Determination of Meteor Vector Velocity Using MU Interferometry Measurements of Head Echoes

Abstract

A new method for measuring the vector velocity of meteoroids using meteor head echoes is proposed in this study. The lateral velocity is determined by utilizing the phase interference measurement between channels, while the radial velocity is obtained using a conventional Doppler frequency shift measurement. Compared to previous studies, this method does not require multi-site observations and can calculate the vector velocity of meteors in real-time. This paper provides the complete process for the inversion of the meteor vector velocity, detailing the analyzing process using MU radar head echo data. First, the MUSIC algorithm was used to estimate the DOA of the meteor target, which is a parameter required for lateral velocity measurement. Channel calibration is required before this estimation. Next, delay-Doppler matched filter processing was performed on each receiving channel’s data to determine the distance and radial velocity of the meteor target. Subsequently, the lateral velocity component was synthesized using the least squares method from the phase difference rate extracted from the matched filter output results of multiple channel pairs. Then, the vector velocity and trajectory of the meteor could be determined. The method was verified using MU radar head echo data. Different groups of channel pairs were selected for calculating the lateral velocity, and the results were found to be close, demonstrating the self-consistency of the method. Additionally, the calculated vector velocity is consistent with the direction and magnitude of the meteor’s motion trajectory, confirming the feasibility of the proposed approach. The method allows for the observation of more prominent characteristics of meteoroid motion, providing a more detailed observation capability of velocity variations in other directions than previous methods.