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Volume 50 Supplement 6-7

Special Issue: The Zodiacal Cloud Sciences

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On the dynamics of meteoroid streams

Earth, Planets and Space volume 50, pages 555–567 (1998)Cite this article

Abstract

Zodiacal dust evolves from cometary debris through a stage called a meteoroid stream. Meteoroid streams produce meteor showers if a node of the stream is near 1 AU. On occasion, Earth encounters a stream of meteoroids that has not dispersed wide enough to be detected annually. A rare and often short lived enhancement of rates is observed during which the meteors typically have smaller radiant dispersion and sometimes anomalous fragmentation properties and end heights. Here, we summarize recent observations of these meteor outbursts and discuss how the results constrain our knowledge of the early stages of meteoroid stream formation. These stages tie meteoroid streams to cometary dust trails and are an important step in the dynamical evolution from cometary to zodiacal dust.

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    P. Jenniskens

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Jenniskens, P. On the dynamics of meteoroid streams. Earth Planet Sp 50, 555–567 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1186/BF03352149

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