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(meteorobs) Research Fellow position in the ESA/RSSD meteor group
Hi all,
this is to inform you about the opening of a Research Fellow (post-doc)
position at ESA/RSSD in Noordwijk, The Netherlands. If you know any good
students, please let me know!
Bye, Detlef.
Research Fellow in the meteor group of ESA/RSSD
===============================================
The meteor group at ESA/RSSD, located at ESTEC in the Netherlands, is
looking for a Research Fellow for the analysis of the Leonid video data
collected in the years 1999 to 2002. A Research Fellow must have a Ph.D.
and will be employed for two years (one year plus one year extension).
We have collected video data recorded during the Leonid campaigns in 1999,
2001, and 2002 from several intensified video cameras with field of views
between 15 and 60 degrees, limiting magnitudes between 4 and 8 mag. A
large number of data is double-station data, i.e. it allows to calculate
distances and directions. The cameras work in the visual wavelength range.
Two cameras were equipped with objective gratings, recording meteor
spectra. Some of the spectral information was obtained from double-station
data. In 1999 and 2002, we also had one camera on board an airplane as
part of the Leonid MAC. All data is available on VHS video tape, most of
it is digitised and on hard disk.
We have developed a software to determine meteor heights from
double-station observations analysed with the meteor detection software
MetRec. This software is written in C. It includes an orbit module, which
is not yet properly tested. A data analysis package called ViDAS (Video
Data Analysis Software) is under development. It is written in IDL
(Interactive Data Language) and will allow to measure precise light
curves, positions, and analyse spectral data. We have also developed a
detailed ablation model for meteoroids which can be used to model meteor
light curves and possibly spectra.
The tasks for the Research Fellow would be:
- Test and finalise the orbit determination module for the double-station
data analysis
- Follow up the software developer of ViDAS (in-house staff) to finish the
analysis software
- Use these tools and his/her own previous expertise to analyse our data,
either on its own or by adding other data sets.
Possible fields of research include:
- Determine the physical parameters of the meteors by comparing the light
curves to the model
- Analyse the spectra and derive the chemical composition of the meteoroid
and its ablation versus height
- Determine meteor number fluxes from the video data and compare to
dynamical models
- Analyse possible short-term fluctuations in the meteor flux and compare
to dynamical models
- Perform precise astrometry of double-station meteors, calculate precise
radiants and velocities, and group meteors according to ejection year
- more...
This list is just a first collection of ideas. The applicant may bring in
his own ideas based on his previous expertise and should then pick a
selection to actually do. It should be noted, however, that the work shall
make use of the video that was collected by our group.
If you are interested, send me an email: detlef.koschny@esa.int
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