Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-ndw9j Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-09T13:53:11.171Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

4.1 Meteors and Interplanetary Dust

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 April 2016

Peter M. Millman*
Affiliation:
Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics, National Research Council of Canada, Ottawa, Canada K1A 0R6

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

The contribution of meteor observations to our knowledge of meteoroids and interplanetary dust is reviewed under four headings – flux, mass distribution, physical structure and chemical composition. For lower limits of particle mass ranging from 1 g to 10−5 g the mean cumulative flux into the earth’s atmosphere varies from 2 × 10−15 to 6 × 10−9 particles m−2 s−1 (2Πster)−1, and the mean size distribution of these particles is given by log N = C – 1.3 log M, where N is the cumulative number of particles counted down to a lower mass limit M, and C is a constant. The physical structure of meteoroids in the above range is essentially fragile, with generally low mean bulk densities that tend to increase with decrease in mass. A minor fraction, about 10 or 15 per cent, with orbits lying inside that of Jupiter, have densities several times the average densities, approaching those of the carbonaceous chondrites. The mean chemical composition of meteoroids seems to be similar to the bronzite chondrites for the elements heavier than number 10, but with the probable addition of extra quantities of the light volatiles H, C and O.

Type
4 Meteors and their Relation to Interplanetary Dust
Copyright
Copyright © Springer-Verlag 1976

