Meteor Showers' Activity and Forecasting
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Teachers' Guide to Meteor Showers Leonids Meteor Shower
Education and Public Outreach Look Up! Event Guides Teachers’ Guide to Meteor Showers Leonids Meteor Shower - November 17/18, 2015 What is a meteor shower? A meteor shower is a predictable celestial event in which a relatively large number of meteors streak across the sky on a given night or series of nights. Meteor showers appear to originate from one point (called the radiant) in the night sky, often a constellation. Meteor showers get their name from the constellation from which they appear to originate. Meteor showers are caused by debris called meteoroids entering Earth’s atmosphere at extremely high speeds. This debris usually comes from comets that intersect Earth’s orbit. As Earth orbits the Sun, it collides with the debris left by passing comets and the result are meteors streaking through Earth’s atmosphere. Most meteors are smaller than a grain of sand, so almost all of them disintegrate before having a chance to hit the ground. In 2015, the annual Leonid meteor shower will peak the night of November 17/18. The Leonids are so named because they appear to originate from the constellation of Leo (the lion). The debris responsible for the Leonids comes from the comet Tempel- Tuttle. It is possible to view about 20 meteors in one hour at the peak of the Leonids meteor shower. Upcoming Events Find information and resources about upcoming celestial events and NASA mission milestones to share with your students at http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/look_up. Meteor Showers/Comets in Your Classroom! Use the resources below to enable your students to explore meteor showers. -
The Solar System
5 The Solar System R. Lynne Jones, Steven R. Chesley, Paul A. Abell, Michael E. Brown, Josef Durech,ˇ Yanga R. Fern´andez,Alan W. Harris, Matt J. Holman, Zeljkoˇ Ivezi´c,R. Jedicke, Mikko Kaasalainen, Nathan A. Kaib, Zoran Kneˇzevi´c,Andrea Milani, Alex Parker, Stephen T. Ridgway, David E. Trilling, Bojan Vrˇsnak LSST will provide huge advances in our knowledge of millions of astronomical objects “close to home’”– the small bodies in our Solar System. Previous studies of these small bodies have led to dramatic changes in our understanding of the process of planet formation and evolution, and the relationship between our Solar System and other systems. Beyond providing asteroid targets for space missions or igniting popular interest in observing a new comet or learning about a new distant icy dwarf planet, these small bodies also serve as large populations of “test particles,” recording the dynamical history of the giant planets, revealing the nature of the Solar System impactor population over time, and illustrating the size distributions of planetesimals, which were the building blocks of planets. In this chapter, a brief introduction to the different populations of small bodies in the Solar System (§ 5.1) is followed by a summary of the number of objects of each population that LSST is expected to find (§ 5.2). Some of the Solar System science that LSST will address is presented through the rest of the chapter, starting with the insights into planetary formation and evolution gained through the small body population orbital distributions (§ 5.3). The effects of collisional evolution in the Main Belt and Kuiper Belt are discussed in the next two sections, along with the implications for the determination of the size distribution in the Main Belt (§ 5.4) and possibilities for identifying wide binaries and understanding the environment in the early outer Solar System in § 5.5. -
Meteoroid Stream Formation Due to the Extraction of Space Resources from Asteroids
Meteoroid Stream Formation Due to the Extraction of Space Resources from Asteroids Logan Fladeland(1), Aaron C. Boley(2), and Michael Byers(3) (1) UBC, Department of Physics and Astronomy, 6224 Agricultural Rd, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1 (Canada), [email protected] (2) UBC, Department of Physics and Astronomy, 6224 Agricultural Rd, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1 (Canada), [email protected] (3) UBC, Department of Political Science, 1866 Main Mall C425, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1 (Canada), [email protected] ABSTRACT Asteroid mining is not necessarily a distant prospect. Building on the earlier mission Hayabusa, two spacecraft (Hayabusa2 and OSIRIS-REx) have recently rendezvoused with near-Earth asteroids and will return samples to Earth. While there is significant science motivation for these missions, there are also resource interests. Space agencies and commercial entities are particularly interested in ices and water-bearing minerals that could be used to produce rocket fuel in deep space. The internationally coordinated roadmaps of major space agencies depend on utilizing the natural resources of such celestial bodies. Several companies have already created plans for intercepting and extracting water and minerals from near-Earth objects, as even a small asteroid could have high economic worth. The low surface gravity of asteroids could make the release of mining waste and the subsequent formation of debris streams a consequence of asteroid mining. Proposed strategies that would contain material during extraction could be inefficient or could still require the purposeful jettison of mining waste to avoid the need to manage unwanted mass. Since all early mining targets are expected to be near-Earth asteroids due to their orbital accessibility, these streams could be Earth-crossing and create risks for Earth and lunar satellite populations, as well as humans and equipment on the lunar surface. -
