1. Introduction

Who am I?

• Daniel Kastinen
• Grew up on a small island in Åland
• Masters at LTU in Luleå 2016
• Moved to Kiruna,
  finished PhD in 2022
  From Meteors to Space Safety: Dynamical Models and Radar Measurements of Space Objects
• Became permanent scientist 2023
• Task: Conduct research on meteors and space objects!

1. Let's start from the beginning...

• Meteors
• Meteoroids and meteorites
• The formation of the solar system
• Asteroids and comets
• Meteor showers

1. Let's start from the beginning...

• Meteors
• Meteoroids and meteorites
• The formation of the solar system
• Asteroids and comets
• Meteor showers

1. Let's start from the beginning...

• Meteors
• Meteoroids and meteorites
• The formation of the solar system
• Asteroids and comets
• Meteor showers

• The formation of the solar system

• The formation of the solar system

So how do we keep seeing small meteors?

Sources of meteoroids

• Comets
• Asteroid collisions
• Catastrophic disruptions
• Impact ejecta
• Interstellar particles?
• ...

Larger meteors (bolides/superbolides) are actually asteroids!

1. Let's start from the beginning...

• Meteors
• Meteoroids and meteorites
• The formation of the solar system
• Asteroids and comets
• Meteor showers

• Asteroids and comets

Credit: NASA/JPL

• Asteroids and comets

Credit: NASA/JPL

• We now know where all the big ones are
• Sometimes a small one ends up on collision course with Earth
• Then this can happen

• Asteroids and comets

• Asteroids and comets

Popova, O. P. et al. (2013)

• ~13 million kg
• ~19.8 $\pm$ 4.6 meter diameter
• -27.3 $\pm$ 0.5 magnitude
  (Sun is around -26.7)
• ~19.16 $\pm$ 0.15 km/s

• Asteroids and comets

But we also have the smaller events

So how small can they be?

• Asteroids and comets

These mostly come from comets while they pass close to the Sun

Credit: Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard, Comet NEOWISE

• Asteroids and comets

Dust and meteoroids gets "blown into space"

• Asteroids and comets

This creates a meteoroid "stream" in space

One that can intersect with Earth

1. Let's start from the beginning...

• Meteors
• Meteoroids and meteorites
• The formation of the solar system
• Asteroids and comets
• Meteor showers

• Meteor showers

Credit: www.meteorshowers.org

• Meteor showers

If a long time passes, they spread out and become "sporadic" (random)

• Meteor showers

If a long time passes, they spread out and become "sporadic" (random)

• Meteor showers

If a long time passes, they spread out and become "sporadic" (random)

These are usually the ones we can see every night

1. Let's start from the beginning...

• Meteors
• Meteoroids and meteorites
• The formation of the solar system
• Asteroids and comets
• Meteor showers

1. The research topic in brief

Meteors and space objects

1. The research topic in brief

Meteors and space objects

What can be done

• Observe meteors and determine their...
• Trajectory and orbit
• Rough properties (mass, density, composition, ...)
• Sometimes history or origin

1. The research topic in brief

Meteors and space objects

What can be done

• Observe meteors and determine their...
• Determine consequences of meteors and space objects
• Atmospheric chemistry (clouds, metal layers, ...)
• Quantify danger to satellites and space missions
• Quantify danger to Earth from Near Earth Objects
• Discover new physical phenomena
  (ablation, meteoroid streams, comet activity, ...)
• ...

1. The research topic in brief

Meteors and space objects

What can be done

• Observe meteors and determine their...
• Determine consequences of meteors and space objects
• Act on our understanding
• Planetary defense
• Better space mission design and planning
• Better atmospheric models and predictions
• ...

1. The research topic in brief

Meteors and space objects

What can be done

• Observe meteors and determine their...
• Determine consequences of meteors and space objects
• Act on our understanding

Some examples of this and what we do!