Determining Fireball Fates Using the α-β Criterion
As fireball networks grow, the number of events observed becomes unfeasible to manage by manual efforts. Reducing and analyzing big data requires automated data pipelines. Triangulation of a fireball trajectory can swiftly provide information on positions and, with timing information, velocities. Ho...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
IOP PUBLISHING LTD
2019
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP170102529 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/90264 |
| _version_ | 1848765359608299520 |
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| author | Sansom, Eleanor Gritsevich, M. Devillepoix, Hadrien Jansen-Sturgeon, Trent Shober, Patrick Bland, Phil Towner, Martin Cupak, Martin Howie, Robert Hartig, Benjamin |
| author_facet | Sansom, Eleanor Gritsevich, M. Devillepoix, Hadrien Jansen-Sturgeon, Trent Shober, Patrick Bland, Phil Towner, Martin Cupak, Martin Howie, Robert Hartig, Benjamin |
| author_sort | Sansom, Eleanor |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | As fireball networks grow, the number of events observed becomes unfeasible to manage by manual efforts. Reducing and analyzing big data requires automated data pipelines. Triangulation of a fireball trajectory can swiftly provide information on positions and, with timing information, velocities. However, extending this pipeline to determine the terminal mass estimate of a meteoroid is a complex next step. Established methods typically require assumptions to be made of the physical meteoroid characteristics (such as shape and bulk density). To determine which meteoroids may have survived entry there are empirical criteria that use a fireball's final height and velocity - low and slow final parameters are likely the best candidates. We review the more elegant approach of the dimensionless coefficient method. Two parameters, α (ballistic coefficient) and β (mass loss), can be calculated for any event with some degree of deceleration, given only velocity and height information. α and β can be used to analytically describe a trajectory with the advantage that they are not mere fitting coefficients; they also represent the physical meteoroid properties. This approach can be applied to any fireball network as an initial identification of key events and determine on which to concentrate resources for more in-depth analyses. We used a set of 278 events observed by the Desert Fireball Network to show how visualization in an α-β diagram can quickly identify which fireballs are likely meteorite candidates. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T11:34:00Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-90264 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T11:34:00Z |
| publishDate | 2019 |
| publisher | IOP PUBLISHING LTD |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-902642023-02-22T07:47:43Z Determining Fireball Fates Using the α-β Criterion Sansom, Eleanor Gritsevich, M. Devillepoix, Hadrien Jansen-Sturgeon, Trent Shober, Patrick Bland, Phil Towner, Martin Cupak, Martin Howie, Robert Hartig, Benjamin Science & Technology Physical Sciences Astronomy & Astrophysics Fireballs Meteors Bolides Meteoroids LOST CITY NETWORK METEORITES MASS VELOCITIES ATMOSPHERE INNISFREE EQUATIONS BOLIDES HEIGHT As fireball networks grow, the number of events observed becomes unfeasible to manage by manual efforts. Reducing and analyzing big data requires automated data pipelines. Triangulation of a fireball trajectory can swiftly provide information on positions and, with timing information, velocities. However, extending this pipeline to determine the terminal mass estimate of a meteoroid is a complex next step. Established methods typically require assumptions to be made of the physical meteoroid characteristics (such as shape and bulk density). To determine which meteoroids may have survived entry there are empirical criteria that use a fireball's final height and velocity - low and slow final parameters are likely the best candidates. We review the more elegant approach of the dimensionless coefficient method. Two parameters, α (ballistic coefficient) and β (mass loss), can be calculated for any event with some degree of deceleration, given only velocity and height information. α and β can be used to analytically describe a trajectory with the advantage that they are not mere fitting coefficients; they also represent the physical meteoroid properties. This approach can be applied to any fireball network as an initial identification of key events and determine on which to concentrate resources for more in-depth analyses. We used a set of 278 events observed by the Desert Fireball Network to show how visualization in an α-β diagram can quickly identify which fireballs are likely meteorite candidates. 2019 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/90264 10.3847/1538-4357/ab4516 English http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP170102529 IOP PUBLISHING LTD fulltext |
| spellingShingle | Science & Technology Physical Sciences Astronomy & Astrophysics Fireballs Meteors Bolides Meteoroids LOST CITY NETWORK METEORITES MASS VELOCITIES ATMOSPHERE INNISFREE EQUATIONS BOLIDES HEIGHT Sansom, Eleanor Gritsevich, M. Devillepoix, Hadrien Jansen-Sturgeon, Trent Shober, Patrick Bland, Phil Towner, Martin Cupak, Martin Howie, Robert Hartig, Benjamin Determining Fireball Fates Using the α-β Criterion |
| title | Determining Fireball Fates Using the α-β Criterion |
| title_full | Determining Fireball Fates Using the α-β Criterion |
| title_fullStr | Determining Fireball Fates Using the α-β Criterion |
| title_full_unstemmed | Determining Fireball Fates Using the α-β Criterion |
| title_short | Determining Fireball Fates Using the α-β Criterion |
| title_sort | determining fireball fates using the α-β criterion |
| topic | Science & Technology Physical Sciences Astronomy & Astrophysics Fireballs Meteors Bolides Meteoroids LOST CITY NETWORK METEORITES MASS VELOCITIES ATMOSPHERE INNISFREE EQUATIONS BOLIDES HEIGHT |
| url | http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP170102529 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/90264 |