Simultaneous optical and radar measurements of meteors using the Poker Flat Incoherent Scatter Radar

Coordinated Poker Flat Incoherent Scatter Radar (PFISR) and imaging observations are examined in order to study the radar scattering signatures of optically visible meteors. Preliminary observations in 2006 revealed that optical meteors were detected by PFISR. A recent campaign in the winter of 2009, employed a radar mode optimized for meteor Doppler shifts. This paper presents a case study from 21 January 2009. Seven out of the 338 meteors observed with PFISR were also detected optically. Six out of those seven were detected by the side lobes of the radar and not the main beam. A positive correlation was found between the corrected backscattered radar power and the optical brightness of the meteors, as well as between optical brightness and absolute speed. Meteors originating in the east had higher speeds and more glancing incidence angles, while meteors originating in the north had lower speeds and more direct incidence angles.