(meteorobs) Re: Question re: 2006 Orionids

[Bruce McCurdy]

> Yes definitely the 2 showers are associated to comet 1P/Halley. The 
> question is to be able to associate the 2006 outburst with a given time of 
> ejection.

    Thanks Jeremie, that's certainly part of the question. The broader 
question is whether the enriched rates -- in both peak and duration -- of 
Orionids in 2006 can be attributed to a known physical process, even if it 
can't be specifically dated. Would this apparent clumping of meteoroids have 
been the result of a single outburst, where a filament has broadened out 
over the centuries without being fully dispersed? Could there possibly be 
gravitational factors at play?

    I also wonder if there any useful analogies to be drawn between 
meteoroid streams and ring systems of giant planets. In particular I am 
thinking of the clumping found by Voyager 2 in Neptune's outermost ring 
(thought to be caused by resonances with an eccentric shepherd moon, so any 
analogy is likely to be imperfect). More recently, the Cassini probe has 
imaged fine structure in Saturn's E ring which is fed by the geysers of 
Enceladus. When examining the image at the below link, I found myself 
visualizing the relationship between a parent comet and its 
evolved-but-still-evolving meteoroid stream.

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/images/image-details.cfm?imageID=2276

    Naive questions to be sure, but I would be very interested to hear 
expert opinions.

    Bruce
    *****