(meteorobs) geminids source

Bias, Peter V pbias at flsouthern.edu
Mon Sep 20 09:59:03 EDT 2004


Hi Jeff,
 
There are three or four showers now expected to be remnants of asteroids, with the Geminids being by far the most well-known.  To answer your question, however, is more difficult.  The Geminids are known to have significantly denser meteoroids than those from most meteor showers, presumably because they are not cometary.  On the other hand there is no fully established mechanism for asteroids to shed material.  It has been proposed that the asteroids that have been generated meteoroids get much closer to the sun at perihelion and have a much greater chance of being broken up as they endure the extreme heating.  Another theory goes back to the Exploded Planets Hypothesis (see Van Flandern and Lyytinen) that predicts all minor planetoids will have a coma of material orbiting them.  The first theory is more respected than the latter, but no one yet knows for sure.
 
Pete Bias

[Bias, Peter V] 
 
 
 -----Original Message-----
From: meteorobs-bounces at meteorobs.org [mailto:meteorobs-bounces at meteorobs.org]On Behalf Of Jeff Wilson
Sent: Sunday, September 12, 2004 11:58 AM
To: Global Meteor Observing Forum
Subject: (meteorobs) geminids source



 Is 3200 Phaethon, the source of the Geminids shower, the leftover remnant of a comet?  An asteroid does not shed (as far as I know) the way a comet does.
 
Jeff W.
 
 

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