Open AccessTrail in the atmosphere of the 29 December 2000 meteor as recorded in Tahiti: Characteristics and trajectory reconstitution
Author(s) -
Le Pichon A.,
Guérin J. M.,
Blanc E.,
Reymond D.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: atmospheres
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.67
H-Index - 298
eISSN - 2156-2202
pISSN - 0148-0227
DOI - 10.1029/2001jd001283
Subject(s) - meteor (satellite) , geology , meteoroid , azimuth , altitude (triangle) , infrasound , atmosphere (unit) , trajectory , geodesy , seismology , meteor shower , meteorology , geography , astronomy , physics , geometry , mathematics , acoustics
On 29 December 2000, a meteor entry in the atmosphere produced several bright lights in the sky of Tahiti and intense sonic booms around midnight local time. This event was detected by the Laboratoire de Détection et de Géophysique French Polynesian seismic network and by the IS24 infrasound station in Tahiti operating for the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO). Both seismic and infrasonic signals indicated that the altitude of the meteor's last explosion was ∼45 km. From the wave azimuth and incidence angle determined through infrasonic data processing, the meteor trajectory has been backtracked over 55 km. Determination of the azimuth and incidence angle of the infrasonic arrivals permitted the determination of a 55 km segment of the meteor trajectory. The velocity of the meteor decreased from 17 to 15 km/s in ∼4 s, while its altitude changed from 55 to 45 km. The diameter and the kinetic energy of the bolide are evaluated using the infrasonic measurements and numerical simulations.