Speakers
Description
The AllSky7 Fireball Network is a global, amateur-driven camera network to record the full sky 24/7. It was initiated by Mike Hankey in 2018 and consists meanwhile of a number of local networks in different regions of the world. With about 90 stations, the European AllSky7 network is the biggest and most dense installation to date. We aim at an average distance of 100 to 150 km between stations, which has meanwhile been reached in Germany, Hungary and BeNeLux. Such a camera density ensures best geometry for every recorded fireball. Almost every meteor recorded by our network is a multi-station detection, and in certain cases we have recorded fireballs from up to 30 stations in parallel. The network is growing steadily, and both the hardware design and the software suite are further developed. Recently we introduced AllSky7+ cameras, which integrate a fisheye camera for better recording of particularly bright fireballs, and mobile camera editions. The software pipeline has been upgraded with AI capabilities to improve the detection accuracy for meteors and other events.
Prime target of the Allsky7 network is the observation of meteors, fireballs, and meteorite droppers, but it has the potential to record many other atmospheric phenomena. We have been successfully recording daylight fireballs, aurorae, noctilucent clouds, red sprites, satellite re-entries and other rare events. Even though the network is primarily driven by amateur astronomers, we have a number of planetariums, observatories, universities, research institutes and museums as camera owners. A number of sub-projects have been spawned or planned, which strengthen the ties between amateur astronomy, public outreach and professional research.
