Fireball and Meteor Detection Network

The Big History Center of Aras de los Olmos is part of the Fireball and Meteor Detection Network, which has observation stations distributed throughout the Iberian Peninsula. The Network, under the impulse of the University of Málaga and of the Malaga Astronomy Society, focuses its work on the detection of the meteors that burst into in the Earth’s atmosphere and on the study of the evolution of the quality of the starry sky and its impact on the light pollution.

The recording of fireballs –popularly known like fleeting o shooting stars– allows to reconstruct their trajectories and, by means of trigonometric calculation systems, to deduce their origin and predict, in his case, the place where the meteorite fell. Likewise, the localization and capture of these meteors thanks to coordinated work of the Detection Network allows, ultimately, to access precious information on the formation processes of asteroids, comets or planets.

In addition, the Big History Centre, thanks to its fireball and meteor detector, cooperates with the study and effective research on the light quality of the sky, performs a continuous monitoring of the skies of the Serranía Valenciana and offers in real time –with ten minutes of interval– images of the sky of Aras de los Olmos. At the same time, the Big History Centre performs a permanent monitoring by means of different photometers that monitor the brightness of the sky background and study the evolution of the light pollution in the night skies of the Serranía Valenciana.