Hiram Camera Watches Skies all Night

Back in the spring of 2011 I learned that NASA was seeking new locations to become stations in their All-Sky Fireball Network. Knowing the nighttime skies over Hiram can be excellent, I thought addition of a local network station would be a great thing: it would allow viewing of local phenomena often missed by human eyes, and would contribute to real ongoing micrometeorite research. Making the station happen, however, was not so simple.

The Network is a collection of automated cameras that watch the sky every night for incoming meteors, brighter than the planet Venus, called fireballs. Each station's local computer analyzes video in real time looking for signature flashes made by bright meteors. If a fireball is spotted, the video is captured and relayed to the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., for further analysis. "The collected data will be used by the MEO {Meteoroid Environment Office} in constructing models of the meteoroid environment, which are important to spacecraft designers," says a NASA statement.

The Fireball Network (about 2012) Before Hiram Came Along

I received the go-ahead to pursue the project from Dr. Laura Van Wormer, Physics Department Chair, and contacted Dr. William Cooke, the head of NASA's MEO, asking him about applying. The application form was astonishingly easy and from the beginning it was apparent we were a good potential site. I completed the form and waited.

Stations in the Fireball Network require an unobstructed view of the sky (360 degrees, nearly down to the horizon), a relatively clear dark nighttime sky, and infrastructure including high-speed Internet access; Hiram had all of those qualities, at least in some places. Hiram's ground-level Stephens Memorial Observatory is located on what today would be a residential lot in the village. The Observatory property is bordered by tall trees on the western property line and by houses and trees to the north and east, thus unsuitable for wide views of the sky. Nor does Stephens have broadband Internet. Buildings on campus, however, had different combinations of the three requirements!

The tallest building on the Hiram College campus that might afford a clear view of the sky, with roof space for a camera setup, and proximity to sheltered space for a computer, was the Colton-Turner Science Building. Colton is a very old building but the view from atop its mechanicals penthouse is amazing!

Panorama Shot from the Penthouse Roof Showing Hiram College Campus and Horizon

A long period of waiting was punctuated by occasional contacts with NASA and eventually we were told we were approved. There was, however, one little problem: the Northeastern U.S. was not covered well by the Fireball Network and there were no other stations close enough to work with us -- stations need to be not-too-close and not-too-distant from each other in order that their fields of view overlap and proper triangulation can be made of any meteor sighting. Triangulation allows for calculation of speed, distance, brightness, etc., all important to the research. Perhaps, as Dr. Cooke suggested, we could join the Canadian meteor network?

More waiting. Then suddenly, in October 2012, an exchange of emails began with Dr. Cooke's associate, Danielle Moser of the Micrometeoroid Environment Office. There were no other nearby applicants, she stated, did I have any suggestions? I provided a few but, apparently through her own research, Moser found other interested and qualified parties and the project was "on!"

The Weather Station atop Colton

Meanwhile I needed to find a suitable home in Colton for the Fireball camera host computer system. I had seen a weather station on the roof of the building and asked about whose it was; perhaps we could work together. Enter, Dr. Louis Oliphant, Chair of the Computer Science Department. From the start Oliphant was enthusiastically supportive of the camera project. He first suggested a small closet inside of the mechanicals penthouse. There was electrical power available, LAN connectivity, and close proximity to the roof, but I could only imagine that room, outside wall facing west, heating to oven-like temperatures in the summertime and killing the NASA computer. There had to be another place for the computer to live.

Technician Installing the All-Sky Camera High above Hiram

After much mulling over, and queries by Oliphant, a new space was offered up: a dumbwaiter elevator shaft. Good, but no wiring access to the roof and no windows for a GPS antenna. Nearby, however, was the answer: the corner of a little-used laboratory. The lab's "owner," Dr. Matthew Sorrick of Environmental Studies, was happy to allow the installation.

All-Sky Fireball Network Camera Sits Atop its Mast Waiting for Dark

So on August 13, 2013, after much delay, emailing, and a lot of head-scratching and searching, technicians arrived at Hiram College and set up the All-Sky camera system. Cables were strung from the roof down to the lab and through a window frame, the computer set up and configured for Hiram's LAN with help from Network Administrator Bryan Drennen, and the system tested. We didn't know when we might see the first results but were happy to have Hiram now an official observation station. It was a long process, a long day, and we were willing to rest and wait. As it turns out, we didn't have to wait long.

"First Light" for Hiram College's Fireball Network Camera - a Bright Perseid in the Western Sky!

The annual Perseids meteor shower had peaked over cloudy skies the past weekend but there are always stragglers. The Perseid shower is known to be rich in fireball meteors, again, those brighter than Venus. In that first overnight and under mostly-clear skies, the little camera picked up several fireballs, verified in coordination with the other new camera station at Oberlin College. Everyone involved was delighted.

The Fireball Network (August 2013) After Hiram and Partners Were Added

I am very pleased that Hiram played a big part in spurring expansion of The Fireball Network into the Northeastern region of the U.S.  From now on, we will not only watch the skies but watch for what our unblinking eye on the sky has seen. Meteor showers will become even more interesting.

Postscript: Not only am I thrilled and proud to have seen this effort through to fruition, to be listed with the fabulous historic Allegheny Observatory (thanks to NASA's recruitment of them) is a huge honor!