Quadrantid Meteor Research Articles

Mean-Motion Resonances in the Quadrantid Meteoroid Stream and Dynamic Evolution of Dust Trail of (196256) 2003 EH1

Mean-Motion Resonances in the Quadrantid Meteoroid Stream and Dynamic Evolution of Dust Trail of (196256) 2003 EH1

Surfaces of (Nearly) Dormant Comets and the Recent History of the Quadrantid Meteor Shower

Abstract The parent of the Quadrantid meteor shower is the inactive solar system small body (196256) 2003 EH1. EH1 has likely only gone dormant in the past few hundred years, and may be related to the bright comet C/1490 Y1. Compared with the other best-studied inactive meteor shower parent (3200) Phaethon, EH1 has received comparatively minimal characterization of its surface properties. We present the first reflectance spectrum and additional photometry of EH1, as well as new spectra of the nuclei of three nearly dormant comets P/2006 HR30 (Siding Spring), 364P/Pan-STARRS, and 249P/LINEAR for comparison. We also present new short-term high-resolution orbital integrations of these bodies for context. EH1s spectrum is red in color below 0.8 μm in between C and D types, consistent with previous photometric measurements, but is blue beyond 0.8 μm until at least 1.02 μm. 249P and 364P have both red slopes consistent with C taxonomic types and HR30 has a classic comet nucleus D-type slope. If the downturn in EH1’s spectrum is due to an absorption feature, magnetite and olivine are plausible candidates, but more data are needed. 249P and 364P have similar recent and historical dynamical evolutions in addition to their similar surface properties. We discuss the interrelation between the dynamical histories and modern surfaces of these four objects and suggest avenues for further study to better constrain how the Quadrantids and Geminids were created.

Analysis of the dynamical evolution of the Quadrantid meteoroid stream

We investigate numerically the dynamical evolution of simulated meteoroid stream of the Quadrantids ejected from the parent body of the asteroid (196256) 2003 EH1. The main goal of this work is to identify mean motion and secular resonances and to study the mutual influence of resonance relations and close encounters with the major planets. Since the dynamics of this asteroid is predictable only on short time intervals, and not only close and/or multiple close encounters with major planets, but also the presence of at least one unstable resonance can lead to chaotic motion of test particles, we studied their resonant dynamics. The dynamical evolution of the test particles expects possible scenario for resonant motion. We conjecture that the reasons of chaos are the overlap of stable secular resonances and unstable mean motions resonances and close and/or multiple close encounters with the major planets. The estimate of the stability of orbits in which the particles in simulations moved was carried out by analyzing the behavior of the parameter MEGNO (Mean Exponential Growth factor of Nearby Orbits). The larger part of the identified resonances is stable. We found a peculiar behavior for this stream. Here, we show that the orbits of some ejected particles are strongly affected by the Lidov–Kozai mechanism that protects them from close encounters with Jupiter. Lack of close encounters with Jupiter leads to a rather smooth growth in the parameter MEGNO and the behavior imply the stable motion of simulation particles of the Quadrantids meteoroid stream.

Absence of a detectable lunar nanodust exosphere during a search with LRO's LAMP UV imaging spectrograph

AbstractThe Lyman‐Alpha Mapping Project (LAMP) UV spectrograph on board the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) performed a campaign to observe the Moon's nanodust exosphere, evidence for which was provided by the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) Ultraviolet and Visible Spectrometer (UVS) during the 2014 Quadrantid meteoroid stream. These LADEE/UVS observations were consistent with a nanodust exosphere modulated by meteoroid impacts. LRO performed off‐nadir maneuvers around the peak of the 2016 Quadrantids, in order to reproduce, as closely as possible, the active meteoroid environment and observing geometry of LADEE/UVS. We analyzed LAMP spectra to search for sunlight backscattering from nanodust. No brightness enhancement attributable to dust, of any size, was observed. We determine an upper limit for dust column concentration of ~105 cm−2 for grains of radius ~25 nm, and an upper limit for dust column mass of ~10−11 g cm−2, nearly independent of grain size for radii <100 nm.

