Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net 1680-7367 1680-7375 4 2 2004 10.5194/acpd-4-1425-2004 http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/4/1425/2004/ http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/4/1425/2004/acpd-4-1425-2004.html http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/4/1425/2004/acpd-4-1425-2004.pdf 1425 1447 2004-03-09 Radar and optical leonids N. Brosch noah@wise.tau.ac.il D. Polishook R. Helled S. Schijvarg M. Rosenkrantz Beverly and Raymond Sackler Faculty of Exact Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel Radar Division, ELTA Ltd., POB 330, Ashdod 77102, Israel We present joint optical-radar observations of meteors collected near the peak of the leonid activity in 2002. We show four examples of joint detections with a large, phased array L-band radar and with intensified video cameras. The general characteristic of the radar-detected optical meteors is that they show the radar detection below the termination of the optical meteor. Therefore, at least some radar events associated with meteor activity are neither head echoes nor trail echoes, but probably indicate the formation of "charged clouds" after the visual meteor is extinguished.