population index

{{Short description|Meteor shower parameter}}

The population index, or r-value, indicates the magnitude distribution of a meteor shower. Values below 2.5 correspond to distributions where bright meteors are more frequent than average, while values above 3.0 mean that the share of faint meteors is larger than usual.{{cite thesis |last=Molau |first=Sirko |date=2015 |title=Population index reloaded |url=https://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/pdf/2015pimo.conf...11M |chapter=Introduction |publisher=Harvard University |access-date=11 July 2023}} Population indices are not solely associated with meteor showers.