The FRIPON project, using cameras to track down meteorites

Meteorites are rocks that fall down to Earth from the solar system. Studying them allows us to learn more about the solar system’s origins and evolution. With changes in lifestyle having caused meteorite sightings to become increasingly rare and scattered, the FRIPON project created the world’s densest camera network to track the origin of meteorites and facilitate their collection.

Meteorites are rocks that fall down to Earth from the solar system. Most of them are chunks broken off from small bodies formed along with the sun and the planets. Studying such rocks has given insight into the origins and evolution of the solar system. Between 10 and 20 meteorites large enough to be recovered land in France every year. Whereas in the 19th century, one meteorite was found about once every two years, their frequency fell to to one meteorite every 10 years in the 20th century due to our changing lifestyles.

The densest network of cameras in Europe

It was from this observation that the the FRIPON project - Fireball Recovery and Interplanetary Observation Network, saw the light of day, proposing a new way to observe meteorite falls. FRIPON set out to equip France with a network of 100 fish eye cameras (slightly more than 1 per French department, as well as radio receivers that listen to radar from the French GRAVES site, the densest of such networks in Europe. This network will make it possible to precisely determine where meteorites come from and pinpoint the meteorite landing site in order to collect newly fallen meteorites. Yet another of FRIPON’s goals is to train people to spot and recognise meteorites. With the area involved in a meteorite fall typically spanning roughly 30 square kilometres, the goal is to set up a grassroots network made up of local “meteorite spotter” communities

An unparalleled wealth of data

The project was launched by Observatoire de Paris’s Institut de Mécanique Céleste et de Calcul des Ephémérides in 2014. Equipment preparation and testing was completed in late 2014. All cameras were delivered as of mid-2015, with delivery of computers slated for autumn 2015 and commissioning for year-end 2015. Such a setup is designed to collect images of the sky over the full surface of France for at least 10 years. This should result in an unsurpassed wealth of data being made available to a broad range of interested parties and lead to the development of new applications (weather, basic astronomy, variations in the brightest stars’ light intensity, space debris…).

Letting the public in on the adventure

The FRIPON project is also an excellent opportunity to strengthen or develop contacts between the worlds of research, scientific outreach, education and the public with the goal of disseminating knowledge about meteorites and planetology. FRIPON is linked to Vigie-Ciel, a participative science programme led by the French National Museum of Natural History. Designed to introduce people to meteorites and teach people how to recognise them, Vigie-Ciel is focused on the construction of a participative website and a network of educational and academic regional correspondents. The site will allow the public to report meteor sightings, identify fallen rocks, and stay informed about ongoing or past search campaigns.

Photo of falling meteorite in Peekskill, NY (USA) on 9 October 1992 (photo by Sarah Eichmiller, Altoona Mirror)

Find out more:

• The project website
• Presentation FRIPON project on the ANR website