The typical meteorite event,based on photographic records of 44 fireballs |
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| Authors: | Ian Halliday Alan T Blackwell Arthur A Griffin |
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| Abstract: | Abstract— We study the observational data relating to 44 events recorded by the Canadian fireball camera network between 1971 and 1984. Each event is believed to have dropped meteorites, with main masses in the range from 0.1 to 11 kg. Median values are given for 20 parameters describing the atmospheric behavior and orbital elements. A typical duration for a meteoritic fireball is 4 seconds, reaching an end height of 31 km and a velocity of 8 km s?1 at the end of the luminous path. The peak brightness is typically ?9 magnitude but varies from ?7 to ?15. Meteorites may survive from relatively unspectacular fireballs. Numerous correlations among parameters are investigated. The strong correlations of brightness with initial mass and of duration with slope of the trajectory could be anticipated. Moderate correlations also exist between: (1) initial mass and end height; (2) initial mass and duration of luminosity; (3) initial velocity and beginning height; (4) initial velocity and the fraction of the mass that survives as the largest fragment; (5) initial velocity and the perihelion distance of the orbit. Ablation limits the survival of small masses while fragmentation is usually severe for masses larger than 10 kg. The fractional survival may peak for entry masses between 1 and 10 kg. |
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