT, KINETIC ENERGY, METEORITIC COMPOSITION,...
Meteor radiation appears as a result of collisions between meteoroid atoms and air molecules. Depending on duration, this radiation is usually divided into the following types: radiation of the meteor head; radiation of a coma surrounding or immediately following the meteor head; radiation of a trail formed as a result of fragments lagging behind or by the afterglow; and radiation of a meteor train forming from a tail as a result of various chemical and dynamical processes. To investigate...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), AIR, METEOR TRAILS, METEOROID SHOWERS, PARTICLE COLLISIONS,...
The solution to the problem of excitation of longitudinal and transverse electromagnetic waves in randomly inhomogeneous media is reduced to the derivation of a complex effective dielectric constant (EDC) tensor which nonlocally connects together the average macroscopic electromagnetic fields in continuous media, it is implied that the field values which are rapidly fluctuating on a microscopic scale in space and time become smoothed out in a specified way due to the inhomogeneous mixing of...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION, METEOR TRAILS, WAVE EQUATIONS,...
The study of wave disturbances (WD) in the upper part of the meteor zone (90 to 110 km) was made in the Tbilisi region. Observations were conducted using three ionospheric vertical sounders located at the corners of a triangle spaced from each other at a distance of 50 km, a four azimuth electrophotometer by the method of space reception with a small distance and a recording unit. These disturbances are measured and the results are given.
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), GRAVITY WAVES, INTERNAL WAVES, IONOSPHERIC DISTURBANCES,...
Determination of wind velocity by means of Doppler meteor radars is based on the assumption that an ionized meteor trail drifts together with the neutral atmosphere. From the Doppler frequency shift it is possible to estimate the radial velocity of the trail drift. Conversion of the recorded radial velocity to the true wind velocity vector in the given space region depends both on the radar technical parameters and the chosen atmospheric motion model. The atmospheric dynamic processes structure...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), IONOSPHERIC DRIFT, MERIDIONAL FLOW, METEOR TRAILS, WIND...
Radar scattering from ionized meteor trails has been used for many years as a way to determine mesopause-level winds. Scattering occurs perpendicular to the trails, and since the ionizing efficiency of the incoming meteoroids depends on the cosine of the zenith angle of the radiant, echoes directly overhead are rare. Stratosphere-troposphere (ST) radars normally sample within 15 deg of the vertical, and thus receive few meteor echoes. Even the higher powdered mesosphere-stratosphere-troposphere...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), METEOR TRAILS, METEORITES, METEOROLOGICAL RADAR, RADIO...
Meteor echoes come from random points in the observation volume, and are irregularly spaced in time. This precludes the use of fast fourier transformations (FFT) techniques on the raw data to give the spectrum of waves that are present. One way around this obstacle is to restrict our interest to a particular class of waves, and fit a corresponding model to the raw data. It is assumed that there is no horizontal variation across the observation volume for tides, but in the vertical this is...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), EARTH TIDES, FAST FOURIER TRANSFORMATIONS, INTERPOLATION,...
Progress in aeronomic research is reported. The following topics are discussed: ionospheric theory; rocket experiments; system development for Urbana measurements; meteor radar; coherent and incoherent scatter radar; and laser radar.
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), AERONOMY, ATMOSPHERIC PHYSICS, INCOHERENT SCATTERING,...
Population parameters of 275 streams including 20 additional streams in the synoptic-year sample were found by a computer technique. Some 16 percent of the sample is in these streams. Four meteor streams that have close orbital resemblance to Adonis cannot be positively identified as meteors ejected by Adonis within the last 12000 years. Ceplecha's discrete levels of meteor height are not evident in radar meteors. The spread of meteoroid fragments along their common trajectory was computed for...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), COMPUTER TECHNIQUES, METEOR TRAILS, ORBITAL ELEMENTS, RADAR...
A quantitative examination of the gravitational and nongravitational changes of orbits shows that for larger interplanetary bodies the perturbations by Jupiter strongly predominate over all other effects, which include perturbations by other planets, splitting of comet nuclei and jet effects of cometary ejections. The structure of meteor streams, indicates that the mutual compensation of the changes in individual elements entering the Jacobian integral, which is characteristic for the comets,...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), ASTEROIDS, COMET NUCLEI, EVOLUTION (DEVELOPMENT), METEOROID...
