Meteor hunting
A UK meteor network evolved from Richard Kacerek’s desire to capture one
Richard Kacerek is one of the founders of the UK Meteor Observation Network, or UKMON, (ukmeteornetwork.co.uk) – a group of amateur meteor hunters that use video cameras to hunt down meteors streaking across the night sky. It was, however, a group he’d never intended to found.
“We didn’t mean to start a network – it was completely by accident,” says Kacerek. “I just wanted to find meteors. When I first got involved with meteor
detection in 2012, it was just my camera in the UK and one in France.”
He soon began giving talks at local astronomy societies, helping others set up their own cameras. Before long, he was working with dozens of other people to search the night sky for meteors.
“People like the fact you can turn on the camera in the evening and then come back in the morning to see what you’ve found,” says Kacerek. “Sometimes when you come to look at what you’ve captured there’s an
absolutely massive fireball. That’s a great moment
because it explodes in the media. We get to be part of
the news. It’s like astrofishing – you don’t know what
you’re going to catch.”
With so many people taking part, UKMON is usually able to pick up multiple detections of a single meteor and accurately gauge its position, increasing the
scientific usefulness of detections. Yet while the team
collaborates with institutes such as the University of Bath and the International Meteor Organisation, science isn’t its primary aim.
“It was a hobby that turned into a citizen science project, but it’s still meant to be a hobby. If you have
fun along the way that’s what counts. That’s our
fundamental policy,” says Kacerek.
For the last few years, UKMON has been working with the Natural History Museum to get cameras into schools, as well as onto the museum itself, as the meteor hunt is a great way to get children interested in astronomy and science in general.
“The reason why I started with astronomy was to
look up and enjoy the night sky, an experience which nowadays is becoming scarce. Now with light pollution, I think this generation is losing a lot,” says Kacerek.
Fortunately, meteor detection cameras can work remotely and can be set up on roofs or in awkward corners, pointing away from the worst of the light pollution to give astronomers a clear night sky view.
“If you want to record meteors you should join us,” says Kacerek. “Good telescopes are expensive, but for meteor observing I could get everything I needed for just £500. I’ve never looked back.” ▶