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At least 253 records · Page 14

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NASA NTRS1987

Methods and first results of plasma non-isothermal parameters measurements in meteor trails

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 are referred to as superhot electrons. The method of measurement and the results of these measurements in meteor trails are discussed.

Kostylev, K. K.↗

NASA NTRS1987

The nonlinear thermodynamics of meteors, noctilucent clouds, enhanced airglow and global atmospheric circulation

Two types of fundamental topological junctions of elements are deduced from a nonlinear thermodynamical model. Using this scheme, the possibility of a causal relation between fireballs and faint meteors as nonlinear sources on the one hand, and noctilucent clouds (NC) and Hoffmeister's enhanced airglow (EA) as complementary formative processes in the middle atmosphere and ionosphere, on the other hand, is examined. The principal role of the global atmospheric circulation in this relation is demonstrated. Such circulation in the mesosphere appears to prevent the neutral dust dissipated by fireballs from becoming an efficient agent in NLC generation. In this case, the behavior of ionized material deposited by both the bright and faint meteors is more probably controlled, as shown from the annual variation of the E sub s layer by the darkness of lunar eclipses and the global circulation of the lower thermosphere. The role of fireballs and neutral dust might be more significant as a source of EA phenomenon.

Rajchl, J.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Models of sporadic meteor body distributions

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.

Andreev, V. V.↗

NASA NTRS1987

On the spatial structure of the Perseids meteor stream

The analysis of radar observations of the Perseid meteor stream conducted in an ionospherical laboratory in the period from 1964 to 1981 is presented. The Perseids meteor rates were determined by the fluctuation method. Analysis of their hourly distributions showed that the stream maximum position is different for different years, i.e., the stream nodal position is constantly changing. The results of the analysis are presented and discussed.

Andreev, G. V.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Meteor detection on ST (MST) radars

The ability to detect radar echoes from backscatter due to turbulent irregularities of the radio refractive index in the clear atmosphere has lead to an increasing number of established mesosphere - stratosphere - troposphere (MST or ST) radars. Humidity and temperature variations are responsible for the echo in the troposphere and stratosphere and turbulence acting on electron density gradients provides the echo in the mesosphere. The MST radar and its smaller version, the ST radar, are pulsed Doppler radars operating in the VHF - UHF frequency range. These echoes can be used to determine upper atmosphere winds at little extra cost to the ST radar configuration. In addition, the meteor echoes can supplement mesospheric data from an MST radar. The detection techniques required on the ST radar for delineating meteor echo returns are described.

Avery, S. K.↗

NASA NTRS1987

The Newcastle meteor radar

A brief history and development of the Newcastle Meteor Radar system is given. Also described are its geographical coordinates and its method of operation. The initial objective when the project was commenced was to develop an entirely digital analyzer capable of recognizing meteor echo signals and recording as many of their parameters as possible. This objective was achieved.

Keay, Colin↗

NASA NTRS1988

Antarctic ozone - Meteoric control of HNO3

Atmospheric circulation leads to an accumulation of debris from meteors in the Antarctic stratosphere at the beginning of austral spring. The major component of meteoric material is alkaline, comprised predominantly of the oxides of magnesium and iron. These metals may neutralize the natural acidity of stratospheric aerosols, remove nitric acid from the gas phase, and bond it as metal nitrates in the aerosol phase. Removal of nitric acid vapor has been previously shown to be a critical link in the photochemical depletion of ozone in the Antarctic spring, by allowing for increased catalytic loss from chlorine and bromine.

Prather, Michael J.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Abstracts for the International Conference on Asteroids, Comets, Meteors 1991

Topics addressed include: chemical abundances; asteroidal belt evolution; sources of meteors and meteorites; cometary spectroscopy; gas diffusion; mathematical models; cometary nuclei; cratering records; imaging techniques; cometary composition; asteroid classification; radio telescopes and spectroscopy; magnetic fields; cosmogony; IUE observations; orbital distribution of asteroids, comets, and meteors; solar wind effects; computerized simulation; infrared remote sensing; optical properties; and orbital evolution.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS1991

The subsurface character of Meteor Crater, Arizona, as determined by ground-probing radar

The first results are presented from a ground-probing-radar survey of the subsurface structure of the Meteor Crater (Arizona) and the surrounding ejecta blanket. Five ground-probing radar transects were conducted, including three complete north-south transects of the interior floor of the crater and a partial east-west transect, connecting the three north-south surveys; the fifth transect was exterior to the crater. A number of subsurface dielectric reflectors were identified in both the interior and exterior transects of the Meteor Crater. The depths of most of these reflectors in the interior transects corresponds to lithological boundaries known from previous data from drilling and shaft excavations. However, some of the reflectors, e.g., the horizontal reflectors within the allochthonous breccia lens, were not known from previous work.

