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Triangulation and Orbit Determination

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Fireball Report Page

If you're here, it is perhaps because you've seen a fireball and wish to report it such that your observation can be utilised to draw scientific conclusions. This being the case, please read on as certain information is essential ... and the greater the detail / accuracy, the more valuable your observation becomes!

As an absolute minimum, please include the following:

Location: This is the location from which you observed the fireball (which may be different from your home location): Postcode, Address, Latitude / Longitude ... doesn't really matter which format you use ... just so long as we can determine where you were. Google Earth or the GPS sensor in a smartphone will allow you to pinpoint your exact position

Date and Time: Use the correct current time that is in use locally to record the time of the event. You may like to check your timepiece against the BBC Pips or the clock on BBC News.

Start & End Directions: You can use cardinal directions such as " ... it travelled from north-east to south ... " or degrees clockwise from north ... and if you're not sure it's OK to return to the place where you observed it and use local landmarks to estimate directions (and perhaps even take some photos with your 'phone that include the landmarks) ... with enough information, we'll figure out the rest using Google Maps / Google Street View.

Start & End Elevations: Elevation = Angle above the horizon with 0 degrees being at the horizon, 45 degrees halfway up the sky and and 90 degrees being directly overhead ... again, if you're not sure it's OK to return to place where you observed it ... and maybe take some photos that include local landmarks.

Measuring angles can seem a little daunting but this diagram (courtesy of Melvyn Taylor) and this one-minute guide are a big help!

The above is the absolute minimum ... as you'll see from the options below, additonal information is very valuable and there are spaces in which to complete it ... in short, the more detail you can provide the better and don't be afraid to make use of free text boxes to add whatever else you think is important. Also, please encourage other witnesses to submit their own reports of what they saw.

When it comes to reporting your fireball observation, you have a number of choices and the table below lists the common ones. In some cases your observation (minus your contact details) is publically available whereas in others, it is not clear what happens to the report. Click on the options in the table for details. In the interests of fireball research, I've placed the former near the top and latter near the bottom. The large number of options is clearly less than ideal (and NEMETODE have taken the conscious decision not to add to the confusion by creating their own) - at some point in the future consideration may be given to attempts to consolidate options (may require locking lots of astronomers in a room and launching fireballs at them until consensus is reached) but in the interim, please don't let this put you off ... and you only need to report your observation in one system, not in all of them!

 

Name
Report Type
What Happens to Your Report?
Online Web Form
Online Web Form
Online Web Form
Online Web Form
Online Web Form
Free Text Email
Auto-forwarded to BAA Meteor Section Director and Fireball co-ordinator
Smartphone App
Unknown
Smartphone App
Unknown