SCAMP / FRIPON - UK Meteor Network › downloads › ... · SCAMP / FRIPON 1 Building a FRIPON network in Britain A presentation to the UKMON Conference in Cardiff Jim Rowe 20th October

SCAMP / FRIPON

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Building a FRIPON network in Britain

A presentation to the

UKMON Conference in Cardiff

Jim Rowe

20th October 2018 The Manchester SCAMP camera, operated by the University of Manchester in conjunction with the UK Natural History Museum

What is SCAMP? And FRIPON?

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• FRIPON is the Fireball Recovery and InterPlanetary Observation Network. In French, “Fripon” means “playful, mischievous child”

• SCAMP is the System for Capture of Asteroid and Meteorite Paths. In English, “Scamp” means “a person, especially a child, who is mischievous in a likeable or amusing way”

• SCAMP is the extension of the FRIPON network into the UK. To date it involves individuals from the UK Meteor Observation Network, the Natural History Museum, Armagh Observatory and the University of Manchester. The FRIPON camera at the Paris Observatory

The Existing FRIPON and SCAMP Networks

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The FRIPON network in October 2018:

• Light blue, red and black – the core FRIPON network

• Dark blue – the Romanian Moroi network

• Green – the Italian Prisma network

• Yellow – mainly Dutch (ESA) and German (Oldenburg University) networks

• Grey – SCAMP’s four UK cameras

The SCAMP network in October 2018:

• Honiton and East Barnet are connected directly to FRIPON

• Manchester is installed and is being connected to FRIPON this month

• Armagh Observatory and Planetarium have their system and will install it this month

• Two more cameras ready to go

What is the difference between FRIPON and UKMON?

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• FRIPON aims to recover meteorites, rather than study meteors

• Like a sample return mission - only about 30 paired recoveries and orbits so far

• FRIPON cameras are less sensitive so only pick up bright events. These events would saturate standard UKMON cameras

• Usually only one event recorded every two or three days

• FRIPON’s FreeTure software screens out faint meteors, aircraft, flashes.

Above - the first piece of the Annama meteorite found in spring 2014 using results from The Finnish Fireball network

Below – the Annama meteorite arriving, as seen from the Finnish Geospatial Institute’s Metsähovi Research Station

Images on this page were taken from a presentation to the FRIPON conference in June 2018 by Professor Maria Gritsevich of Helsinki University.

Example Fireballs

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• A fireball in Lapland, and the Chelyabinsk fireball

• These events would saturate UKMON-type cameras

• FRIPON cameras are less sensitive so only pick up bright events

FRIPON Conference of June 2018

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Organised by FRIPON, held at the Paris Observatory, aiming to integrate non-French deployments:

• The Romanian Moroi network

• The Italian Prisma network

• The Dutch network, coordinated by ESA

• The German network, coordinated by Oldenburg University

• The UK SCAMP Network

• SCAMP represented by Jim Rowe, Alan Shuttleworth and Dr Ashley King (NHM)

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The Equipment

• Shelyak FRIPON Camera

• PoE 8-port switch

• Intel NUC computer running Debian

• Total cost about £1,600

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A. Housing produced by Shelyak Instruments of Grenoble, incorporating a 50mm polycarbonate dome on a one-piece aluminium housing with cooling fins and no other heating/cooling mechanisms. Packed with silica gel sacs, maintenance access through the removeable base.

B. Lens: Focusafe FS12520FEMP (F1.25mm focal length, F/2 aperture, CS mount, field coverage is 185°.

C. Camera: Basler Ace 1300-gm30, CS mount, (a fully-digital GigE industrial camera).

D. Ethernet cable (Cat 5e, 6 or 7) already connected to the camera within the housing, and exiting from the housing through the base.

E. Mounting structure, provided by Shelyak with the camera.

The Equipment

1. Honiton

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• Operating in Honiton, Devon

• Supplied by FRIPON in 2016

• NUC and switch supplied in 2018

• Fully linked to the FRIPON network.

2. Manchester

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• Located at and operated by the University of Manchester, in conjunction with the UK Natural History Museum

• Has been operating since 2017

• Will be linked to the FRIPON network this month

• New NUC and switch delivered in October 2018, about to be commissioned.

3. East Barnet

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• Located on the chimney of a private house (mine!)

• Linked to the FRIPON network in Sept 2018.

Next Steps for SCAMP

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• Deploy the Armagh camera

• Deploy two more cameras on observatories, university sites and institutions in the UK, including Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland

• Continue to work closely with the UK Natural History Museum on meteorite recovery

• Find some funding to expand beyond six cameras!

Contacts:

• Website: https://ukmeteornetwork.co.uk/SCAMP/

• Jim Rowe [email protected]

The disused meteorological station at Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, which will be the site of the next SCAMP camera.