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Read Full Article (file size: 307456 bytes) Cited by
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS,
VOL. 35,
L03102,
doi:10.1029/2007GL032347,
2008
Day to night variation in meteor trail measurements: Evidence for a new theory of plasma trail evolution
Meers M. Oppenheim
Center for Space Physics, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Glenn Sugar
Center for Space Physics, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Elizabeth Bass
Center for Space Physics, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Yakov S. Dimant
Center for Space Physics, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Jorge Chau
Jicamarca Radio Observatory, Lima, Peru
Abstract
A recent theory of meteor trail plasma diffusion made the prediction that meteors will generate more and longer lasting non-specular
echoes at night than during the day. This letter presents the first evidence of a dramatic day to night difference in non-specular
meteor trail occurrence rates and their duration. These observations were made by the 50MHz radar at the Jicamarca Radio Observatory
(JRO) in Peru. In one 20 minute period starting 95 minutes before sunrise, this radar detected 1288 head echoes and 341 trails
while a similar time after dawn, it measured 1240 head echoes but only 50 trails. Also, the duration of the nighttime trails
greatly exceeded the daytime ones. This pattern was confirmed by a second experiment in July 2007. This data provides strong
evidence that it is necessary to account for the effect of the ionospheric plasma density to explain meteor diffusion.
Received 16
October
2007;
accepted 2
January
2008;
published 6
February
2008.
Keywords: meteor;
plasma;
radar.
Index Terms: 2442 Ionosphere: Meteor-trail physics; 2439 Ionosphere: Ionospheric irregularities; 2427 Ionosphere: Ionosphere/atmosphere interactions (0335); 6952 Radio Science: Radar atmospheric physics (1220).
Read Full Article (file size: 307456 bytes) Cited by
Citation: Oppenheim, M. M., G. Sugar, E. Bass, Y. S. Dimant, and J. Chau
(2008),
Day to night variation in meteor trail measurements: Evidence for a new theory of plasma trail evolution,
Geophys. Res. Lett.,
35,
L03102,
doi:10.1029/2007GL032347.
Copyright 2008 by the American Geophysical Union.
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