Orbit and emission spectroscopy of α-Capricornid fireballs

Seven double-station α-Capricornid bolides with absolute magnitudes ranging from -6 to -10 are analyzed. These events were imaged between 2011 and 2013 in the framework of the continuous fireball monitoring and meteor spectroscopy campaign developed by the SPanish Meteor Network (SPMN). Their atmospheric trajectory is calculated, together with the orbit in the Solar System of the progenitor meteoroids and the tensile strength of these particles. Their emission spectra are also discussed, and the relative abundances of the main rock-forming chemical elements contained in these meteoroids are estimated. An overabundance of Mg with respect to the expected value for chondritic materials is inferred for most of these particles, although the spectra also reveal differences in the composition of α-Capricornid meteoroids that allow us to derive information about the parent body of this stream. © 2014 Elsevier Inc.