Formation and Past Evolution of the Showers of 96P/Machholz Complex

Abstract: In this work we model the dynamical evolution of meteoroid streams of comet 96P/Machholz, and the largest member of the Marsden sunskirters, comet P/1999 J6. We simultaneously fit the characteristics of eight meteor showers which have been proposed to be linked to the complex, using observations from a range of techniques – visual, video, TV and radar. The aim is to obtain a self-consistent scenario of past capture of a large comet into a short-period orbit, and its subsequent fragmentation h…