Three‐dimensional radar observation of a submillimeter meteoroid fragmentation

Kero, Johan; Szasz, Csilla; Pellinen‐Wannberg, Asta; Wannberg, G.; Westman, Assar; Meisel, D. D.

doi:10.1029/2007gl032733

Cited by 37 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 9 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Kero et al (2008a) have shown that these are sometimes caused by interference between echoes from two or more distinct scattering centers simultaneously present in the radar beam. The Doppler shift of the returned signal from two simultaneously illuminated meteoric fragments is proportional to a weighted arithmetic mean of their Doppler velocities, with weights equal to the square root of their RCSs.…”

Section: Radial Deceleration Due To Finite Beamwidthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Determination of meteoroid physical properties from tristatic radar observations

et al. 2008

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. In this work we give a review of the meteor head echo observations carried out with the tristatic 930 MHz EISCAT UHF radar system during four 24 h runs between 2002 and 2005 and compare these with earlier observations. A total number of 410 tristatic meteors were observed. We describe a method to determine the position of a compact radar target in the common volume monitored by the three receivers and demonstrate its applicability for meteor studies. The inferred positions of the meteor targets have been utilized to estimate their velocities, decelerations and directions of arrival as well as their radar cross sections with unprecedented accuracy. The velocity distribution of the meteoroids is bimodal with peaks at 35-40 km/s and 55-60 km/s, and ranges from 19-70 km/s. The estimated masses are between 10 −9 -10 −5.5 kg. There are very few detections below 30 km/s. The observations are clearly biased to high-velocity meteoroids, but not so biased against slow meteoroids as has been presumed from previous tristatic measurements. Finally, we discuss how the radial deceleration observed with a monostatic radar depends on the meteoroid velocity and the angle between the trajectory and the beam. The finite beamwidth leads to underestimated meteoroid masses if radial velocity and deceleration of meteoroids approaching the radar are used as estimates of the true quantities in a momentum equation of motion.

show abstract

Section: Radial Deceleration Due To Finite Beamwidthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Determination of meteoroid physical properties from tristatic radar observations

et al. 2008

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…With head echo observations, parameters such as velocity and deceleration components along the radar beam, altitude of occurrence and rates can be obtained directly (Kero et al 2008a). Tristatic measurements allow observing fragment formation (Kero et al 2008b) and estimating the meteoroid mass and size with high accuracy (Kero et al 2008c). These measurements also lead to a better derivation of the magnitude and orbit determinations for individual meteors (Szasz et …”

Section: Radar Meteor Observationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dusty Plasma Effects in Near Earth Space and Interplanetary Medium

et al. 2011

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Dusty plasma effects in near earth space and interplanetary mediumSpace Science Reviews, 2011, Vol. 161, Issue 1-4: 1-47 10.1007/s11214-011-9762-3Access to the published version may require subscription. Published with permission from:Springer Science+Business Media B.V.Space Science Reviews manuscript No. (will be inserted by the editor) Dusty plasma effects in near Earth space and interplanetary mediumReceived: date / Accepted: date Abstract We review dust and meteoroid fluxes and their dusty plasma effects in the interplanetary medium near Earth orbit and in the Earth's ionosphere. Aside from in-situ measurements from sounding rockets and spacecraft, experimental data cover radar and optical observations of meteors. Dust plasma interactions in the interplanetary medium are observed by the detection of charged dust particles, by the detection of dust that is accelerated in the solar wind and by the detection of ions and neutrals that are released from the dust. These interactions are not well understood and lack quantitative description. There is still a huge discrepancy in the estimates of meteoroid mass deposition into the atmosphere. The radar meteor observations are of particular interest for determining this number. Dust measurements from spacecraft require a better understanding of the dust impact ionization process, as well as of the dust charging processes. The latter are also important for further studying nano dust trajectories in the solar wind. Moreover understanding of the complex dependencies that cause the variation of nano dust fluxes is still a challenge.

show abstract

“…In contrast to this, fragmentation of radar meteor echoes has become a subject of discussion in the radar meteor community only in the past few years with evidence of fragmentation being found in head echo observations carried out using high power large aperture (HPLA) radars (Kero et al 2008;; Malhotra and Mathews ). Relatively few studies have been conducted on fragmentation and its effects on radar specular trail echoes.…”

mentioning

confidence: 96%

Evidence of Meteoroid Fragmentation in Specular Trail Echoes Observed Using Gadanki MST Radar

et al. 2014

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Meteoroids are responsible for deposition of thousands of kilograms of annual mass flux in the Earth's upper atmosphere but the disintegration mechanisms of these bodies, and hence their composition, still remains a subject of debate in the meteor radar community. The role and significance of fragmentation as a meteoroid disintegration mechanism has been of particular interest in the past few years but in contrast to the head echoes, relatively little work has been done to study the effect and extent of fragmentation on trail echoes observed by the high power large aperture radars. Using the 53 MHz Gadanki MST radar, we present examples of radar meteor trails whose evolution cannot be explained with just the aid of classical meteor ablation theory. These examples are analyzed and discussed on a case-by-case basis and it is reported that the evolution of these trails can be explained with the help of fragmentation. This study will form the basis for future modeling efforts of fragmenting meteor trails and has important implications on the form in which the meteoroid mass is deposited in the upper atmosphere.

show abstract

Three‐dimensional radar observation of a submillimeter meteoroid fragmentation

Cited by 37 publications

References 9 publications

Determination of meteoroid physical properties from tristatic radar observations

Determination of meteoroid physical properties from tristatic radar observations

Dusty Plasma Effects in Near Earth Space and Interplanetary Medium

Evidence of Meteoroid Fragmentation in Specular Trail Echoes Observed Using Gadanki MST Radar

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About