Experts estimate that there are about ten meteorites that fall on Québec soil each year. Unfortunately, the size of the territory and the few eyewitnesses make it difficult to adequately observe these falls and especially to find fragments. Most of the meteorites falling in Québec are lost forever! To rectify this problem, the Planétarium joined the FRIPON, DOMe project in Québec.
The last meteorite fall observed in Québec occurred over 30 years ago, in June 1994. It was the Saint-Robert meteorite, whose entry into Earth’s atmosphere caused a sensation in Montréal and the Montérégie region.
What is DOMe (FRIPON)?
DOMe is the acronym for Detection and Observation of Meteors. It is the Canadian counterpart of the FRIPON network. FRIPON means Fireball Recovery and InterPlanetary Observation Network. Behind this curious acronym hides a very serious program (www.fripon.org), whose main goal is to find a maximum of meteorites. It consists of a network of “fish-eye” type cameras that allow a 360-degree sky surveillance, at night of course, but possibly also during the day.
Developed in France by a consortium of observatories, university laboratories and natural science museums, and thanks to funding from the Agence nationale de la recherche (ANR), the FRIPON/DOMe project already has more than 100 stations covering the entire French territory and part of its neighboring countries.
The automated cameras of these stations detect fireballs (exceptionally bright meteors) that enter the Earth’s atmosphere, calculate their trajectory and determine the drop zone of potential meteorites. If necessary, research teams are deployed in the field in order to recover as many fragments as possible: this is the community science or participative science component of the FRIPON/DOMe project. In France, this aspect is supervised by the Vigie-Ciel program Vigie-Ciel.
Why bring DOMe to Canada?
Thanks to the Space for Life Foundation's financial support, the Planétarium is currently working to set up a network of DOMe stations in Canada. It will initially consist of 13 cameras covering southern Québec and the St. Lawrence plain. Through this project, we want to:
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discover on a more regular basis (and eventually systematically) meteorites falling in Québec;
- enrich the Planétarium's meteorite collection with rare and unaltered samples (the conservation of this heritage for future generations and future research is essential);
- identify the regions of the solar system from which meteorites originate;
- and, finally, practice participatory science by involving and communicating with the public, through a local adaptation of the Vigie-Ciel program.
How are the DOMe stations distributed?
DOMe stations are not randomly positioned. Their location is very important: it follows a triangular mesh of about 100 kilometers on each side. This allows us to determine, by triangulation, the trajectory of meteors that enter the Earth's atmosphere above our regions. For triangulation to work optimally, the distance between two neighboring stations must be more than 65 km, without however exceeding 120 km.
What does a DOMe station consist of?
Each station in the DOMe network has a camera fitted with a "fish-eye" lens, which allows to see the entire sky over 360 degrees; it consists of a small video surveillance camera inserted in a waterproof cylindrical case closed by a transparent dome. It is the only component that is installed outdoors and exposed to severe weather.
An ultra-compact computer, without a screen, keyboard or mouse, controls all of the station's operations. A software continuously analyzes the images provided by the camera and detects potential meteors. If detected, the computer communicates, via Internet, the relevant data to servers on the DOMe network.
A small network switch serves as an interconnect for the various Ethernet cables connected to the camera, the computer and the Internet. The switch also provides power to the camera through its Ethernet cable (PoE protocol, or Power over Ethernet).
All of these, along with the power supplies and hardware needed to securely mount the camera, are provided by the Planétarium.
The meteorites research team and DOMe project at the Planétarium
- Olivier Hernandez, Ph.D., Director, Astrophysicist
- Auriane Egal, astrophysicist
- Jonathan Gagné, astrophysicist
- Mathieu Forcier, technician
- Patrick Cournoyer, technicien
- Patrick Geoffroy, technicien