Bright Perseid fireball with exceptional beginning height of 170 km observed by different techniques

Astronomical Institute, Academy of Sciences, 25165 Ondřejov, Czech Republic
e-mail: pavel.spurny@asu.cas.cz

Received: 17 December 2013
Accepted: 28 January 2014

Abstract

We report multi-instrumental observation of a bright fireball belonging to the Perseid meteor shower, which was recorded simultaneously by 11 all-sky photographic cameras, one high-resolution 300 mm photographic camera, two digital all-sky cameras, one wide-field digital camera, and two analog image-intensified video cameras on 12 August in 2012 at 22:29:46 UT. An exceptional beginning height of 170 km makes this fireball the highest Perseid ever observed and the highest meteor ever observed with precise atmospheric trajectory and heliocentric orbit not belonging to the Leonid shower. Moreover, one spectral video camera recorded the spectrum of the fireball. The spectrum shows only atmospheric emissions of O, N, and N₂ above 130 km. Below 110 km, the spectrum is not markedly different from other Perseid fireballs. The spectrum of the persistent train was also recorded, and a double-station observation of the persistent train provided its vertical and horizontal motion.