A global fireball observatory
File(s)2004.01069.pdf (6.75 MB)
Accepted version
OA Location
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
The world’s meteorite collections contain a very rich picture of what the early Solar System would have been made of, however the lack of spatial context with respect to their parent population for these samples is an issue. The asteroid population is equally as rich in surface mineralogies, and mapping these two populations (meteorites and asteroids) together is a major challenge for planetary science. Directly probing asteroids achieves this at a high cost. Observing meteorite falls and calculating their pre-atmospheric orbit on the other hand, is a cheaper way to approach the problem. The Global Fireball Observatory (GFO) collaboration was established in 2017 and brings together multiple institutions (from Australia, USA, Canada, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, the UK, and Argentina) to maximise the area for fireball observation time and therefore meteorite recoveries. The members have a choice to operate independently, but they can also choose to work in a fully collaborative manner with other GFO partners. This efficient approach leverages the experience gained from the Desert Fireball Network (DFN) pathfinder project in Australia. The state-of-the art technology (DFN camera systems and data reduction) and experience of the support teams is shared between all partners, freeing up time for science investigations and meteorite searching. With all networks combined together, the GFO collaboration already covers 0.6% of the Earth’s surface for meteorite recovery as of mid-2019, and aims to reach 2% in the early 2020s. We estimate that after 5 years of operation, the GFO will have observed a fireball from virtually every meteorite type. This combined effort will bring new, fresh, extra-terrestrial material to the labs, yielding new insights about the formation of the Solar System.
Date Issued
2020-10-15
Date Acceptance
2020-06-11
Citation
Planetary and Space Science, 2020, 191, pp.1-10
ISSN
0032-0633
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Start Page
1
End Page
10
Journal / Book Title
Planetary and Space Science
Volume
191
Copyright Statement
© Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. This manuscript is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Licence http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Sponsor
Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)
Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)
Identifier
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0032063319304477?via%3Dihub
Grant Number
ST/N000803/1
ST/S000615/1
Subjects
Science & Technology
Physical Sciences
Astronomy & Astrophysics
Meteoroids
Meteors
Asteroids: general
SUTTERS MILL METEORITE
FALL
RECOVERY
ORBIT
NETWORK
IMPACT
EVENT
RADAR
0201 Astronomical and Space Sciences
Astronomy & Astrophysics
Publication Status
Published online
Article Number
105036
Date Publish Online
2020-07-23