Figure 3 - uploaded by Juan Lacruz
Content may be subject to copyright.
Source publication
We analyse the outburst experienced by the September ∈-Perseid meteor shower on 2013 September 9. As a result of our monitoring, the atmospheric trajectory of 60 multistation events observed over Spain was obtained and accurate orbital data were derived from them. On the basis of these orbits, we have tried to determine the likely parent body of th...
Citations
A catalog of 824 fireballs (bright meteors), observed by a dedicated network of all-sky digital photographic cameras in central Europe in the years 2017–2018 is presented. The status of the European Fireball Network, established in 1963, is described. The cameras collect digital images of meteors brighter than an absolute magnitude of about −2 and radiometric light curves with a high temporal resolution of those brighter than a magnitude ≈−4. All meteoroids larger than 5 g, corresponding to sizes of about 2 cm, are detected regardless of their entry velocity. High-velocity meteoroids are detected down to masses of about 0.1 g. The largest observed meteoroid in the reported period 2017–2018 had a mass of about 100 kg and a size of about 40 cm. The methods of data analysis are explained and all catalog entries are described in detail. The provided data include the fireball date and time, atmospheric trajectory and velocity, the radiant in various coordinate systems, heliocentric orbital elements, maximum brightness, radiated energy, initial and terminal masses, maximum encountered dynamic pressure, physical classification, and possible shower membership. Basic information on the fireball spectrum is available for some bright fireballs (apparent magnitude <−7). A simple statistical evaluation of the whole sample is provided. The scientific analysis is presented in an accompanying paper.
We present 25 photographic fireballs belonging to the September epsilon Perseid (SPE, IAU #208) meteor shower observed by the Czech part of the European Fireball Network in 2013–2017. Exceptional high activity of bright photographic fireballs was observed in 2013, while a lower activity, but still higher than in other years, was observed in the period of 2015–2017. Physical properties of these SPE fireballs were studied and compared to other meteor showers. Perseids are found to be the closest analog to SPE. Corrected geocentric radiant of the 2013 outburst fireballs was determined for solar longitude 167.20° and has right ascension 47.67 ± 0.04° and declination 39.493 ± 0.013° (J2000.0). On the basis of determined heliocentric orbits the parent body of the shower is an unknown long-period comet on retrograde orbit with an orbital period of the order of a thousand years.
We discuss here a lunar impact flash recorded during the total lunar eclipse that occurred on 2019 January 21, at 4 h 41 m 38.09 ± 0.01 s UT. This is the first time ever that an impact flash is unambiguously recorded during a lunar eclipse and discussed in the scientific literature, and the first time that lunar impact flash observations in more than two wavelengths are reported. The impact event was observed by different instruments in the framework of the MIDAS survey. It was also spotted by casual observers that were taking images of the eclipse. The flash lasted 0.28 s and its peak luminosity in visible band was equivalent to the brightness of a magnitude 4.2 star. The projectile hit the Moon at the coordinates 29.2 ± 0.3 ◦S, 67.5 ± 0.4 ◦W. In this work we have investigated the most likely source of the projectile, and the diameter of the new crater generated by the collision has been calculated. In addition, the temperature of the lunar impact flash is derived from the multiwavelength observations. These indicate that the blackbody temperature of this flash was of about 5700 K.
Lunar impact flashes have been monitored over the last 20 yr for determining the mass frequency distribution of near-Earth objects in the cm-dm size range. In this work, using telescopic observations in R and I bands from the NELIOTA data base, impact flash temperatures are derived. They are found to range between approximately 1300 and 5800 K. In addition, it is also found that temperature values appear to have a distribution significantly broader than a Gaussian function, therefore making it difficult to estimate the impact flash luminous energy by assigning an average temperature. By measuring the flash temperatures and assuming a blackbody emission, here we derive the energy of the impacts. We also study the potential link of each event to individual meteoroid streams, which allows us to assign an impact velocity and therefore constrain the projectile mass. Impactor masses are found to range between a few to hundreds of grams, while their sizes are just of few centimetres following a size frequency distribution similar to other studies. © 2019 The Author(s) Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society.
We present the technical specifications and first results of the ESA-funded, lunar monitoring project "NELIOTA" (NEO Lunar Impacts and Optical TrAnsients) at the National Observatory of Athens, which aims to determine the size-frequency distribution of small near-Earth objects (NEOs) via detection of impact flashes on the surface of the Moon. For the purposes of this project a twin camera instrument was specially designed and installed at the 1.2 m Kryoneri telescope utilizing the fast-frame capabilities of scientific Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor detectors (sCMOS). The system provides a wide field-of-view (17.0′ × 14.4′) and simultaneous observations in two photometric bands (R and I), reaching limiting magnitudes of 18.7 mag in 10 s in both bands at a 2.5 signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) level. This makes it a unique instrument that can be used for the detection of NEO impacts on the Moon, as well as for any astronomy projects that demand high-cadence multicolor observations. The wide field-of-view ensures that a large portion of the Moon is observed, while the simultaneous, high-cadence, monitoring in two photometric bands makes possible the determination of the temperatures of the impacts on the Moon's surface and the validation of the impact flashes from a single site. Considering the varying background level on the Moon's surface we demonstrate that the NELIOTA system can detect NEO impact flashes at a 2.5 S/N level of ∼12.4 mag in the I-band and R-band for observations made at low lunar phases (∼0.1). We report 31 NEO impact flashes detected during the first year of the NELIOTA campaign. The faintest flash was at 11.24 mag in the R-band (about two magnitudes fainter than ever observed before) at lunar phase 0.32. Our observations suggest a detection rate of 1.96×10⁻⁷ events km⁻² h⁻¹.
