On the dynamics of meteoroid streams
© The Society of Geomagnetism and Earth, Planetary and Space Sciences (SGEPSS); The Seismological Society of Japan; The Volcanological Society of Japan; The Geodetic Society of Japan; The Japanese Society for Planetary Sciences. 1998
Received: 5 January 1998
Accepted: 13 March 1998
Published: 6 June 2014
Zodiacal dust evolves from cometary debris through a stage called a meteoroid stream. Meteoroid streams produce meteor showers if a node of the stream is near 1 AU. On occasion, Earth encounters a stream of meteoroids that has not dispersed wide enough to be detected annually. A rare and often short lived enhancement of rates is observed during which the meteors typically have smaller radiant dispersion and sometimes anomalous fragmentation properties and end heights. Here, we summarize recent observations of these meteor outbursts and discuss how the results constrain our knowledge of the early stages of meteoroid stream formation. These stages tie meteoroid streams to cometary dust trails and are an important step in the dynamical evolution from cometary to zodiacal dust.