First results of high-definition TV spectroscopic observations of the 1999 Leonid meteor shower

During the 1999 Leonids, an intensified HDTV camera was used for slitless meteor spectroscopy at visible and near-UV wavelengths in three night flights of the Leonid Multi-instrument Aircraft Campaign. The IIDTV system provided a high dynamic range (digital 10-bit) and a wide field of view of 37 x 21 degrees. The maximum spectral sensitivity is at 405 nm, while the resolving power of the spectrograph was lambda/Delta lambda similar to 250. Here, we report on the results for one particularly nice spectrum from a Leonid meteor at 03:24:40 UT. Numerous atomic emission lines of magnesium and iron were detected, with an excitation temperature of T = 5,000 +/- 1,000. It is confirmed that sodium is released from the meteoroid earlier than iron and magnesium, just as in meteors of the 1998 Leonid shower. Rovibrational bands of N-2 dominate the spectrum in the visible and near-IR. We searched for CN band emission at 389 nm, but could not detect it due to the overlap of numerous iron lines.