RADIATION EMITTED DURING THE FLIGHT OF ASTEROIDS AND COMETS THROUGH THE ATMOSPHERE

The radiation emitted during the flight of a cosmic body through the a tmosphere is an important factor in the body's interaction with a plan et. A variety of radiation aspects are considered in this paper. Altit udes of interest here range from the dense atmosphere to above 100 km where nonequilibrium and nonstationary ionic kinetic and molecular dyn amic play an important role. Structure, intensity and the spectrum of radiative shock waves generated in the atmospheres of the Earth and Ma rs are investigated on the basis of the detailed numerical simulations . Ignition of fires, creation of a thin thermal layer at the ground, w hich essentially changes flow pattern after the impact, and contaminat ion of the atmosphere by soot, aerosols and dust may pose a threat to humanity. These problems are also considered. Registered radiation of 1-10 m bodies can supply the necessary data on their properties and re fine size-frequency curves. A relatively simple method to obtain the b ody characteristics in flight is developed and some observational data are analyzed. In the proposed scenario the body is heavily fragmented and intensely radiates due to an increase of its effective area.