DIURNAL VARIATIONS IN THE NUMBER OF SHOWER METEORS DETECTED BY THE FORWARD-SCATTERING OF RADIO WAVES: PART III. ELLIPSOIDAL THEORY

Abstract

A theory of meteor 'observability' relating to forward-scatter radio experiments was developed in Part I of this series, with the use of a simplifying 'cylindrical approximation'. The application of the theory to data obtained during meteor showers provides a promising new method for studying the intrinsic strengths of the showers. The principal limitation of the method is due to the inaccuracies of the cylindrical approximation. In the present paper, these inaccuracies are removed by a full development of the ellipsoidal geometry inherent in the forward-scatter process. The more rigorous results are compared with the approximate results at various stages throughout the analysis.