Meteoroid'S Orbit Determination

The expanding of meteor networks has allowed an ever increasing precision in trajectory computations. This translates into a better constraining of the state vector, and by integration, the orbital torus along which the parent body can be found. Here, we present a theoretical method of orbit determination which starts from the topocentric coordinates of the meteoroid trajectory. The method of obtaining the meteoroid's state vector is based on a larger set of perturbations, which are tracked backwards in time from the entry point of the meteoroid, to a point outside the Earth's sphere of influence. Our method is then applied to a bolide recorded within MOROI network, and the outcome is compared with the results obtained with previously published techniques. Finally, a forward and backward propagation in time of the meteoroid is presented using the described equations of motion, and fourth-order symplectic Neri integrator.