The relationship between comet C/1853 G1 (Schweizer) and the γ-Aquilids and 52 Herculids meteor showers

Abstract

ABSTRACT We modelled several discrete parts of the meteoroid stream originating in comet C/1853 G1 (Schweizer). In a given model, the orbit of this parent comet was integrated in time backwards for a chosen period (10 000, 20 000, 40 000, or 80 000 yr) and, then, a cloud of 10 000 test particles was assumed to be ejected from the nucleus at the moment of the nearest comet’s perihelion passage. This set was subsequently integrated forward, up to the present. The showers related to the comet were predicted on the basis of the dynamical properties of the particles moving in orbits that approached close to the orbit of the Earth at the present. An uncertainty of the comet’s nominal orbit and its possible consequences on the predicted showers was estimated with a simultaneous following of a set of cloned orbits. We confirmed the proposed relationship between the comet and the γ-Aquilids, #531. Furthermore, our study yielded an indication that comet C/1853 G1 could also be the parent body of another shower, 52 Herculids, #605. We also found the real shower corresponding to the γ-Aquilids in three video data bases used. The 52 Herculids were identified in one of these data bases.