Meteor showers associated with the near-Earth asteroid (2101) Adonis

Institute of Astrophysics, Tajik Academy of Sciences, and Isaac Newton Institute of Chile, Tajikistan Branch; Bukhoro Str. 22, Dushanbe 734042, Tajikistan

Corresponding author: pb@tajik.net

Received: 22 August 2002
Accepted: 19 September 2002

Abstract

The orbital evolution of the near-Earth asteroid (2101) Adonis under gravitational action of six planet (Mercury to Saturn) is investigated by the Halphen-Goryachev method. The theoretical geocentric coordinates and velocities of four possible meteor showers associated with this asteroid are determined. Using published data, the theoretically predicted showers are identified with the observed ones, namely, night-time σ-Capricornids and χ-Sagittariids, and day-time χ-Capricornids and Capricornids-Sagittariids. The existence of meteor showers associated with Adonis provides evidence supporting the conjecture that this asteroid may be of a cometary nature. The small 50-m near-Earth asteroid 1995 CS probably represents a large Adonis fragment and belongs to a part of the Adonis meteoroid stream, which produces the day-time χ-Capricornids meteor shower.