Young Meteor Swarms Near the Sun: I. Statistical Correlation of Meteors with Families of Short-Perihelion Comets

Abstract

We examine the hypothesis about the formation of meteor streams near the Sun. Families of short-perihelion orbit comets, many of which pass just a few radii from the solar surface at perihelion and have high dust production efficiencies, are assumed to be candidates for the parent bodies of these meteor streams. Our statistical analysis of orbital and kinematic parameters for short-perihelion meteoric particles recorded at the Earth and comets from the Kreutz family and the Marsden, Kracht, and Meyer groups led us to certain conclusions regarding the proposed hypothesis. We found a correlation between the ecliptic longitude of perihelion for comet and meteor orbits and the perihelion distance. This correlation may be suggestive of either a genetic connection between the objects of these two classes or the result of an as yet unknown mechanism that equally acts on short-perihelion comet and meteor orbits. A reliable conclusion about this genetic connection can be reached for the meteors that belong to the Arietids stream and the Marsden comet group.