Pilon, J. A.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Effect of the geomagnetic field on the diffusion of meteor trains

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 direction of the normal to plane of train and field drops steadily to its theta = 0 value at theta = 90 deg. At 95 km this corresponds to a change of almost 5 km, in 'diffusion height', that is, the height of an underdense meteor calculated on the basis of the exponential decay of its radar echo. We have estimated the consequent changes in the expected distribution of diffusion heights for various orientations of radar antenna and find the dependence on azimuth is very marked. The effect of the field is relatively minor for a south pointing beam but very strong if the beam is pointing north.

Jones, William↗

NASA NTRS1992

Meteor fireball sounds identified

Sounds heard simultaneously with the flight of large meteor fireballs are electrical in origin. Confirmation that Extra/Very Low Frequency (ELF/VLF) electromagnetic radiation is produced by the fireball was obtained by Japanese researchers. Although the generation mechanism is not fully understood, studies of the Meteorite Observation and Recovery Project (MORP) and other fireball data indicate that interaction with the atmosphere is definitely responsible and the cut-off magnitude of -9 found for sustained electrophonic sounds is supported by theory. Brief bursts of ELF/VLF radiation may accompany flares or explosions of smaller fireballs, producing transient sounds near favorably placed observers. Laboratory studies show that mundane physical objects can respond to electrical excitation and produce audible sounds. Reports of electrophonic sounds should no longer be discarded. A catalog of over 300 reports relating to electrophonic phenomena associated with meteor fireballs, aurorae, and lightning was assembled. Many other reports have been cataloged in Russian. These may assist the full solution of the similar long-standing and contentious mystery of audible auroral displays.

Keay, Colin↗

NASA NTRS1992

Wake in faint television meteors

The two component dustball model was used in numerical lag computation. Detached grain lag is typically less than 2 km, with expected wakes of a few hundred meters. True wake in television meteors is masked by apparent wake due to the combined effects of image persistence and blooming. To partially circumvent this problem, we modified a dual MCP intensified CID video system by addition of a rotating shutter to reduce the effective exposure time to about 2.0 ms. Preliminary observations showed that only 2 of 27 analyzed meteors displayed statistically significant wake.

Robertson, M. C.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Siderophile element fractionation in meteor crater impact glasses and metallic spherules

Meteor Crater, Arizona provides an opportunity to study, in detail, elemental fractionation processes occurring during impacts through the study of target rocks, meteorite projectile and several types of impact products. We have performed EMPA and INAA on target rocks, two types of impact glass and metallic spherules from Meteor Crater. Using literature data for the well studied Canyon Diablo iron we can show that different siderophite element fractionations affected the impact glasses than affected the metallic spherules. The impact glasses primarily lost Au, while the metallic spherules lost Fe relative to other siderophile elements.

Mittlefehldt, David W.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Ejecta patterns of Meteor Crater, Arizona derived from the linear un-mixing of TIMS data and laboratory thermal emission spectra

Accurate interpretation of thermal infrared data depends upon the understanding and removal of complicating effects. These effects may include physical mixing of various mineralogies and particle sizes, atmospheric absorption and emission, surficial coatings, geometry effects, and differential surface temperatures. The focus is the examination of the linear spectral mixing of individual mineral or endmember spectra. Linear addition of spectra, for particles larger than the wavelength, allows for a straight-forward method of deconvolving the observed spectra, predicting a volume percent of each endmember. The 'forward analysis' of linear mixing (comparing the spectra of physical mixtures to numerical mixtures) has received much attention. The reverse approach of un-mixing thermal emission spectra was examined with remotely sensed data, but no laboratory verification exists. Understanding of the effects of spectral mixing on high resolution laboratory spectra allows for the extrapolation to lower resolution, and often more complicated, remotely gathered data. Thermal Infrared Multispectral Scanner (TIMS) data for Meteor Crater, Arizona were acquired in Sep. 1987. The spectral un-mixing of these data gives a unique test of the laboratory results. Meteor Crater (1.2 km in diameter and 180 m deep) is located in north-central Arizona, west of Canyon Diablo. The arid environment, paucity of vegetation, and low relief make the region ideal for remote data acquisition. Within the horizontal sedimentary sequence that forms the upper Colorado Plateau, the oldest unit sampled by the impact crater was the Permian Coconino Sandstone. A thin bed of the Toroweap Formation, also of Permian age, conformably overlays the Coconino. Above the Toroweap lies the Permian Kiabab Limestone which, in turn, is covered by a thin veneer of the Moenkopi Formation. The Moenkopi is Triassic in age and has two distinct sub-units in the vicinity of the crater. The lower Wupatki member is a fine-grained sandstone, while the upper Moqui member is a fissile siltstone. Ejecta from these units are preserved as inverted stratigraphy up to 2 crater radii from the rim. The mineralogical contrast between the units, relative lack of post-emplacement erosion and ejecta mixing provide a unique site to apply the un-mixing model. Selection of the aforementioned units as endmembers reveals distinct patterns in the ejecta of the crater.

