GROUPS OF METEORITE-PRODUCING METEOROIDS AND METEORITES IN ASTEROIDAL ORBITS AND THEIR SOURCES

Abstract

This paper presents the results of the analysis of possible existence of nine near-Earth meteorite-producing groups in asteroidal orbits, consisting of sporadic fireballs from the IAU MDC 2007 database, sporadic meteors from the SonotaCo database, meteorites – namely, L5, L6 and H4-H6 ordinary chondrites and an ureilite, for which atmospheric and orbital parameters are known from instrumental observations – and their plausible parent bodies, that is, near-Earth asteroids (NEAs). Orbits of the selected members of meteorite- producing groups were classified as asteroidal according to the Tisserand parameter T J > 3.1. In order to test the link between meteorite-producing groups in asteroidal orbits and their plausible parent bodies, we carried out an investigation into the possible existence of some known NEAs that move in similar orbits. Based on the orbital similarity, determined using the Drummond (D D ) and Southworth & Hawkins (D SH ) orbital similarity criteria, some associations between the identified NEAs, known meteorites in asteroidal orbits and small, as well as meteorite-dropping, meteoroids have been suggested. As a result, several meteorite-dropping sporadic fireballs and small meteors, whose orbits are currently similar to the orbits of known meteorites, have been detected and reckoned as possible members of the groups in asteroidal orbits; their plausible source regions have also been considered.