Physical and Chemical Properties of Meteoroids
Abstract
The chapter provides a comprehensive and up to date review of physical properties (structure, strength, porosity etc.) and chemical composition of small solar system bodies with sizes ranging from several micrometers to several meters. Experts from different fields of research, using different methods, joined their efforts to present and compare results of laboratory investigation of meteorites, interplanetary dust particles (IDPs), and micrometeorites, studies of cometary and asteroidal dust by remote sensing, in-situ investigation or sample-return missions, and properties of meteoroids derived from observations of meteors. Meteors sample the whole population of meteoroids in the vicinity of the Earth and provide data of their orbits. The best currently available methods and models of inferring physical properties of meteoroids from their behavior during the atmospheric entry, in particular fragmentation, are discussed. Chemical compositions are extracted from meteor spectra. Perfectly designed figures and tables convey the information clearly and concisely to the reader. The data are relevant for understanding other solar system objects, especially comets and asteroids.