Variation of sporadic meteor background and solar activity

. Observations of the sporadic background meteors in 1996-2007 by the Bologna-Lecce-Modra forward-scatter radio system operating along two baselines are analyzed and discussed. The activity curves of sporadic meteor echoes and their variations indicate a direct correlation with the solar activity represented by the sunspot relative number R , as well as with the solar coronal index CI . The mass distribution exponents and its variations in the period of the 23rd solar cycle indicate a relatively stable population of the sporadic background meteoroid population in the surroundings of the Earth’s orbit. Investigation of meteor heights compiled from the IAU MDC catalogue of precise photographic orbits for a period of five solar cycles do not exhibit any pronounced variation consistent with the solar cycle activity.