Extension of the plasma radiation database PARADE for the analysis of meteor spectra

Abstract

Abstract The advancement in the acquisition of spectral data from meteors, as well as the capability to analyze meteoritic entries in ground testing facilities, requires the assessment of the performance of software tools for the simulation of spectra for different species. The Plasma Radiation Database, PARADE, is a line‐by‐line emission calculation tool. This article presents the extensions implemented for the simulation of meteor entries with the additional atomic species Na, K, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ca, Ni, Co, Mg, Si, and Li. These atoms are simulated and compared to ground testing spectra and to observed spectra from the CILBO observatory. The diatomic molecules AlO and TiO have now been added to the PARADE database. The molecule implementations have been compared to the results of a simple analytical program designed to approximate the vibrational band emission of diatomic molecules. AlO and TiO have been identified during the airborne observation campaigns of re‐entering man‐made objects WT1190F and CYGNUS OA6. Comparisons are provided showing reasonable agreement between observation and simulation.