A comparison of theoretical calculations with the results of radar meteor observations shows that the theory of radio meteors satisfactorily represents observational data. Radar meteor observations are incompatible with the idea of low density for small meteoroids in the ablation process. The main mechanism of ablation is evaporation. During intensive evaporation, small meteoroids have a density close to that of usual stone meteorites.
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), ABLATION, METEOR TRAILS, RADAR SIGNATURES, RADIO METEORS,...
The distribution of reciprocal semi-major axes in photographic meteor orbits is studied. A detailed classification of the orbits is made according to quality. The distribution of 1/a in precise orbits is multimodal with two broad maxima approximately centered on 0.05 and 0.40 (AU)/1. Minima in the distribution appear near 0.20 and 0.66 (AU)/1 corresponding to Jupiter's and Mars' position in the 1/a diagram. Considerable fine structure appears in the 1/a distribution. Resonance gaps...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), AXES (REFERENCE LINES), METEOR TRAILS, MINIMUM VARIANCE ORBIT...
The effect of disturbed air behind the meteor body on the motion and ablation of fragments observed partly as the difference between the photometrically and the dynamically determined masses of the meteor body. By use of extreme mathematical conditions, this difference can be made to reach orders of magnitude during the latter part of the trajectory.
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), ASTRONOMICAL PHOTOMETRY, ATMOSPHERIC IONIZATION, METEOR...
The Fire 1 test was designed to study the heating of an Apollo-type reentry vehicle. The total reentry complex weighed approximately 230 kg and entered the upper atmosphere at a velocity of 11.5 km/s. The spectrum of the reentry complex has been studied in the wavelength range 3700 to 8800 A, where 102 multiplets of 21 atoms and the band systems of 5 diatomic molecules have been identified. Comparisons with meteor spectra are made.
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), AERODYNAMIC HEAT TRANSFER, ATMOSPHERIC ENTRY, MOLECULAR...
An extraordinary spectrum of a meteor at a velocity of about 18.5 + or - 1.0 km/s was observed with an image orthicon camera. The radiant of the meteor was at an altitude of about 49 deg. It was first seen showing a yellow red continuous spectrum alone at a height of 137 + or - 8 km which is ascribed to the first positive group of nitrogen bands. After the meteor had descended to 116 + or - 6 km above sea level it brightened rapidly from its previous threshold brightness into a uniform...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), IMAGE ORTHICONS, LINE SPECTRA, METEOR TRAILS, SPECTRUM...
Atmospheric entry of meteoritic bodies is conveniently and accurately simulated in the laboratory by techniques which employ the charging and electrostatic acceleration of macroscopic solid particles. Velocities from below 10 to above 50 km/s are achieved for particle materials which are elemental meteoroid constituents or mineral compounds with characteristics similar to those of meteoritic stone. The velocity, mass, and kinetic energy of each particle are measured nondestructively, after...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), ATMOSPHERIC ENTRY SIMULATION, LUMINOUS INTENSITY, METEOR...
Recombinations in the ionized columns generated by faint radar meteors are observed as: (1) A rapid loss of returned signal in the first few milliseconds after formation of the column; (2) an apparent absence of bright, low meteors; and (3) anomalies in apparent diffusion rates. Recombination at rates characteristic of dissociative recombination of ionized atmospheric molecules N2(+) and O2(+) is completely consistent with the observations. It appears either that the molecules are ionized in...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), ELECTRON-ION RECOMBINATION, RADAR ECHOES, RADIO METEORS,...
Three networks for the photography of bright fireballs are now in operation; in the central United States, central Europe and western Canada. A detailed comparison is made of the parameters which describe the three networks. Although only two meteorites for which photographic orbital data are available have been recovered, the networks are contributing valuable data on fireball orbits, influx rates and problems of meteor physics.
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), FIREBALLS, GLOBAL TRACKING NETWORK, METEOR TRAILS,...
Interplanetary distributions from a sample of 20,000 radar meteor observations are presented. These distributions are freed from all known selection effects with the exception of a possible bias against fragmenting meteors which has not yet been adequately assessed. These data thus represent the largest and most accurate collection of radar meteor distributions. Both general average distribution and the distribution of meteor streams with their comet and asteroid associations are presented....
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), INTERPLANETARY SPACE, METEOROIDS, RADAR TRACKING, METEOR...
