All-Sky Meteor Camera for Citizen Science
Record the night sky automatically, detect shooting stars and contribute observations to meteor research networks.
Networks of amateur cameras triangulate meteors to calculate their orbits. Projects such as the Global Meteor Network publish open-source software and recommended cameras that run on a Raspberry Pi.
Video tutorial
Video by Tasman Skies, embedded from YouTube. The written steps below are our own and match the parts list.
Mission steps
Join a network
Read the Global Meteor Network's setup guide; it lists the recommended low-light camera and lens.
Weatherproof the camera
Mount it in a sealed housing with a clear dome or window, aimed high with a wide view.
Install the software
Install the network's capture and detection software on the Pi following its instructions.
Calibrate
The software matches stars in your frames to a star catalog to know exactly where the camera points.
Run every night
It records from dusk to dawn, finds meteors and uploads detections automatically.
Questions
Will a normal webcam work?
It will catch bright meteors for fun, but scientific networks need sensitive low-light cameras and precise calibration.