The Evolution of Meteor Streams

Abstract

If one regards a ring system as a family of particles moving on coherent orbits which may be influenced by the gravitational perturbations of a secondary.then a meteor stream is a good example of a ring system. Of course, there is a difference in that the eccentricity and inclination of meteor streams are significantly higherthan any found in ring systems about planets. Nevertheless, it may be instructive to consider briefly the evolution of meteor streams. One advantage of studying meteor streams is that observational data is available over a considerable period (at least 100 years in all cases and in excess of 1000 years for streams like the Perseids, Eta Aquarids and Orionids).