The classification of meteor light curves: an application of hat theory

A three-component, geometrical classification scheme for meteor light curves is developed and presented. A fundamental distinction between convex and non-convex light-curve profiles is first made, and then the individual light curves are quantified according to the relative trail-length location of the point of maximum brightness, and the area under the light curve in the normalized magnitude versus time diagram. It is argued that the proposed scheme, while geometrical in nature, does have contact with the theoretical models of meteoroid ablation in the sense that the most extreme profiles or bounding light curves (called ‘hats’ for convenience) correspond to very specific modes of material mass loss.