The Leonid Meteor Shower: Historical Visual Observations
Icarus 138, 287–308 (1999) Article ID icar.1998.6074, available online at http://www.idealibrary.com on The Leonid Meteor Shower: Historical Visual Observations P. Brown Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, N6A 3K7, Canada E-mail: [email protected] Received July 20, 1998; revised December 10, 1998 of past showers, independent of the many secondary accounts The original visual accounts of the Leonids from 1799 to 1997 which appear in the literature, in an effort to better understand are examined and the times and magnitude of peak activity are the stream’s past activity, its formation, and as a way to predict established for 32 Leonid returns during this two-century interval. what may happen in the years from 1999 onwards. In addition, Previous secondary accounts of many of these returns are shown this revised set of historical Leonid data provides a set of obser- to differ from the information contained in the original accounts vations reduced in a common manner, which any model of the due to misinterpretations, typographical errors, and unsupported stream must be able to explain and to which others can easily assumptions. The strongest Leonid storms are shown to follow a examine and apply their own corrections. Gaussian activity profile and to occur after the perihelion passage In this work, we examine in detail available original records and nodal longitude of 55P/Tempel–Tuttle. The relationship be- tween the Gaussian width of the strongest returns and their peak of the Leonids for modern returns of the shower (here defined activity is established, and the particle density/stream width rela- to be post-1799). -
17. a Working List of Meteor Streams
PRECEDING PAGE BLANK NOT FILMED. 17. A Working List of Meteor Streams ALLAN F. COOK Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory Cambridge, Massachusetts HIS WORKING LIST which starts on the next is convinced do exist. It is perhaps still too corn- page has been compiled from the following prehensive in that there arc six streams with sources: activity near the threshold of detection by pho- tography not related to any known comet and (1) A selection by myself (Cook, 1973) from not sho_m to be active for as long as a decade. a list by Lindblad (1971a), which he found Unless activity can be confirmed in earlier or from a computer search among 2401 orbits of later years or unless an associated comet ap- meteors photographed by the Harvard Super- pears, these streams should probably be dropped Sehmidt cameras in New Mexico (McCrosky and from a later version of this list. The author will Posen, 1961) be much more receptive to suggestions for dele- (2) Five additional radiants found by tions from this list than he will be to suggestions McCrosky and Posen (1959) by a visual search for additions I;o it. Clear evidence that the thresh- among the radiants and velocities of the same old for visual detection of a stream has been 2401 meteors passed (as in the case of the June Lyrids) should (3) A further visual search among these qualify it for permanent inclusion. radiants and velocities by Cook, Lindblad, A comment on the matching sets of orbits is Marsden, McCrosky, and Posen (1973) in order. It is the directions of perihelion that (4) A computer search -
Meteor Showers # 11.Pptx
20-05-31 Meteor Showers Adolf Vollmy Sources of Meteors • Comets • Asteroids • Reentering debris C/2019 Y4 Atlas Brett Hardy 1 20-05-31 Terminology • Meteoroid • Meteor • Meteorite • Fireball • Bolide • Sporadic • Meteor Shower • Meteor Storm Meteors in Our Atmosphere • Mesosphere • Atmospheric heating • Radiant • Zenithal Hourly Rate (ZHR) 2 20-05-31 Equipment Lounge chair Blanket or sleeping bag Hot beverage Bug repellant - ThermaCELL Camera & tripod Tracking Viewing Considerations • Preparation ! Locate constellation ! Take a nap and set alarm ! Practice photography • Location: dark & unobstructed • Time: midnight to dawn https://earthsky.org/astronomy- essentials/earthskys-meteor-shower- guide https://www.amsmeteors.org/meteor- showers/meteor-shower-calendar/ • Where to look: 50° up & 45-60° from radiant • Challenges: fatigue, cold, insects, Moon • Recording observations ! Sky map, pen, red light & clipboard ! Time, position & location ! Recording device & time piece • Binoculars Getty 3 20-05-31 Meteor Showers • 112 confirmed meteor showers • 695 awaiting confirmation • Naming Convention ! C/2019 Y4 (Atlas) ! (3200) Phaethon June Tau Herculids (m) Parent body: 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann Peak: June 2 – ZHR = 3 Slow moving – 15 km/s Moon: Waning Gibbous June Bootids (m) Parent body: 7p/Pons-Winnecke Peak: June 27– ZHR = variable Slow moving – 14 km/s Moon: Waxing Crescent Perseid by Brian Colville 4 20-05-31 July Delta Aquarids Parent body: 96P/Machholz Peak: July 28 – ZHR = 20 Intermediate moving – 41 km/s Moon: Waxing Gibbous Alpha -
