(meteorobs) Re: Meteors Of Toutatids

[Marco Langbroek]

> This post is asking if there is any possibility of meteor activity
produced
> by the asteroid Toutatis on September 28-30. I have not heard of this
> possibility. If anyone would like to elaborate I'll translate your reply
and
> send it to the original poster.
>
> Robert Lunsford

Hello Bob,

Below is the output of Neslusan et al.'s radiant prediction software
(Astron. Astroph. 331 (1998), 411-413). There are two dates during which the
earth approaches the asteroid orbit, 28 September and 9 december. The
radiant is near the Aquarius-Capricornus border, and meteors with a
geocentric speed of 11.2 km/s (an approximate observed speed of  Vini of
15.8 km/s) would be VERY slow, showing considerable zenit-attraction (a
shift of the apparent radiant towards the zenit, especially with low radiant
altitudes). An approach distance of 0.007 AU to the orbit would mean
possible activity for a dust producing comet, but I do not know what to
expect in the case of an asteroid. The approach however, is closer than that
to asteroid 1990 HA, which does produce a (low rates) stream, the December
delta Arietids (see my paper in WGN 31:6, 2003). At the time the earth
crosses closest to the asteroid's orbit, the asteroid is about 0.015 AU
distant, and the earth encounters this point about 0.6 days before the
asteroid does.

- Marco


             EQUINOX: 2000.0;       DATA FOR YEAR: 2004
--------------------------------------------------------------------
METH.  ALPHA  DELTA    VG      VH        L     DATE-MAX.    D-DISC.
 -Q        312.2  -17.1   18.98   34.58    128.2   JULY 31.1     .332
 -B        311.9  -16.9   14.86   32.62    128.2   JULY 31.1     .303
 -W       274.4  -22.0   11.85   37.35    128.2   JULY 31.1     .577
 -A        329.5   -9.8   11.20   37.65    185.2   SEP. 28.0     .011
 -H        330.1  -11.3   11.20   37.65    185.2   SEP. 28.0     .007
 -P        330.2  -11.6   11.20   37.65    185.1   SEP. 28.0     .007
 Q+       312.6  -18.5   18.27   35.91    308.2   JAN. 28.8     .285
 B+       312.5  -18.7   15.53   34.48    308.2   JAN. 28.8     .269
 W+      349.1   -6.4   10.80   38.06    308.2   JAN. 28.8     .549
 A+       297.2  -23.9   11.15   38.05    256.9   DEC.  8.7     .011
 H+       296.9  -22.1   11.14   38.05    256.9   DEC.  8.7     .006
 P+        296.8  -21.9   11.14   38.05    256.9   DEC.  8.7     .007
--------------------------------------------------------------------
FIRST/SECOND (-/+) SET OF DATA CONCERNS THE PRE-/POST-PERIHELION ARC
THE BEST METHOD - PRE-PERIHELION ARC:  H     (D =  .007)
                - POST-PERIHELION ARC: H     (D =  .006)

   (-) MIN. DIST. TO ORBIT =  .0069 AU
   (+) MIN. DIST. TO ORBIT=  .0063 AU


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Dr Marco Langbroek
Dutch Meteor Society (DMS)
Leiden, the Netherlands
52.15896 N, 4.48884 E (WGS 84)

e-mail: meteorites at dmsweb.org
DMS website: http://www.dmsweb.org
priv. website: http://home.wanadoo.nl/marco.langbroek
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