Investigation into the relationship between comet 96P/Machholz 1 and asteroid 2003 EH1

The evolution of the nominal orbits of comet 96/Machholz 1 and the near-Earth asteroid (196256) 2003 EH1 under the effects of gravitational perturbations from the major planets was investigated over a time interval of 28 000 yr. Several criteria for measuring the differences in orbits were used to determine when the orbits were most similar to each other and this was found to be approximately 9500 ago. This supports the hypothesis that the comet 96P/Machholz 1, the near-Earth asteroid (196256) 2003 EH1, and the Quadrantid meteoroid stream form a complex of related objects.

The age and the probable parent body of the daytime arietid meteor shower

The daytime Arietid meteor shower is active from mid-May to late June and is amongst the strongest of the annual meteor showers, comparable in activity and duration to the Perseids and the Geminids. Due to the daytime nature of the shower, the Arietids have mostly been constrained by radar studies. The Arietids exhibit a long-debated discrepancy in the semi-major axis and the eccentricity of meteoroid orbits as measured by radar and optical surveys. Radar studies yield systematically lower values for the semi-major axis and eccentricity, where the origin of these discrepancies remain unclear. The proposed parent bodies of the stream include comet 96P/Machholz [McIntosh, B.A., 1990. Comet P/Machholz and the Quadrantid meteor stream. Icarus 86, 894 299–304. doi:10.1016/0019-1035(90)90219-Y.] and more recently a member of the Marsden group of sun-skirting comets, P/1999 J6 [Sekanina, Z., Chodas, P.W., 2005. Origin of the Marsden and Kracht Groups of Sunskirting 922 Comets. I. Association with Comet 96P/Machholz and Its Interplanetary Complex. ApJS 923 161, 551–586. doi:10.1086/497374.].In this work, we present detailed numerical modelling of the daytime Arietid meteoroid stream, with the goal to identifying the parent body and constraining the age of the stream. We use observational data from an extensive survey of the Arietids by the Canadian Meteor Orbit Radar (CMOR), in the period of 2002–2013, and several optical observations by the SonotaCo meteor network and the Cameras for All-sky Meteor Surveillance (CAMS).We find the most plausible scenario to be that the age and the formation mechanism of the Arietids is consistent with continuous cometary activity of 96P/Machholz over a time interval of ≈12,000 years. The sun-skirting comet P/1999 J6 suggested by [Sekanina, Z., Chodas, P.W., 2005. Origin of the Marsden and Kracht Groups of Sunskirting 922 Comets. I. Association with Comet 96P/Machholz and Its Interplanetary Complex. ApJS 923 161, 551–586. doi:10.1086/497374.] may contribute to the shower, but the comet break up prior to 950 CE they propose does not reproduce all the characteristics of the observed shower.

Observations of the Quadrantid meteor shower from 2008 to 2012: Orbits and emission spectra

The activity of the Quadrantids in January during several years (2008, 2010, 2011 and 2012) has been investigated in the framework of the SPanish Meteor Network (SPMN). For this purpose, an array of high-sensitivity CCD video devices and CCD all-sky cameras have been used to obtain multi-station observations of these meteors. These allowed to obtain precise radiant and orbital information about this meteoroid stream. This paper presents a large set of orbital data (namely, 85 orbits) of Quadrantid meteoroids. Most meteors produced by these particles were recorded during the activity peak of this shower. Besides, we discuss four Quadrantid emission spectra. The tensile strength of Quadrantid meteoroids has been also obtained.

