Precision meteor orbits obtained by the Dutch Meteor Society - Photographic Meteor Survey (1981-1993)

¹ Dutch Meteor Society, Lederkarper 4, 2318 NB  Leiden, The Netherlands
² NASA/Ames Research Center, Mail Stop 239-4, Moffett Field, CA 94035-1000, U.S.A.

Send offprint request to: H. Betlem or P. Jenniskens

Received: 14 June 1996
Accepted: 7 January 1997

Abstract

359 precisely reduced meteor orbits are presented that are the result of the Dutch Meteor Society's Photographic Meteor Survey in the period 1981 until 1993. Orbits include those of major and minor showers, doubling the number of known precise orbits of some meteor streams. From the spread in solutions of all possible sets of two photographic stations, we derive the measurement uncertainties from which we are able to calculate the intrinsic scatter in the Perseid meteor stream. The new Geminid orbits are compared to those obtained in similar surveys in the 1950's. This first measurement of the rate of change of Geminid orbits over time agrees well with model predictions.