Two rockets and a balloon were sent up to collect micrometeoroid particles in the upper atmosphere during the Leonid meteor shower at the end of November. The Leonids are a swarm of tiny particles orbiting the sun in an elliptical path that evidently crosses the earth's orbit. Once a year the earth meets the swarm, and a meteor shower lasting several days results. The particles are thought to be cometary debris captured by solar gravitation.
Topics
Meteoroids
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© 1966 American Institute of Physics.
1966
American Institute of Physics
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