Meteor strikes are far less random than most scientists assumed, according to a new analysis, which suggests that these impacts are more likely to occur at certain times of the year and at certain locations.
At least, that's what researchers - and brothers - Carlos and Raul de la Fuente Marcos of the Complutense University of Madrid concluded. Their research, reported on the pre-press astrophysics website ArXiv.org, shows that meteors are more likely to occur at certain times of the year when Earth's orbit takes us through streams of meteoroids. Not to mention that the majority of these events hit the Earth in the second half of the year, the researchers added.
"This lack of randomness is induced by planetary perturbations, in particular Jupiter's, and suggests that some of the recent, most powerful Earth impacts may be associated with resonant groups of Near Earth Objects and/or very young meteoroid streams," they report.
Asteroids and meteors are sometimes herded by planets or moons into loose orbits called "resonant streams," which can be broken up by large planets every so often.
To reach their conclusion, the investigators studied 33 meteor impact events detected between 2000 and 2013 by infrasound acoustic pressure sensors, operated by the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization.
When tracing the origins of these celestial objects, they found that 17 impacts occurred in the northern hemisphere and 16 in the south. Likewise, 25 impacts occurred within 40 degrees north or south of the equator, while only eight occurred at higher latitudes. June was found to be the most likely month for a meteor to hit the southern hemisphere, whereas November was all the rage for those living north of the equator.
However, the authors believe the timing will change as old meteoroid streams dissipate and new ones form.
"What we had always assumed up until this paper, was that meteor impacts were random, occurring at any time and in any place," Dr. Simon O'Toole, of the Australian Astronomical Observatory, who was not involved in the research, told ABC Science.
The Marcos brothers do note that since their findings are only based on 33 meteor impact events, more data is needed to back up their hypothesis.