Demonstration of gaps due to Jupiter in meteoroid streams. What happened with the 2003 Pi-Puppids?

Abstract

We simulated the dynamics of the Pi-Puppid meteoroid stream. The evolution of such a short period stream is dominated by close encounters with Jupiter. The effect is so great that it can cause the stream to split into several parts and form gaps. The difference in period of each part leads to the possibility of a meteor outburst on Earth while the parent body is at aphelion. Past observations are linked to streams ejected in the 19th and 20th century. Sometimes there are overlaps between several streams ejected at different perihelion passages of the parent body, affecting the time of maximum meteor activity. Generally speaking, observations suffer from a lack of coverage. In the 1972 and 2003 cases, only radio observations are available, and they are not in accordance with our predictions. This can be due to the radio detectors' lack of sensivity or to the poor knowledge of the efficiency of this physical process.