Jan Mánek | Searcharxiv

arXiv2026

Correction of the influence of rolling shutter detectors on determining the velocity of meteors from video recordings

Modern video cameras use either global or rolling shutter to create individual video frames. In case of global shutter, the whole frames are exposed and read out at the same time. In case of rolling shutter, the exposure and readout proceed sequentially line by line. Such cameras are now commonly used for meteor observations. It is then necessary to perform a correction for this type of image reading in order to correctly and accurately determine the velocity of recorded meteors. We provide here the correct procedure. The correction must include the value of the rolling period of the sensor, which is generally not provided in camera specifications. We discuss four methods of determining the rolling period experimentally. The most accurate method uses the New EXposure Timing Analyser (NEXTA) of [1]. We list rolling periods measured for several cameras.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2023

Tau-Herculid meteor shower on night 30/31 May, 2022, and properties of the meteoroids

A tau-Herculid meteor outburst or even a storm was predicted by several models to occur around 5~UT on 31~May, 2022 as a consequence of the break-up of comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 in 1995. The multi-instrument and multi-station experiment was carried-out within the Czech Republic to cover possible earlier activity of the shower between 21 and 1 UT on 30/31 May. Multi-station observations using video and photographic cameras were used for calculation of the atmospheric trajectories and heliocentric orbits of the meteors. Their arrival times are used for determination of the shower activity profile. Physical properties of the meteoroids are evaluated using various criteria based on meteor heights. Evolution of spectra of three meteors are studied as well. This annual but poor meteor shower was active for the whole night many hours before the predicted peak. A comparison with dynamical models shows that a mix of older material ejected after 1900 and fresh particles originating from the 1995 comet fragmentation event was observed. Radiant positions of both groups of meteors were identified and found to be in good agreement with simulated radiants. Meteoroids with masses between 10 mg and 10 kg were recorded. The mass distribution index was slightly higher than 2. A study of the physical properties shows that the tau-Herculid meteoroids belong to the most fragile particles observed ever, especially among higher masses of meteoroids. Exceptionally bright bolide observed during the dawn represents a challenge for the dynamical simulations as it is necessary to explain how to transfer a half metre body to the vicinity of the Earth at the same time as millimetre sized particles.

astro-ph.EP↗