Set up a Raspberry Pi meteor detector | Hacker News Reader

Set up a Raspberry Pi meteor detector

skyatnightmagazine.com

138 pointsjstanley39 comments

Technically, every server I run is an extremely localized meteor detector. The rate of false positives is horrendous, though…

Wouldn't that be a meteorite detector?

I think it might be a meteorwrong detector

Im working on getting this to work on a docker, i already own a bunch of IP cams so it would be trivial to retask one to look for meteors ( to get cool pics for the kids ). If i get it working i’ll post a link to dockerhub

Here is the Dockerfile in case anyone is interested:

https://gist.github.com/bshep/c33d156fc8769e92ee652b3d82a1c1...

I tested what I could and I think it works. The hardest part was figuring out how to run the opencv install script as it was designed for a directory structure i coult not replicate.

I was kind of imagining this would use an sdr to look for meteor scatter from distant VHF transmitters (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meteor_burst_communications)

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".

> Unfortunately most meteors never land because they completely burn up in the atmosphere.

I think you mean "fortunately".

I'd be inclined to get a POE hub/switch cheap (30$ branded, unbranded and talking sub $10) and the adapter for the Rpi and run them both over that.

Not sure how the cost balances for this and maybe a bit more going that option, but if you add a single other POE device, it would definitely pay off cheaper and certainly more flexible cable wise on Ethernet and as such power.

That's the same type of setup that is common for security cameras using PoE. It seems to work well. Depending on how resource intensive the video analysis is, you could have several cameras being analyzed by a single mini computer (Atom based $100). That might be slightly cheaper than a single Pi per camera.

Also, where are you finding those PoE switches?! I was looking for 8 port ones just a few months ago and they were about $50 for cheap ones and at least $80 for brand names.

I just did a quick look upon Amazon. Was looking at 5 port ones so maybe sweet spot price wise. Had quick look at 8 port ones and branded would be around prices you have - though Netgear seemed closer to 50 price wise. Do note many 8 port models only do POE over half the ports I've noticed, so mindful of that and two 4/5 port affairs maybe better price in some situations.

Though if you're in no rush, January is sure to have some good sales/warehouse return deals. Though if you want to go offbrand and 10/100 do you then "Cudy FS1010P 8+2-Port 100Mbps Ethernet PoE+ Unmanaged Plug and Play Switch, 120 W, 8 10/100Mbps PoE+ Ports" on Amazon will pull up a 40$ model as an example that seems like maybe worth checking into.

I would very much like to know too. I would love to get some PoE equipment.

Amazon Warehouse was the best deal I found a few months ago.

Very cool!

There is a typo in the title: metero for meteor.

I racked by brain for a solid 10 seconds trying to remember what a metero was before I just clicked on the link.

Ah! That makes more sense!

Oops! Fixed, thanks.

I've always dreamed of capturing good footage of UFOs, fully knowing that they are with 99,99...% likelihood just fiction.

The latest round of UFO buzz got me interested in how one would setup tracking network for UFOs, this might be an interesting starting point.

"fully knowing that they are with 99,99...% likelihood just fiction."

Given the size of the universe, and its age, I would take some time to consider that the possibility that there is not some sort of phenomenon like that would be 99,99....%.

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?

There are filters[0] you can add to lenses that will filter out certain types of lights. While it will never replace finding an actual dark sky location, it will slightly improve what can be imaged.

[0]http://astronomyonline.info/best-light-pollution-filters/

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.

Could possibly capture the ultra red (heat) range that are usually filtered out by normal cameras.

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 to take power-over-ethernet. I don't know how easy it would be to integrate one of these, but they mostly ship from China anyway so there doesn't seem to be much advantage over the Aliexpress option.

I also wonder how feasible it would be to use the default Raspberry Pi camera module. Probably the issue is that it is not sufficiently sensitive.

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

The Global Meteor Network wiki page was extremely helpful as well: https://globalmeteornetwork.org/wiki

Do you know if this would work over wifi assuming you power the Pi and camera via some other means?

Is there a way to get a map of what areas are currently covered by the global meteor network?

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.

And if they did, it would be too late!

https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/meteor-shower/list.htm...

I wish the author included a BOM with links to the parts needed.

This is probably the document you seek: https://docs.google.com/document/d/18TT-Jm7z9kYskl5ua07jQWD9...

Thanks. Wonder whether it can be used as a dome monitoring camera as well. Or even as a security cam (another camera of course).

For a "dome"/all sky camera the frame of view would be so large it would decrease the sensitivity and resolution of monitoring a particular part of the sky.. in the end that means you'd see less meteors with a dome/all sky camera then one with smaller frame of view.

"We all know about the big meteor showers such as the Geminids and Perseids"

Nods sagely

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