PHYSICAL OBSERVATIONS OF (196256) 2003 EH1, PRESUMED PARENT OF THE QUADRANTID METEOROID STREAM

The near-Earth asteroid (196256) 2003 EH1 has been suggested to have a dynamical association with the Quadrantid meteoroid stream. We present photometric observations taken to investigate the physical character of this body and to explore its possible relation to the stream. We find no evidence for on-going mass-loss. A model fitted to the point-like surface brightness profile at 2.1 AU limits the fractional contribution to the integrated brightness by near-nucleus coma to $\leq$ 2.5 %. Assuming an albedo equal to those typical of cometary nuclei ($\it p_{\rm R}$=0.04), we find that the effective nucleus radius is $r_e$ = 2.0$\pm$0.2 km. Time-resolved ${\it R}$-band photometry can be fitted by a two-peaked lightcurve having a rotational period of 12.650$\pm$0.033 hr. The range of the lightcurve, $\Delta m_{\rm R}$= 0.44 $\pm$ 0 .01 mag, is indicative of an elongated shape having an axis ratio $\sim$1.5 projected into the plane of the sky. The asteroid shows colors slightly redder than the Sun, being comparable with those of C-type asteroids. The limit to the mass loss rate set by the absence of resolved coma is $\lesssim$ 2.5$\times$ 10$^{-2}$ kg ${\rm s^{-1}}$, corresponding to an upper limit on the fraction of the surface that could be sublimating water ice $f_A$ $\lesssim$ 10$^{-4}$. Even if sustained over the 200-500 yr dynamical age of the Quadrantid stream, the total mass loss from 2003 EH1 would be too small to supply the reported stream mass ($10^{13}$ kg), implying either that the stream has another parent or that mass loss from 2003 EH1 is episodic.

On the age and formation mechanism of the core of the Quadrantid meteoroid stream

The Quadrantid meteor shower is among the strongest annual meteor showers, and has drawn the attention of scientists for several decades. The stream is unusual, among others, for several reasons: its very short duration around maximum activity (≈12–14h) as detected by visual, photographic and radar observations, its recent onset (around 1835 AD Quetelet, L.A.J. [1839]. Catalogue des principles apparitions d’etoiles filantes) and because it had been the only major stream without an obvious parent body until 2003. Ever since, there have been debates as to the age of the stream and the nature of its proposed parent body, asteroid 2003 EH1.In this work, we present results on the most probable age and formation mechanism of the narrow portion of the Quadrantid meteoroid stream. For the first time we use data on eight high precision photographic Quadrantids, equivalent to gram–kilogram size, to constrain the most likely age of the core of the stream. Out of eight high-precision photographic Quadrantids, five pertain directly to the narrow portion of the stream. In addition, we also use data on five high-precision radar Quadrantids, observed within the peak of the shower.We performed backwards numerical integrations of the equations of motion of a large number of ‘clones’ of both, the eight high-precision photographic and five radar Quadrantid meteors, along with the proposed parent body, 2003 EH1. According to our results, from the backward integrations, the most likely age of the narrow structure of the Quadrantids is between 200 and 300years. These presumed ejection epochs, corresponding to 1700–1800AD, are then used for forward integrations of large numbers of hypothetical meteoroids, ejected from the parent 2003 EH1, until the present epoch. The aim is to constrain whether the core of the Quadrantid meteoroid stream is consistent with a previously proposed relatively young age (≈200years).

Orbital elements of comet C/1490 Y1 and the Quadrantid shower

The Quadrantid shower, one of the most intense showers, has been observed at the beginning of January each year. However, the origin of the meteors is still unknown. It was Hasegawa (1979) who first suggested comet C/1490 Y1 to be the likely origin of the shower based on the historical records of East Asia. We analyse the records of Jo-Seon-Wang-Jo-Sil-Lok (the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty in ancient Korea) and calculate the preliminary orbital elements of comet C/1490 Y1 using a modified Gauss method. We find that comet C/1490 Y1 was a periodic one and its orbital path was very similar to that of the Quadrantid meteor stream. The determined orbital elements are perifocal passage time Tp=2265652.2983 days (7.8 Jan. 1491 in UT), perifocal distance q=0.769 AU, eccentricity e=0.747, semimajor axis a=3.04 AU, argument of the perifocus omega=164.03 degrees, longitude of ascending node Omega=283.00 degrees, and inclination i=70.22 degrees for the epoch of J2000.0. We, therefore, conclude that our result verifies the suggestion that the comet C/1490 Y1 is the origin of the Quandrantid meteor shower, but was a periodic comet. We dicuss a possible link between this comet and the asteroid 2003 EH1 as well.