Long Grazing and Slow Trail Fireball Over Portugal Spectra of Slow
e-Zine for meteor observers meteornews.org Vol. 4 / January 2017 A bright fireball photographed by four stations of the Danish Meteor network on December 25 at 2:11 UT. Long grazing and slow trail OCT outburst model comparisons fireball over Portugal in the years 2005, 2016, 2017 Spectra of slow bolides Worldwide radio results The PRO-AM Lunar Impact autumn 2016 project Exoss Fireball events 2016 – 4 eMeteorNews Contents Spectra of slow bolides Jakub Koukal ........................................................................................................................................... 117 Visual observing reports Paul Jones ............................................................................................................................................... 123 Fireball events Compiled by Paul Roggemans ................................................................................................................ 130 CAMS BeNeLux September results Carl Johannink ........................................................................................................................................ 134 October Camelopardalis outburst model comparisons in the years 2005, 2016, 2017 Esko Lyytinen .......................................................................................................................................... 135 CAMS Benelux contributed 4 OCT orbits Carl Johannink ....................................................................................................................................... -
19. Near-Earth Objects Chelyabinsk Meteor: 2013 ~0.5 Megaton Airburst ~1500 People Injured
Astronomy 241: Foundations of Astrophysics I 19. Near-Earth Objects Chelyabinsk Meteor: 2013 ~0.5 megaton airburst ~1500 people injured (C) Don Davis Asteroids 101 — B612 Foundation Great Daylight Fireball: 1972 Earthgrazer: The Great Daylight Fireball of 1972 Tunguska Meteor: 1908 Asteroid or comet: D ~ 40 m ~10 megaton airburst ~40 km destruction radius The Tunguska Impact Tunguska: The Largest Recent Impact Event Barringer Crater: ~50 ky BP M-type asteroid: D ~ 50 m ~10 megaton impact 1.2 km crater diameter Meteor Crater — Wikipedia Chicxulub Crater: ~65 My BP Asteroid: D ~ 10 km 180 km crater diameter Chicxulub Crater— Wikipedia Comets and Meteor Showers Comets shed dust and debris which slowly spread out as they move along the comet’s orbit. If the Earth encounters one of these trails, we get a Breakup of a Comet meteor shower. Meteor Stream Perseid Meteor Shower Raining Perseids Major Meteor Showers Forty Thousand Meteor Origins Across the Sky Known Potentially-Hazardous Objects Near-Earth object — Wikipedia Near-Earth object — Wikipedia Origin of Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) ! WHAM Mars Some fragments wind up on orbits which are resonant with Jupiter. Their orbits grow more elliptical, finally entering the inner solar system. Wikipedia: Asteroid belt Asteroid Families Many asteroids are members of families; they have similar orbits and compositions (indicated by colors). Asteroid Belt Populations Inner belt asteroids (left) and families (right). Origin of Key Stages in the Evolution of the Asteroid Vesta Processed Family Members Crust Surface Magnesium-Sliicate Lavas Meteorites Mantle (Olivine) Iron-Nickle Core Stony Irons? As smaller bodies in the early Solar System Heavier elements sink to the Occasional impacts with other bodies fall together, the asteroid agglomerates. -
Smithsonian Contributions Astrophysics
SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS to ASTROPHYSICS Number 14 Discrete Levels off Beginning Height off Meteors in Streams By A. F. Cook Number 15 Yet Another Stream Search Among 2401 Photographic Meteors By A. F. Cook, B.-A. Lindblad, B. G. Marsden, R. E. McCrosky, and A. Posen Smithsonian Institution Astrophysical Observatory Smithsonian Institution Press SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ASTROPHYSICS NUMBER 14 A. F. cook Discrete Levels of Beginning Height of Meteors in Streams SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION PRESS CITY OF WASHINGTON 1973 Publications of the Smithsonian Institution Astrophysical Observatory This series, Smithsonian Contributions to Astrophysics, was inaugurated in 1956 to provide a proper communication for the results of research conducted at the Astrophysical Observatory of the Smithsonian Institution. Its purpose is the "increase and diffusion of knowledge" in the field of astrophysics, with particular emphasis on problems of the sun, the earth, and the solar system. Its pages are open to a limited number of papers by other investigators with whom we have common interests. Another series, Annals of the Astrophysical Observatory, was started in 1900 by the Observa- tory's first director, Samuel P. Langley, and was published about every ten years. These quarto volumes, some of which are still available, record the history of the Observatory's researches and activities. The last volume (vol. 7) appeared in 1954. Many technical papers and volumes emanating from the Astrophysical Observatory have appeared in the Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections. Among these are Smithsonian Physical Tables, Smithsonian Meteorological Tables, and World Weather Records. Additional information concerning these publications can be obtained from the Smithsonian Institution Press, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. -
