. | . |
Cameras Capture Perseid Meteors from Florida Tech, Global Locations by Staff Writers Melbourne FL (SPX) Aug 23, 2016
Time-lapse images captured during the peak of this summer's Perseid meteor shower have been released by the SkySentinel project, in which students at Florida Institute of Technology monitor the night sky from a network of up-looking, wide-angle cameras around the globe. This year's Perseid meteor shower, extending from July to late August, was particularly active Aug. 11-12, when it peaked with hundreds of events. That is when the images were captured by SkySentinel. The meteors are leftover dust and debris left behind by Comet Swift-Tuttle, which last passed near Earth's orbit in 1992 and won't return until 2126. The remnants of this event are seen every year when Earth passes through the comet's closest trajectory to our planet. Besides tracking phenomena such as the recent Perseids for the SkySentinel Project, Florida Tech students are contributing upgrades to the camera system's software, enhancing trajectory calculations and improving the system's astronomic accuracy. The images feature recent Perseid activity as witnessed from different camera points around the country. There are currently 58 SkySentinel Allsky cameras in the United States and Canada, with additional cameras in other countries including India, Taiwan, Mexico and Brazil. The cameras collect data 24 hours a day, seven days a week and are capable of playing back missed events over previous weeks or months. The entire network of Allsky data is uploaded to the SkySentinel server at Florida Tech's Geospace Physics Lab, where it is permanently archived. The SkySentinel Allsky cameras were developed by Sandia National Laboratories to monitor, track and analyze meteors in the atmosphere and other transient luminous events (TLEs). These include rare, high-atmospheric lightning called sprites and jets. The information collected by the students is open and available to scientists in need of direct observation data of the various phenomena captured by the cameras. Sandia established the current SkySentinel Allsky Camera Network now operated jointly by Florida Tech and SkySentinel, LLC Science Education and Research Program, which is managed by SkySentinel CEO Dwayne L. Free. Csaba Palotai, assistant professor of physical and space sciences, coordinates the Florida Tech efforts.
Related Links Florida Institute Of Technology Asteroid and Comet Impact Danger To Earth - News and Science
|
|
The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us. |