Radio Echo Measurements of the Orbits of Faint Sporadic Meteors

Abstract

A survey has been made of the orbits of faint sporadic meteors. The results show that, in addition to meteors moving in orbits similar to those of the comets, there are many in orbits of very short period. The more eccentric of these orbits are concentrated towards the plane of the ecliptic, but some are nearly circular and have inclinations near 60°. The differences between these results and those previously published for bright meteors are discussed, and a qualitative explanation is given in terms of the action on near-parabolic orbits of solar radiation and the major planets.