A new method of meteor trajectory determination applied to multiple unsynchronized video cameras

Abstract

Abstract– A new approach has been formulated to solve for the straight line trajectory of a meteor through the atmosphere when given multiple camera views of the meteor’s luminous track. Using a motion propagation model in 3‐D space plus time, and iteratively solving for all free model parameters simultaneously, one can obtain a fully coupled solution to the apparent radiant direction, 3‐D begin position, atmospheric entry speed, deceleration terms, and timing offsets when using data from unsynchronized video cameras. A Monte Carlo component adds empirical error estimation for each of the key model parameters computed. This multiparameter fitting method extends the allowable collection geometries for meteor trajectory estimation to lower convergence angles between camera‐meteor‐camera lines of sight and smaller site separation distances.