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Set up a Raspberry Pi meteor detector

skyatnightmagazine.com

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Re: Set up a Raspberry Pi meteor detector

#13
post #9
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure where to get an up to date view but the slide at 5:45 in this video has a map: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAGq-XqD5Po&t=5m45s

Wow if that is correct then we really are blind to incoming end the world meteors

This wouldn't generally help with that, as these record meteors that are passing through the atmosphere.

Potentially Hazardous Objects have to be modelled from quite far away and have their courses plotted. Most PHOs would not show up on cameras such as this.

Re: Set up a Raspberry Pi meteor detector

#14
I imagine this would capture meteor flares only in areas with minimal lighting. In urban (and surrounding) areas, the light pollution would render human (and I imagine, digital) eyes blind to the celestial tapestry.

Are there cameras that can filter the light pollution out?

Re: Set up a Raspberry Pi meteor detector

#15
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow if that is correct then we really are blind to incoming end the world meteors

This wouldn't generally help with that, as these record meteors that are passing through the atmosphere. Potentially Hazardous Objects have to be modelled from quite far away and have their courses plotted. Most PHOs would not show up on cameras such as this.

And if they did, it would be too late!

Re: Set up a Raspberry Pi meteor detector

#16
post #6

Where exactly to get the hardware such as the IMX291 camera module would be helpful.

I've rooted around their build instructions and they suggest this Aliexpress listing: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32984151266.html There is also a Croatian company "IstraStream" that will supply a ready-built system: https://globalmeteornetwork.org/?page_id=136 There are a number of eBay listings for camera modules that contain an IMX291 sensor but they don't appear to be the same, and in particular don't appear…

From the picture it doesn't look like the camera module has an actual poe connector, they seem to be using a splitter cable.

Re: Set up a Raspberry Pi meteor detector

#17

I imagine this would capture meteor flares only in areas with minimal lighting. In urban (and surrounding) areas, the light pollution would render human (and I imagine, digital) eyes blind to the celestial tapestry. Are there cameras that can filter the light pollution out?

If there aren't any bright objects in the direct field of view it should be possible to see flashes in the sky on a clear night.

Re: Set up a Raspberry Pi meteor detector

#19
I have wondered how possible it might be to set up a few such cameras in a region and use them to triangulate meteor landing sites, maybe go find them after? I don't know how precise you could get, but it feels like if you could get down to a football field or something, maybe you could find the recently fallen ones, at least the large ones.

Re: Set up a Raspberry Pi meteor detector

#20

I have wondered how possible it might be to set up a few such cameras in a region and use them to triangulate meteor landing sites, maybe go find them after? I don't know how precise you could get, but it feels like if you could get down to a football field or something, maybe you could find the recently fallen ones, at least the large ones.

That is precisely the kind of work performed (in the open, all the data is public) by the Global Meteor Network: https://globalmeteornetwork.org/

Unfortunately most meteors never land because they completely burn up in the atmosphere. From the reading I've done today, I think the ones you're after are called "meteor-dropping fireballs".

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