Every day, several tons of material fall from space down on earth. Some of this material are rocks of sufficient size to make meteors (shooting stars) that survive the extreme heat as they are decelerated through our atmosphere. A few times every year, we see big fireballs, meteors big enough to survive all the way down onto the ground.
The possibility of finding a meteorite have sent many out looking for stones that carry the signs of a space rock. Several networks of all-sky cameras exist around the globe, with the aim of doing research on meteor activity. Now, a network is being built to supply schools with unique class room material, where young students can participate in identifying meteors, calculating where their landing sites and their extra terrestial origins.
Here at the Online Observatory, we develop activities and tools that allow schools to contribute in the hunt for meteors and meteorites. The following talk was given at an event held at the Brorfelde Observatory in Denmark, June 2019.
As presented on the Multiplier Event at Brorfelde Observatory in June 2019
As presented on the Multiplier Event at Brorfelde Observatory in June 2019
Do you want to learn more about this project or have ideas on how to make these ideas even better, please contact us with your ideas and questions.
Geogebra files
Some activities require Geogebra files, where students can manipulate arrows indicating the path of given meteors. In these files, they can get acquainted with coordnates and distances of any given event. The files are still only prepared with maps of southern Norway.
Here are a few Geogebra files for download:
- Bird view of meteor 2015/08/12-23.50.39
- Bird view of meteor 2015/11/22-17.34.55
- Side perspective of meteor (general)