Synthesis of Observations

Based on Neil Divine’s (1993) ‘Five Population of Interplanetary Meteoroids’- model, a description of the interplanetary meteoroid complex is given in terms of distinct meteoroid populations. Each population has separable distributions in particle mass, orbital inclination, eccentricity and perihelion distance. The model matches particle concentrations and fluxes as derived from radar meteors and zodiacal light observations as well as from measurements by impact detectors on various spacecraft. This model has been expanded to include a comparison with directional and impact speed information obtained by the Galileo and Ulysses detectors. Small particle orbits that are affected by radiation pressure are newly included in the model. Particle populations on heliocentric hyperbolic orbits have to be considered in order to match recent spacecraft measurements.