Search for the True Parent Body of the Phoenicid Meteor Shower

Abstract

In 2024, Ďurišová et al. found that the meteor shower Phoenicids, IAU No. 254, code PHO, can originate in the nuclei of three comets, 46P/Wirtanen, 104P/Kowal 2, and 289P/Blanpain. The latter was suggested to be the parent body of the shower already in 1963 by Ridley. In this work, we model the meteoroid streams of all three comets and follow their dynamical evolution in course to reveal, which of the three comets is dynamically the most suitable parent body and if there is only a single parent or the stream might be fed with the particles released from more objects. It is a difficult task not only because these comets and particles released from them show an erratic dynamical evolution, but also because the Phoenicid shower is, according to the IAU Meteor Data Center List of Showers, currently represented by two significantly different solutions. We concluded that all three comets can contribute with the meteoroids to the Phoenicid stream. The dynamics of 289P’s stream is mostly appropriate to fit the Phoenicid-shower solution AdNo = 1, but the nucleus of this comet is too small to explain the estimated total mass of the stream. The Phoenicids either occurred due to some sudden, but short term outbursts of the particles from the 289P’s nucleus or the other two comets, especially 46P, are the further parent bodies. Our study also indicates that the recently discovered shower M2023-Y1 is most probably the third solution of the Phoenicids.

Keywords

• Comet dynamics
• Short period comets
• Meteor showers
• Meteor streams