Premium
Very precise orbits of 1998 Leonid meteors
Author(s) -
BETLEM Hans,
JENNISKENS Peter,
LEVEN Jaap van ‘t,
KUILE Casper ter,
JOHANNINK Carl,
ZHAO Haibin,
LEI Chenming,
LI Guanyou,
ZHU Jin,
EVANS Steve,
SPURNÝ Pavel
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
meteoritics and planetary science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.09
H-Index - 100
eISSN - 1945-5100
pISSN - 1086-9379
DOI - 10.1111/j.1945-5100.1999.tb01417.x
Subject(s) - meteoroid , physics , astrophysics , orbit (dynamics) , comet , orbital inclination , astronomy , arithmetic , mathematics , binary number , engineering , aerospace engineering
— Seventy‐five orbits of Leonid meteors obtained during the 1998 outburst are presented. Thirty‐eight are precise enough to recognize significant dispersion in orbital elements. Results from the nights of 1998 November 16/17 and 17/18 differ, in agreement with the dominant presence of different dust components. The shower rate profile of 1998 November 16/17 was dominated by a broad component, rich in bright meteors. The radiant distribution is compact. The semimajor axis is confined to values close to that of the parent comet, whereas the distribution of inclination has a central condensation in a narrow range. On the other hand, 1998 November 17/18 was dominated by dust responsible for a more narrow secondary peak in the flux curve. The declination of the radiant and the inclination of the orbit are more widely dispersed. The argument of perihelion, inclination, and the perihelion distance are displaced. These data substantiate the hypothesis that trapping in orbital resonances is important for the dynamical evolution of the broad component.