arXiv subjects

Daniel Kastinen

Publications and source records attributed to Daniel Kastinen.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

The PANSY Meteor Head-echo Orbit Catalogue: Continuous Antarctic Radar Observations of Southern Meteoroid Streams

Meteor head echoes from high-power, large-aperture radars provide pulse-resolved positions and velocities for individual micrometeoroids in a submillimeter-radius range that contribute significantly to the mass influx to Earth. We present the first meteor head-echo orbit catalogue from the Antarctic Syowa Mesosphere--Stratosphere--Troposphere/Incoherent Scatter radar (PANSY). The catalogue contains two million meteors and 50 million pulse-resolved measurements. The observed radiant distribution contains the helion, antihelion, south toroidal and apex sources, and provides unprecedented head-echo coverage of southern ecliptic latitudes. The initial detection-height distribution is found to be double-banded, with both bands increasing in height with meteor speed and exhibiting distinct radiant distributions, consistent with a mixture of meteoroid-size differences and differential ablation. Estimation of dynamic mass indicates that the survey is sensitive to initial radii of approximately 100 micrometers. As part of an initial exploration of the catalogue, we investigate the nighttime alpha Capricornids (CAP) and the extended Daytime Capricornids-Sagittariids (DCS) radiant. Their similar activity durations at opposite nodes are consistent with membership in the CAP--169P/NEAT complex. The radiant distribution suggests a new meteor shower candidate, with peak flux near solar longitude 110 degrees, mean Sun-centered ecliptic radiant longitude 291.0 degrees, latitude -48.2 degrees, and geocentric speed 48.7 km s^{-1}. During catalogue production, event-level raw voltage cuts are retained temporarily to support improvements in data analysis. This first catalogue release, covering 2025 January 26 to 2026 July 26, will be useful for further studies of the southern-hemisphere Earth-crossing meteoroid population.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2026

Optical and Radar Observations of the February 2025 Falcon 9 Upper-Stage Re-entry

We investigate the February 19, 2025, re-entry of a Falcon 9 upper stage using optical observations from 43 meteor cameras across central Europe together with radar detections of re-entry plasma obtained with the 32.55 MHz SIMONe Germany multistatic radar system. Optical observations of fragment emissions between 85 and 36 km altitude were used to reconstruct 30 fragment trajectories, identify two main fragment families, and fit ballistic trajectories to estimate kinetic energy loss per unit mass. The optical detection-height distribution peaks near 60 km with a standard deviation of 10 km, and both optical and radar signatures occur in the same broad altitude region as the maximum kinetic-energy loss. Radar echoes were detected at altitudes between 55 and 75 km, and the radar-derived positions are consistent with those obtained from optical observations. Two distinct radar echo types associated with the re-entry plasma were identified: (1) specular trail echoes from overdense wake plasma, with radar cross-sections (RCS) of up to 60 dBsm, and (2) short-lived non-specular trail echoes with RCS values of 20--30 dBsm, exhibiting a delay of 1--2 s compared to optical signatures. The characteristic decay time of both echo types is approximately 1 s. In the radar-echo altitude range, the estimated Knudsen numbers for meter-scale fragments are well below unity, consistent with continuum-flow conditions and shock-driven plasma production rather than ordinary meteor-like impact ionization. These serendipitous radar observations demonstrate that the atmospheric re-entry of other spacecraft, including objects smaller than the Falcon 9 upper stage such as Starlink satellites, may likewise be detectable using comparable multistatic meteor radar systems deployed globally.

physics.space-ph↗

arXiv2026

Observations of the 2023 February 27 fireball in northern Sweden using the auroral imaging system ALIS_4D

On 2023 February 27 at 18:15:55.77 UT, a bright fireball streaked across the sky above northern Sweden. The event offered a valuable opportunity to study the phenomenon using an optical system primarily designed for auroral studies, the Auroral Large Imaging System (ALIS_4D), that captured the event. In this study we show the capability of ALIS_4D to perform observations in support of meteor event analysis. We estimated the trajectory from the recorded data and computed the orbit. In addition, we investigated the origin of the meteoroid searching for its parent body. Fitting the analytical ablation model known as $\alpha$-$\beta$ to the trajectory as well as incorporating local wind-field data in Monte-Carlo dark-flight simulations, strewn-fields were computed and physical properties of the meteoroid were estimated. Trajectory analyses delineate a strewn field along the border between Kiruna and G\"allivare in northern Sweden. Our findings indicate that the meteoroid's parent body was likely an Apollo family object. We performed an orbital similarity analysis to identify candidate parent bodies of the fireball. Our simulations suggest that close approaches with Earth could have disrupted the meteoroid's orbit, placing it on a collision course.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2021

Relationship between Radar Cross Section and Optical Magnitude based on Radar and Optical Simultaneous Observations of Faint Meteors

Radar and optical simultaneous observations of meteors are important to understand the size distribution of the interplanetary dust. However, faint meteors detected by high power large aperture radar observations, which are typically as faint as 10 mag. in optical, have not been detected until recently in optical observations, mainly due to insufficient sensitivity of the optical observations. In this paper, two radar and optical simultaneous observations were organized. The first observation was carried out in 2009 to 2010 using Middle and Upper Atmosphere Radar (MU radar) and an image-intensified CCD camera. The second observation was carried out in 2018 using the MU radar and a mosaic CMOS camera, Tomo-e Gozen, mounted on the 1.05-m Kiso Schmidt Telescope. In total, 331 simultaneous meteors were detected. The relationship between radar cross sections and optical V-band magnitudes was well approximated by a linear function. A transformation function from the radar cross section to the V-band magnitude was derived for sporadic meteors. The transformation function was applied to about 150,000 meteors detected by the MU radar in 2009--2015, large part of which are sporadic, and a luminosity function was derived in the magnitude range of $-1.5$ to $9.5$ mag. The luminosity function was well approximated by a single power-law function with the population index of $r = 3.52{\pm}0.12$. The present observation indicates that the MU radar has capability to detect interplanetary dust of $10^{-5}$ to $10^{0}$ g in mass as meteors.

astro-ph.EP↗