Center for Astrophysics Research and Technologies Seminar Series
Statistical Analyses of Meteor Persistent Trains
Presented by Logan Cordonnier
Meteor persistent trains (PTs) are long lasting, luminous emissions which can occasionally be seen lingering after the passage of a meteor. To examine this population of PT-producing meteors, the Widefield Persistent Train camera, 2nd edition (WiPT2) was deployed at the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico to take long exposure (5 second) images. These images were run through a pipeline to automatically detect meteor-like objects, which were then manually classified. The meteors detected by WiPT2 over the span of nearly two years were cross-referenced with the Global Meteor Network (GMN) in order to obtain useful data for each meteor; this data enabled statistical comparisons between the properties of meteors that left PTs and those that did not. Several interesting results arose from these comparisons, many of which go against the previous assumptions made about PTs. Additionally, the semiannual variation in sporadic meteor PT occurrence rates was found to be strongly correlated with variations in ozone content near the mesopause, suggesting that meteor train rates can be used to estimate ozone in this region.
2:00 pm, Thursday, April 11, 2024
PAIS-3205, PAIS
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