Earth Impacting Debris from Comets and Asteroids

This talk will be presented by the UCLA department of Earth, Planetary and Space Sciences. SETI Institute Senior Research Scientist Peter Jenniskens will present.

The results from ongoing surveys are described that have mapped out our annual meteor showers. Data can now be accessed online in near-real time, facilitating the monitoring of unusual meteor shower activity. Comets dominate the influx at meteoroid sizes < 10 cm. Above 10 cm, meteors are mostly from debris of asteroid collisions. Those meteoroid streams manifest on Earth very differently. So far, 36 meteorite falls have been observed by cameras, providing a first glimpse into where in the asteroid belt the collisions occurred that are producing our meteorites. A recent fall over Botswana resulted in the recovery of material from asteroid 2018 LA. Since early 2017, a new instrument on the GOES-16 and GOES-17 weather satellites is providing position and light curve data for bolides that occur over the Americas.

For more information visit https://epss.ucla.edu/?_ga=2.80055191.1422969243.1538176599-2036583398.1538176599