Issue |
A&A
Volume 671, March 2023
|
|
---|---|---|
Article Number | A23 | |
Number of page(s) | 16 | |
Section | Planets and planetary systems | |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202245023 | |
Published online | 02 March 2023 |
Semi-automatic meteoroid fragmentation modeling using genetic algorithms
Astronomical Institute, Czech Academy of Sciences,
Fričova 298,
251 65
Ondřejov, Czech Republic
e-mail: ftom@physics.muni.cz
Received:
20
September
2022
Accepted:
19
January
2023
Context. Meteoroids are pieces of asteroids and comets. They serve as unique probes to the physical and chemical properties of their parent bodies. We can derive some of these properties when meteoroids collide with the atmosphere of Earth and become a meteor or a bolide. Even more information can be obtained when meteoroids are mechanically strong and slow enough to drop meteorites.
Aims. Through physical modeling of bright meteors, we describe their fragmentation in the atmosphere. We also derive their mechanical strength and the mass distribution of the fragments, some of which may hit the ground as meteorites.
Methods. We developed a semi-automatic program for meteoroid fragmentation modeling using parallel genetic algorithms. This allowed us to determine the most probable fragmentation cascade of the meteoroid, and also to specify its initial mass and velocity. These parameters can be used in turn to derive the heliocentric orbit of the meteoroid and to place constraints on its likely age as a separate object.
Results. The program offers plausible solutions for the majority of fireballs we tested, and the quality of the solutions is comparable to that of manual solutions. The two solutions are not the same in detail, but the derived quantities, such as the fragment masses of the larger fragments and the proxy for their mechanical strength, are very similar. With this method, we would like to describe the mechanical properties and structure of both meteoroids belonging to major meteor showers and those that cause exceptional fireballs.
Key words: meteorites, meteors, meteoroids / Earth / methods: numerical
© The Authors 2023
Open Access article, published by EDP Sciences, under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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