Search for possible connections of the h-Virginids meteor shower with near-Earth asteroids

Abstract

Asteroids and comets are the oldest objects in the Solar System and contain the initial matter that existed at the moment of its formation. By studying those small celestial bodies one may describe the processes taking place at the early stages and conditions of the formation of the Solar System. The study of the genetic relationships (using metrics based on orbital elements) of meteor showers with parent bodies (asteroids and comets) can be used to develop the theory of evolutionary processes that took place at the time of the formation of the solar system. In this work, we have studied the genetic relationships of the small meteor shower of the h-Virginids (HVI) with the near-Earth asteroids of the Apollo group. An author’s multi-factor method is applied, which implies the use of D-criterion by Drummond, metric by Kholshevnikov, Tisserand’s parameter, μ and ν quasi-stationary parameters of the restricted three-body problem, and the analysis of the orbit’s perihelion longitude π. The observational base includes television catalogues meteor orbits that are in the public domain: Meteoroid Orbit Database v2.0 (2010–2012) (CAMS) and the European meteor network EDMOND (2001–2016) catalogues. As a result of this study, the orbit of the h-Virginids (HVI), according to the values of Tisserand’s parameter, was found to be transitional, and thus, it was impossible to identify whether it was of cometary or of asteroid type. Using the author’s method, the asteroids 2001SZ269 and 2014HD19 were distinguished. The 2001SZ269 asteroid was distinguished as a candidate having a possible connection with the h-Virginids’ parent body.