Resonance electromagnetic effect of the Kamchatka meteoroid

• Published in: Kinematics and Physics of Celestial Bodies
• Main Authors: Luo, Yiyang, Chernogor, L. F.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2023
• Subjects: Physics and Astronomy; Kamchatka meteoroid; resonance effect; electromagnetic effect mechanism; explosive impact; oscillation of magnetic field line; CHELYABINSK; AIRBURST; Bering Sea; Kamchatka; Kamchatka Peninsula; Alaska
• Online Access: https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/01HR68YQ5M5FE2XZSFPQ103SNF; http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-01HR68YQ5M5FE2XZSFPQ103SNF; https://doi.org/10.3103/S0884591323010051; https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/01HR68YQ5M5FE2XZSFPQ103SNF/file/01HT29K11RATK4NWBVWMBKVR03

A large meteoroid entered the terrestrial atmosphere and exploded at an altitude of 26 km between the Kamchatka Peninsula and Alaska (geographic coordinates 56.9 degrees N, 172.4 degrees E) over the Bering Sea at 23:48:20 UT on December 18, 2018. The meteoroid has been named the Kamchatka (or Bering Sea) meteoroid. Its basic parameters are as follows: calculated total impact energy 173 kt of TNT, total optical radiated energy 1.3 x 10(14) J, mass 1.41 kt, speed 32 km/s, size 9.4 m, and the trajectory directed at an angle of 68.6 degrees with respect to the horizon. The entry of the Kamchatka meteoroid into the atmosphere was accompanied by the generation of a transient resonance electromagnetic signal in the 25-35 mHz band observable in the vicinity of the meteoroid explosion and in the magnetically conjugate region. Oscillations with amplitudes of 0.2-0.8 nT were observed over a 7-min interval. This study is aimed at analyzing the observations of the resonance electromagnetic effect from the Kamchatka meteoroid and discussing a mechanism for this effect. The resonance effect in the Earth's magnetic field is analyzed using data with a time resolution of 1 s and an amplitude resolution of 1 nT from the database collected by the Intermagnet magnetometer network of magnetic observatories. The distance between the site of the meteoroid explosion and the magnetic observatories ranges from 1000 to 5000 km in the Northern Hemisphere and from 9010 to 12 425 km in the Southern Hemisphere. It is established that the only feasible mechanism is associated with the magnetic field displacement in the magnetosphere by the explosive impact of the celestial body, whereas only a negligibly small part of the meteoroid's energy is spent on the generation of magnetic field perturbations. The meteoroid's energy losses are similar to the losses in the reactive components of the radio frequency circuits, i.e., they return into the system. The oscillations cease after the meteoroid flies by, and the system returns into the initial ...