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Geomagnetic Variations Caused by the Lipetsk Meteoroid’s Passage and Explosion: Measurement Results

  • DYNAMICS AND PHYSICS OF BODIES OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM
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Kinematics and Physics of Celestial Bodies Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The magnetic effect of meteors was first observed and theoretically explained back in the middle of the 20th century. The mechanisms for the magnetic effect of large celestial bodies (1–10 m and more) fundamentally differ from the mechanisms of geomagnetic field disturbances caused by meteors at ionospheric heights. The passage of a large meteoroid through the atmosphere and its explosion are accompanied by the generation of a powerful shock wave and the formation of a plume, which result in a geomagnetic effect. To the present day, researchers are divided on the main mechanism for the geomagnetic effect of large meteoroids. The Tunguska and Chelyabinsk meteoroid measurements are available for studies. In the case of the Chelyabinsk meteoroid, the variations in the geomagnetic field are detected and explained both prior to and after the explosion of this celestial body. Analyzing observations of the passage of any large enough celestial body is of considerable theoretical and practical interest. The purposes of this study are to present the analysis of magnetic field variations that arose as a result of the Lipetsk meteoroid passage through the Earth’s magnetosphere and atmosphere and to estimate and discuss the magnetic effect and its mechanisms. The fall rate of such meteoroids is 0.68 yr–1. Using the data provided by the Magnetic Observatory of Karazin Kharkiv National University (Kharkiv, Ukraine), the temporal variations in the horizontal components of the geomagnetic field on June 21, 2018, (the day of the Lipetsk meteoroid passage) and on June 20 and 22, 2018, (the reference days) have been analyzed. The meteoroid’s initial speed was 14.4 km/s, the initial mass was 113 t, and the initial size equaled approximately 4 m. The distance from the observatories to the site where the meteoroid explosion-like release of energy occurred was 360 km. The passage of the Lipetsk meteoroid in the magnetosphere and atmosphere has been shown to be accompanied by alternating variations in the geomagnetic field components. The magnetic effect of the magnetosphere was observed 54–56 min before the meteoroid explosion; the amplitude of the disturbance in the geomagnetic field did not exceed 0.5–1 nT, and the duration was 15–20 min. Alternating spikes (first positive, then negative) in the H and D component level were observed after the meteoroid explosion with a ∼6-min delay. The spike amplitude was ∼1.2–1.5 nT, while the duration of the magnetic effect from the ionosphere reached tens of minutes. The models for the magnetic effects observed are suggested and theoretical estimates are performed. The observations and the estimates are in good agreement.

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Funding

The study was funded as part of the state budget support of the research activity of institutions of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, state registration number 0119U002538.

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  1. Karazin Kharkiv National University, Kharkiv, Ukraine

    L. F. Chernogor

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  1. L. F. Chernogor
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Correspondence to L. F. Chernogor.

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Translated by M. Chubarova

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Chernogor, L.F. Geomagnetic Variations Caused by the Lipetsk Meteoroid’s Passage and Explosion: Measurement Results. Kinemat. Phys. Celest. Bodies 36, 79–93 (2020). https://doi.org/10.3103/S0884591320020038

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.3103/S0884591320020038

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