Material properties of transition objects 3200 Phaethon and 2003 EH1

AbstractAsteroids 3200 Phaethon and 196256 (2003 EH1) are connected with two major meteoroid streams, Geminids and Quadrantids, respectively. We have modeled the observed light curves and decelerations of Geminid and Quadrantid meteors and studied their spectra. In both cases, we have found typical bulk densities of about 2600 kg m−3, much larger than in cometary meteoroids. Sodium was partially lost from Geminids and Quadrantids due to solar heating. The Quadrantid material was therefore not hidden deep inside the parent body 1500 years ago, when the perihelion was low enough for sodium loss to occur.

Meteoroid bombardment as a source of the lunar exosphere

The column densities of impact-produced metal atoms in the exosphere during the peaks of activity of the main meteor showers – Geminids, Quadrantids and Perseids – and during quiet periods are estimated. The Na supply rate is estimated to be 2 × 10 4, 3 × 10 3, 10 4, and 2 × 10 4 atoms cm −2 s −1 for sporadic meteoroids, Perseid, Geminid, and Quadrantid meteor showers, respectively. A low upper limit on Ca in the lunar exosphere is explained by the condensation of Ca into dust grains during expansion of the cooling impact-produced vapor cloud. The chemical composition of gas-phase species released to the lunar exosphere during meteoroid impacts has been estimated. Most impact-produced molecules that contain metals are destroyed by solar photons while on ballistic trajectories. Energies of Na, K, Ca, and Mg atoms produced via photolysis of the respective monoxides are estimated to be 0.4, 0.35, 0.6, and 0.45 eV, respectively. The relative content of impact-produced Na and K atoms is maximal at altitudes of about 1000–2000 km and during the main meteor showers, lunar eclipses, and passages of the Moon through the Earth’s magnetosphere.

Updated analysis of the dynamical relation between asteroid 2003 EH1 and comets C/1490 Y1 and C/1385 U1

Abstract The asteroid 2003 EH1, proposed as the parent body of the Quadrantid meteor shower, is thought to be the remnant of a past cometary object, tentatively identified with the historical comets C/1490 Y1 and C/1385 U1. In this work, we use recovery astrometry to extend the observed arc of 2003 EH1 from 10 months to about 5 years, enough to exclude the proposed direct relationship of the asteroid with both of the comets.

Determining the age of meteor streams with the retrospective evolution method

We show that the retrospective evolution method yields excessively large inaccuracies in determining the age of meteorid streams. The cause is in its sensitivity to the errors in the initial conditions. The study was fulfilled with the Geminid, Quadrantid, Orionid, Perseid, and Leonid meteor showers as an example.

On the Substantial Spatial Spread of the Quadrantid Meteoroid Stream

We explored the substantial spatial spread of the Quadrantid stream, based on the backward integration of orbital motions of the Quadrantids, impulsively perturbed by Jupiter. We found that the Jovian impulses can widely spread out them in the early twentieth century, especially their perihelia extended by a factor of ~90 than those at the observed epoch. We regarded the spread as the intrinsic one of the Quadrantid stream itself.

The parent bodies of the Quadrantid meteoroid stream

Aims.We attempt to prove or disprove the comet 96P/Machholz and asteroid 2003 EH1 as the parents of the Quadrantids. These two bodies have been regarded as the most probable candidates. Moreover, we investigate a possibility of an existence of their common progenitor, in the past.

Double station and spectroscopic observations of the Quadrantid meteor shower and the implications for its parent body

Object 2003 EH 1 was recently identified as the parent body of the Quadrantid meteor shower. The origin of this body is still uncertain. We use data on 51 Quadrantid meteors obtained from double-station video observations as an insight on the parent body properties. A data analysis shows that the Quadrantids are similar to other meteor showers of cometary origin in some aspects, but in others to Geminid meteors. Quadrantid meteoroids have partially lost volatile component, but are not depleted to the same extent as Geminid meteoroids. In consideration of the orbital history of 2003 EH 1 , these results lead us to the conclusion that the parent body is a dormant comet.