References

Anders, E., Ganapathy, R., Krähenbühl, U. and Morgan, J.W. 1973 Moon 8, 3.Google Scholar
Brownlee, D.E., Tomandl, D.A., Hodge, P.W. and Hörz, F. 1974 Nature 252, 667.Google Scholar
Cameron, A.G.W. 1973 Space Sci. Rev. 15, 121.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ceplecha, Z. 1967 Smithsonian Contrib. Astrophys. 11, 35.Google Scholar
Ceplecha, Z. 1968 Smithsonian Astrophys. Obser. Spec. Rep. No. 279.Google Scholar
Ceplecha, Z. 1971 Bull. Astron. Inst. Czech. 22, 219.Google Scholar
Clifton, K.S. 1973 J. Geophys. Res. 78, 6511.Google Scholar
Cook, A.F. 1973a Smithsonian Contrib. Astrophys. No. 14.Google Scholar
Cook, A.F. 1973b Evolutionary and Physical Properties of Meteorolds (eds. Hemenway, C.L., Millman, P.M. and Cook, A.F.) NASA SP-319, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., p. 183.Google Scholar
Cook, A.F., Jacchia, L.G. and McCrosky, R.E. 1963 Smithsonian Contrib. Astrophys. 7, 209.Google Scholar
Cook, A.F., Forti, G., McCrosky, R.E., Posen, A., Southworth, R.B. and Williams, J.T. 1973a Evolutionary and Physical Properties of Meteorolds (eds. Hemenway, C.L., Millman, P.M. and Cook, A.F.) NASA SP-319, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., p. 23.Google Scholar
Cook, A.F., Hemenway, C.L. Millman, P.M. and Swider, A. 1973b Evolutionary and Physical Properties of Meteorolds (eds. Hemenway, C.L., Millman, P.M. and Cook, A.F.) NASA SP-319, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., p. 153.Google Scholar
Dohnanyi, J.S. 1970 J. Geophys. Res. 75, 3468.Google Scholar
Elford, W.G. 1967 Smithsonian Contrib. Astrophys. 11, 121.Google Scholar
Frlichtenicht, J.F. and Becker, D.G. 1973 Evolutionary and Physical Properties of Meteorolds (eds. Hemenway, C.L., Millman, P.M. and Cook, A.F.) NASA SP-319, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., p. 53.Google Scholar
Goldberg, R.A. and Aikin, A.C. 1973 Science 180, 294.Google Scholar
Griffin, A.A. 1975 J. Roy. Astron. Soc. Canada 69, 126.Google Scholar
Halliday, I. 1960 Astrophys. J. 132, 482.Google Scholar
Harvey, G.A. 1973 Evolutionary and Physical Properties of Meteorolds (eds. Hemenway, C.L., Millman, P.M. and Cook, A.F.) NASA SP-319, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., p. 131.Google Scholar
Hawkins, G.S. 1963 Smithsonian Contrib. Astrophys. 7, 53.Google Scholar
Hawkins, G.S. and Upton, E.K.L. 1958 Astrophys. J. 128, 727.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hörz, F., Brownlee, D.E., Fechtlg, H., Hartung, J.B., Morrison, D.A., Neukum, G., Schneider, E., Vedder, J.F. and Gault, D.E. 1975 Planet. Space Sci. 23, 151.Google Scholar
Jacchia, L.G., Kopal, Z. and Millman, P.M. 1950 Astrophys. J. 111, 104.Google Scholar
Jacchia, L., Verniani, F. and Briggs, R.E. 1967 Smithsonian Contrib. Astrophys. 10, 1.Google Scholar
Jacchia, L.G. and Whipple, F.L. 1961 Smithsonian Contrib. Astrophys. 4, 97.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kaiser, T.R. 1961 Ann. Géophys. 17, 60.Google Scholar
Kresáková, M. 1966 Contrib. Astron. Obser. Skalnaté Pleso 3, 75.Google Scholar
Mason, B. 1962 Meteorites, John Wiley and Sons, New York, N.Y., p. 151.Google Scholar
Mason, B. 1965 Am. Museum Novitates, No. 2223.Google Scholar
Mason, B. 1971 Meteoritics 6, 59.Google Scholar
McCrosky, R.E. 1968 Smithsonian Astrophys. Obser. Spec. Rep., No. 280.Google Scholar
McCrosky, R.E. and Ceplecha, Z. 1970 Bull. Astron. Inst. Czech. 21, 271.Google Scholar
McCrosky, R.E. and Posen, A. 1961 Smithsonian Contrib. Astrophys. 4, 15.Google Scholar
McCrosky, R.E., Posen, A., Schwartz, G. and Shao, C.-Y. 1971 J. Geophys. Res. 76, 4090.Google Scholar
McIntosh, B.A. and Millman, P.M. 1970 Meteoritics 5, 1.Google Scholar
McIntosh, B.A. and Simek, M. 1969 Canadian J. Phys. 47, 7.Google Scholar
Millman, P.M. 1963 Smithsonian Contrib. Astrophys. 7, 119.Google Scholar
Millman, P.M. 1967 The Zodiacal Light and the Interplanetary Medium (ed. Weinberg, J.L.) NASA SP-150, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., p. 339.Google Scholar
Millman, P.M. 1970a J. Roy. Astron. Soc. Canada 64, 187.Google Scholar
Millman, P.M. 1970b Space Res. 10, 260.Google Scholar
Millman, P.M. 1972a Nobel Symposium No. 21, From Plasma to Planet (ed. Elvius, A.) Almqvist and Wiksell, Stockholm, p. 157.Google Scholar
Millman, P.M. 1972b J. Roy. Astron. Soc. Canada 66, 201.Google Scholar
Millman, P.M. 1973 Moon 8, 228.Google Scholar
Millman, P.M. 1975 The Dusty Universe (eds. Field, G.B. and Cameron, A.G.W.) Neale Watson Academic Pubs. Inc., New York, N.Y., p. 195.Google Scholar
Millman, P.M. and Clifton, K.S. 1975 Canadian J. Phys. 53, 1939.Google Scholar
Millman, P.M. and McIntosh, B.A. 1964 Canadian J. Phys. 42, 1730.Google Scholar
Naumann, R.J. and Clifton, K.S. 1973 Evolutionary and Physical Properties of Meteoroids (eds. Hemenway, C.L., Millman, P.M. and Cook, A.F.) NASA SP-319, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., p. 45.Google Scholar
Nilsson, C.S. and Southworth, R.B. 1968 Physics and Dynamics of Meteors (eds. Kresák, L. and Millman, P.M.) D. Reidel Pub. Co., Dordrecht-Holland, p. 280.Google Scholar
Savage, H.F. and Boitnott, C.A. 1973 Evolutionary and Physical Properties of Meteoroids (eds. Hemenway, C.L., Millman, P.M. and Cook, A.F.) NASA SP-319, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., p. 83.Google Scholar
Southworth, R.B. and Sekanina, Z. 1973 NASA Contract Rep., NASA CR- 2316, Nat. Tech. Information Service, Springfield, Va., U.S.A. Google Scholar
Verniani, F. 1967 Smithsonian Contrib. Astrophys. 10, 181.Google Scholar
Verniani, F. 1969 Space Sci. Rev. 10, 230.Google Scholar
Verniani, F. 1973 J. Geophys. Res. 78, 8429.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Whipple, F.L. 1967 The Zodiacal Light and the Interplanetary Medium (ed. Weinberg, J.L.) NASA SP-150, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., p. 409.Google Scholar