Observation on Meteor Velocities of the Quadrantid Meteor Shower by Using the Wuhan Meteor Radar

The Quadrantid meteor shower and the meteor speed during the period of this meteor shower are successfully observed using the Wuhan meteor radar for the first time, and then the correlative questions of observing meteor shower using the all-sky meteor radar are also discussed. The observational result shows that this Quadrantid meteor shower occurs between 0000 to 0800 local time in January 4, 2004, with meteor echoes peaking at 0400 local time. Moreover the meteor shower radiant derived from the meteor echoes plane, which is formed by the whole meteor echoes observed by the meteor radar during this shower, accords well with the theoretic radiant of this meteor shower. The meteor speeds during this period of this shower are calculated by the amplitude Fresnel oscillation method of the meteor echoes, and then the meteor speed distribution is analyzed, revealing the meteor speed observed during this shower mainly concentrated between 10-30km/s, which is discovered to be controlled by the meteor initial velocity entering earth＇s atmosphere combined with the meteor decelerating process in the atmosphere. Finally the meteor speed varieties with the height are studied, from which the decelerating effects of the earth＇s atmosphere on the meteor bodies are discussed.