Title
Interstellar Meteors?
Document Type
Presentation
Publication Date
1-21-2011
Abstract
The possibility of studying solid materials from outside our Solar System is a tantalizing one. Though sampling such materials by the method of sending a spacecraft is far beyond our current capabilities, our Galaxy contains many systems (protostars, planetary systems, supernovae, AGB stars, etc) that may eject particles of various sizes into interstellar space. Some of this material must occasionally enter our Solar System. But how often and from where? Could it carry life?
I will discuss some of the possible sources of interstellar material arriving at Earth, how one might identify such material if it exists, and describe some recent results from a high-precision meteor camera system recently built near London Ontario that is looking for interstellar meteoroids entering our atmosphere.