Ramsey, Michael S.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Erosion of ejecta at Meteor Crater, Arizona

New methods for estimating erosion at Meteor Crater, Arizona, indicate that continuous ejecta deposits beyond 1/4-1/2 crater radii from the rim have been lowered less than 1 m on the average. This conclusion is based on the results of two approaches: coarsening of unweathered ejecta into surface lag deposits and calculation of the sediment budget within a drainage basin on the ejecta. Preserved ejecta morphologies beneath thin alluvium revealed by ground-penetrating radar provide qualitative support for the derived estimates. Although slightly greater erosion of less resistant ejecta locally has occurred, such deposits were limited in extent, particularly beyond 0.25R-0.5R from the present rim. Subtle but preserved primary ejecta features further support our estimate of minimal erosion of ejecta since the crater formed about 50,000 years ago. Unconsolidated deposits formed during other sudden extreme events exhibit similarly low erosion over the same time frame; the common factor is the presence of large fragments or large fragments in a matrix of finer debris. At Meteor Crater, fluvial and eolian processes remove surrounding fines leaving behind a surface lag of coarse-grained ejecta fragments that armor surfaces and slow vertical lowering.

Grant, John A.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Post launch performance of the Meteor-3/TOMS instrument

The Meteor-3/TOMS instrument is the second in a series of Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometers (TOMS) following the 1978 launch of Nimbus-7/TOMS. TOMS instruments are designed to measure total ozone amounts over the entire earth on a daily basis, and have been the cornerstone of ozone trend monitoring. Consequently, calibration is a critical issue, and is receiving much attention on both instruments. Performance and calibration data obtained by monitoring systems aboard the Meteor-3 instrument have been analyzed through the first full year of operation, and indicate that the instrument is performing quite well. A new system for monitoring instrument sensitivity employing multiple diffusers has been used successfully and is providing encouraging results. The 3-diffuser system has monitored changes in instrument sensitivity of a few percent despite decreases in diffuser reflectivity approaching 50 percent since launch.

Jaross, Glen↗

NASA NTRS1996

Six Degree-of-Freedom Entry Dispersion Analysis for the METEOR Recovery Module

The present study performs a six degree-of-freedom entry dispersion analysis for the Multiple Experiment Transporter to Earth Orbit and Return (METEOR) mission. METEOR offered the capability of flying a recoverable science package in a microgravity environment. However, since the Recovery Module has no active control system, an accurate determination of the splashdown position is difficult because no opportunity exists to remove any errors. Hence, uncertainties in the initial conditions prior to deorbit burn initiation, during deorbit burn and exo-atmospheric coast phases, and during atmospheric flight impact the splashdown location. This investigation was undertaken to quantify the impact of the various exo-atmospheric and atmospheric uncertainties. Additionally, a Monte-Carlo analysis was performed to statistically assess the splashdown dispersion footprint caused by the multiple mission uncertainties. The Monte-Carlo analysis showed that a 3-sigma splashdown dispersion footprint with axes of 43.3 nm (long), -33.5 nm (short), and 10.0 nm (crossrange) can be constructed. A 58% probability exists that the Recovery Module will overshoot the nominal splashdown site.

Desai, Prasun N.↗

NASA NTRS1999

Meteoric Magnesium Ions in the Martian Atmosphere

From a thorough modeling of the altitude profile of meteoritic ionization in the Martian atmosphere we deduce that a persistent layer of magnesium ions should exist around an altitude of 70 km. Based on current estimates of the meteoroid mass flux density, a peak ion density of about 10(exp 4) ions/cm is predicted. Allowing for the uncertainties in all of the model parameters, this value is probably within an order of magnitude of the correct density. Of these parameters, the peak density is most sensitive to the meteoroid mass flux density which directly determines the ablated line density into a source function for Mg. Unlike the terrestrial case, where the metallic ion production is dominated by charge-exchange of the deposited neutral Mg with the ambient ions, Mg+ in the Martian atmosphere is produced predominantly by photoionization. The low ultraviolet absorption of the Martian atmosphere makes Mars an excellent laboratory in which to study meteoric ablation. Resonance lines not seen in the spectra of terrestrial meteors may be visible to a surface observatory in the Martian highlands.

Pesnell, William Dean↗