The challenges in hypervelocity microphysics research on meteoroid impacts into the atmosphere

Abstract

Meteor science contributes greatly to the study of the Solar System and the Earth’s atmosphere. However, despite its importance and very long history, meteor science still has a lot to explore in the domain of meteor plasma microphysics and the meteor–ionosphere interaction. Meteors are actually a difficult target for high‐-resolution observations, which leads to the need for more ambitious interdisciplinary observational setups and campaigns. We describe some recent developments in the physics of meteor flight and microphysics of meteor plasma and argue that meteor science should be fully integrated into the science cases of large astronomical facilities. © 2020, Geographical Institute "Jovan Cviji" of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. All rights reserved.