Meteor Astronomy

the branch of astronomy studying the structure, origin, and evolution of meteoric material in inter-planetary space. Investigation of the structure and motion of meteoric material is conducted by means of optical and radar observations of meteors, observations of the zodiacal light, the recording of meteorite impacts with the help of sensors on artificial earth satellites and space probes, and the study of the motion of meteor showers by the methods of celestial mechanics. Research in meteor astronomy is conducted in the USSR at Moscow, Dushanbe, Kiev, Odessa, Kharkov, and Kazan; abroad it is conducted in the USA (at the Harvard and Smithsonian observatories), Czechoslovakia, Great Britain, and Australia.