THE DETERMINATION OF METEOR MASS DISTRIBUTION FROM RADAR ECHO COUNTS

Abstract

In relating the frequency distribution of the durations of radar echoes from meteor trails to the mass distribution of the meteoroid flux, two major effects must be taken into account. Because bright meteors tend to be observable by radar from any angle, the rate of long-duration echoes is enhanced relative to short-duration echoes. This effect is particularly pronounced for the Ottawa radar which has wide-beam antennas. On the other hand, the effect of electron attachment is to suppress the long-duration echo count, particularly for low-velocity meteors, which produce ionized trails at lower altitudes.The influence of both these effects on the observational results from the Ottawa meteor radar is examined quantitatively.