Meteor phenomena in the atmosphere of Venus

Abstract

Meteor astronomy employs the atmosphere of the Earth as a large area detector for 0.01-1000 mm meteoroids [1]. Monitoring the atmospheres of other planets for meteor activity offers the opportunity to study the parent bodies of as-yet-undetected meteor showers, test ablation models under non-terrestrial conditions and allow spacecraft operators to mitigate the risk of meteoroid impact damage [2]. By adjusting existing techniques to simulate meteoroid ablation in a Venus-like atmosphere [3-8], we show that Venusian meteors are generally brighter but shorter-lived than terrestrial meteors and ablate at a higher altitude, in a predominantly clear region of the atmosphere. These simulations are complemented with a list of cometary bodies and known meteoroid streams that we consider to be prime candidates for producing significant meteor activity at Venus [9,10]. Such predictions may be used in developing future observational campaigns to be carried out from Earth or from Venus orbit.References: [1] Jenniskens, P. (2006) Meteor Showers and their Parent Comets, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. [2] Christou A. A. et al (2019) In: Meteoroids: Sources of Meteors on Earth and Beyond, Cambridge University Press, p.119-135. [3] Christou A. A. (2004) Icarus 168, 23-33 [4] McAuliffe, J. P., Christou, A. A. (2006) Icarus 180, 8-22 [5] Gritsevich M., Koschny D. (2011) Icarus 212, 877-884 [6] Bouquet A. et al (2012) Planet. Space Sci. 103, 238-249 [7] Gritsevich, M. I. (2009) Adv. Space Res. 44, 323–334 [8] Lyytinen, E., Gritsevich, M. (2016) Planet. Space Sci. 120, 35-42 [9] Christou A. A. (2010) MNRAS 402, 2759-2770 [10] Christou, A. A., Vaubaillon, J. (2011) In: Proc. Meteoroids Conf, NASA/CP-2011-216469, p.2

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