Observation on Meteor Velocities of the Quadrantid Meteor Shower by Using the Wuhan Meteor Radar

利用武汉流星雷达,首次成功地观测了象限仪座流星雨及流星雨期间的流星速度,讨论了利用单站全天空流星雷达观测流星雨的相关问题.从观测结果可以发现此次象限仪座流星雨发生在2004年1月4日的0000-0800LT,其中流星峰值出现在0400LT,而且通过流星雷达观测到的流星雨期间的流星回波平面推测得到的流星雨辐射点也与该流星雨的理论辐射点位置对应非常好.利用流星回波振幅的Fresnel振荡方法计算了此次流星雨期间观测到的流星的速度,分析了该流星速度的分布,这次流星雨期间观测到的流星速度主要集中在10-30 km/s,可以看出这种速度分布是由流星雨进入地球大气的初始速度和流星在大气中的减速过程共同决定的.最后研究了流星速度随高度的变化,并且由此讨论了地球大气对于流星体的减速作用.

Meteor Showers from the Debris of Broken Comets: D/1819 W1(Blanpain), 2003 WY25, and the Phoenicids

The discovery of extinct comet nucleus 2003 EH1 in the orbit of the massive Quadrantid meteor shower, and its tentative identification as a fragment of comet C/1490 Y1, is now followed by the discovery that minor planet 2003 WY25 is among the meteoroids causing the Phoenicid shower and may be a remnant of comet D/1819 W1 (Blanpain). Backward integration of 2003 WY25 to 1819 shows agreement in angular elements to 02 accuracy, proving the association, with no better agreement expected because of the poorly determined orbit of D/Blanpain. 2003 WY25 is a faint object, suggesting it is only a ~400 m diameter fragment of D/Blanpain, broken up shortly before or during the 1819 return. Forward integration of the perturbations on the dust trail that would be generated in such a breakup shows that this dust accounts for the 1956 outburst of Phoenicids and establishes the link between the meteoroids and the comet. This new result adds further evidence to a new paradigm: that most of our short-period meteor showers are due to the breakup of comets. These showers (and the remaining fragments) include at least the Geminids (3200 Phaethon), the Quadrantids (2003 EH1), the Daytime Arietids (Marsden group of sunskirters), the Andromedids (fragments of 3D/Biela), and now also the Phoenicids (2003 WY25). The amount of mass in each stream is relatively small, that of a single fragment. If comet 9P/Tempel 1 breaks during NASA's Deep Impact mission, a meteoroid stream will be created in much the same manner as what causes most of our meteor showers.

The parent of the Quadrantid meteoroid stream and asteroid 2003 EH1

The Quadrantid meteor shower is a very regular and prolific meteor shower. As such, one might expect that its parent would be easily recognizable. This is not the case, and numerous comets have been suggested as potential parents. We summarize the situation to date. Recently, an asteroid given the temporary designation 2003 EH1 has been discovered on an orbit that is so similar to that of the Quadrantids that some association between them is probable. The orbit still has some uncertainties and these, together with an orbit that can make fairly close approaches to many planets, make studying its orbital evolution difficult. We have generated, using a statistical model, 500 clones for this body and integrated the motion of these clones back in time for 1000 yr. We find that around AD 1500 the orbit of asteroid 2003 EH1 was very similar to the orbit of the Quadrantids at that date. Further, in 1491, the orbits of a few of these clones were very similar to the orbit of C/1490 Y1 and their sky position also roughly matched that of the comet. Various possibilities are discussed. Ke yw ords: methods: numerical ‐ methods: statistical ‐ celestial mechanics ‐ comets: general ‐ meteors, meteoroids ‐ minor planets, asteroids.