Modeling Motion, Ablation and Energy Deposition of Meteoroid in the Atmosphere Taking Account of the Curved Trajectory

Abstract

The problem of modeling the motion, ablation, and energy release of a meteoroid or its fragments moving as a single body is considered. A computer program for calculating the system of meteor physics equations by the Runge − Kutta method is created and tested. The equations take into account the curvilinearity of the trajectory of meteor body, gravity, and change of the heat transfer coefficient along the trajectory. Test calculations were performed for meteor bodies of various sizes moving in the atmosphere. Change of the trajectory angle with respect to the horizon depending on the entry parameters is shown. The effect of taking into account the variability of the trajectory angle on the change of the velocity, mass loss, kinetic energy and trajectory of the meteoroid is estimated.