Sun Passes by Zubenelgenubi
The Wilderness Above Aileen O’Donoghue St. Lawrence University & Adirondack Public Observatory FOR 3/5/13 Comet Pan-STARRS The closing of the Isthmus of Panama, cutting off the equatorial flow between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, was just about complete five million years ago when, in the far reaches of the solar system, 50,000 times farther from the sun than Earth, two hill-sized hulks of rock, dust and volatile ices had a close encounter. The gravitational tug sent one of them plunging toward the distant sun appearing slightly dimmer than Venus does to us. It has taken all these years for that hulk, now Comet Pan-STARRS, to plunge to the inner solar system. It was just inside the orbit of Saturn and very faint on June 6, 2011 when it was discovered by the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response (Pan-STARRS) facility in Hawaii. In March of 2012, J.J. Gonzalez of Leon, Spain was the first amateur astronomer to spot it. It became visible with binoculars in January of this year and had formed a tail by February that southern hemisphere observers have imaged. Today, Comet Pan-STARRS will pass closest to the Earth at a distance a little greater than that to the sun. However, it is not yet visible from our latitude. On Thursday we may be able to spot it very low on the western horizon about ½ an hour after sunset. As the diagram shows, it will rise away from the horizon through the next couple weeks and gradually fade. On Sunday, the first day of Daylight Saving Time, it will make its closest approach to the sun at about 28 million miles. -
3D/Biela and the Andromedids: Fragmenting Versus Sublimating Comets P
The Astronomical Journal, 134:1037 Y 1045, 2007 September # 2007. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. Printed in U.S.A. 3D/BIELA AND THE ANDROMEDIDS: FRAGMENTING VERSUS SUBLIMATING COMETS P. Jenniskens1 and J. Vaubaillon2 Received 2007 January 3; accepted 2007 April 22 ABSTRACT Comet 3D/Biela broke up in 1842/1843 and continued to disintegrate in the returns of 1846 and 1852. When meteor storms were observed in November of 1872 and 1885, it was surmised that those showers were the debris from that breakup. This could have come from one of two sources: (1) the initial separation of fragments near aphelion or (2) the continued disintegration of the fragments afterward. Alternatively, the meteoroids could simply have come from water vapor drag when the fragments approached perihelion (option 3). We investigated the source of the Andromedid storms by calculating the dynamical evolution of dust ejected in a normal manner by water vapor drag in the returns from 1703 to 1866, assuming that the comet would have remained similarly active over each return. In addition, we simulated the isotropic ejection of dust during the initial fragmentation event at aphelion in December of 1842. We conclude that option 2 is the most likely source of meteoroids encountered during the 1872 and 1885 storms, but this accounts for only a relatively small amount of mass lost in a typical comet breakup. Key words: comets: individual (3D/Biela) — meteors, meteoroids — minor planets, asteroids 1. INTRODUCTION 2. THE COMET AND ITS SHOWER Ever since Whipple (1951) showed that water vapor can ac- 2.1. -
Five Wild Years Reminiscences of the Leonids Experience 1998 – 2002
Proceedings IMC Bollmannsruh 2003 29 Five wild years Reminiscences of the Leonids experience 1998 – 2002 Daniel Fischer K¨onigswinter, Germany Abstract This is not a scientific review of the surprises, discoveries and sensations the Leonids brought from 1998 to 2002, but a look back by one observer (and science writer) who often witnessed first-hand what went on in the sky — and also how science finally got its grip on the elusive and striking phenomenon of meteor storms. It was a truly an experience with a deep impact (no pun intended) that is not likely to be repeated... I admit it: before about ten years ago I had considered meteor observing, especially with your own eye, as one of the most useless branches of (amateur) astronomy, with no serious data reduction possible and dubious results. This was not true, at least at that time, of course (see Roggemans, 2004), but the progress made by the IMO had not been widely known to the outside world. Not in- terested at all in systematic meteor watching, I was struck by the idea of meteor storms nonetheless: I had read a lot about the fabulous Leonids storm of 1966 and eagerly devoured two big reviews of meteor storms in British journals. Beech et al (1995) had described these rare phenomena as both spectacular and little understood, while Mason (1995) predicted — using a crude model — storms of the Leonids with ZHRs around 5000 in 1998 and 1999. Would it be worth chasing after those possible storms? I was already travelling a lot for astronomy’s sake, both in the quest for eclipses (1983, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995 and so on) and comets (Halley in 1986), but for meteors? Then again, Brad Schaefer, the American astronomer famous for his professional work on astronomy with the naked eye, had told me in 1988 that for him one meteor storm would be “worth ten eclipses”.