Abstract
Observations of persistent meteor trains are limited because of the extreme rarity of the phenomenon. The altitudinal distribution of persistent trains has previously been investigated via limited instances of simultaneous observation from multiple sites, however, a statistical study of persistent trains has yet to be realized. The meteor train observation (METRO) campaign was established in Japan in 1998 to obtain images of persistent trains. From 1998 to 2002, the METRO campaign, involving Japanese amateur collaborators, captured more than 400 image sequences of persistent trains, resulting in 53 simultaneous multi-site observations. Several Japanese observers were involved in imaging persistent trains prior to the METRO campaign, producing 6 simultaneous observations over the period 1988–1997. In this paper, simultaneous multi-site observations of high spatial and temporal resolution are used to determine, via triangulation, the altitudinal distribution of persistent trains for 20 events. The altitudinal range of 2 Orionid trains was slightly higher than that of 18 Leonid trains. The Leonid train data reveal no clear dependence of upper and lower altitude on the brightness of the associated fireball. The upper altitude of the 18 observed Leonid trains were almost invariant with respect to local time (LT) of observation, however, a possible dependence of lower altitude on LT of observation was also found, indicating a near-constant penetrating path-length in the upper atmosphere for each train. The average upper altitude of persistent Leonid trains was 99.8 km, while the average central altitude was 93.0 km. These trends are probably determined by atmospheric conditions such as the abundance of O and O3.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Abe, S., Ebizuka, N., Murayama, H., Ohtsuka, K., Sugimoto, S., Yamamoto, M.-Y., Yano, H., Watanabe, J.-I., and Borovička, J.: 2005, Earth, Moon, Planets, this issue.
Borovička, J. and Koten, P.: 2003, Inst. Space Astro. Sci. Rep. SP 15, 165–174.
Higa, Y., Toda, M., Yamamoto, M.-Y., Fujita, M., Suzuki, S., Ishizuka, Y., and Maeda, K.: 2003, Inst. Space Astro. Sci. Rep. SP 15, 245–252.
Higa, Y., Toda, M., Yamamoto, M.-Y., Maeda, K., and Watanabe, J.-I.: 2005, Publ. Natl. Astron. Obs. Japan 7, 67–131.
Jenniskens, P., Nugent, D., and Plane, J. M. C.: 2000, Earth, Moon, Planets 82–83, 471–488.
Lyytinen, E. J. and Van Flandern, T.: 2000, Earth, Moon, Planets 82–83, 149–166.
McNaught, R. H. and Asher, D. J.: 1999, WGN 27, 85–102.
Shigeno, Y., Toda, M., and Kobayashi, M.: 1998, WGN 26, 220–225.
Suzuki, S., Yamanami, Y., and Matsumoto, A.: 1989, Tenmon Guide (in Japanese) 25(2), 140–141.
Suzuki, S.: 1998, Interact. Astron. (in Japanese) 13, 116–121.
Toda, M., Yamamoto, M.-Y., Higa, Y., and Fujita, M.: 2003, Inst. Space Astro. Sci. Rep. SP 15, 229–236.
Toda, M., Yamamoto, M.-Y., Higa, Y., and Watanabe, J.-I.: 2004, Publ. Natl. Astron. Obs. Japan 7, 53–66.
Urasaki, T.: 1988, Report of The Association of Meteor Observers in Setouchi Area (in Japanese) 4, 42–44.
Yamamoto, M.-Y., Toda, M., Higa, Y., Fujita, M., and Suzuki, S.: 2003, Inst. Space Astro. Sci. Rep. SP 15, 237–244.
Yamamoto, M.-Y., Toda, M., and Higa Y.: 2005, http://www.ele.kochi-tech.ac.jp/masayuki/METRO/archive.html.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2005 Springer
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Yamamoto, MY., Toda, M., Higa, Y., Maeda, K., Watanabe, JI. (2005). Altitudinal Distribution of 20 Persistent Meteor Trains: Estimates Derived from Metro Campaign Archives. In: Hawkes, R., Mann, I., Brown, P. (eds) Modern Meteor Science An Interdisciplinary View. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-5075-5_29
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-5075-5_29
Received:
Accepted:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-4374-1
Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-5075-6
eBook Packages: Physics and AstronomyPhysics and Astronomy (R0)