The UK Fireball Alliance - building an all-sky UK meteor observatory
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Manchester
Department Name: Earth Atmospheric and Env Sciences
Abstract
Meteors and fireballs occur when objects ranging from micron-sized particles to 10's metres in diameter enter Earth's atmosphere. Any rocks that survive to the ground are called meteorites and can be used to understand the composition of primitive asteroids and planets. The UK Fireball Alliance (UKFAll) is a collaboration of camera networks that aims to record meteors and fireballs and recover freshly fallen meteorites in the UK. Developing this national meteor observatory is time critical as the next meteorite-dropping event could occur at any moment, and the network does not yet cover the entire UK. Currently gaps in coverage limit the chances of meteorite recovery and cause a loss of meteoroid flux data and knowledge about the sources of larger impactors. This project will enable the installation of new camera systems across the UK, and help to prepare us for the UK's next meteorite fall event.
Publications
Daly L
(2024)
Brecciation at the grain scale within the lithologies of the Winchcombe Mighei-like carbonaceous chondrite
in Meteoritics & Planetary Science
Gault B
(2024)
Towards Establishing Best Practice in the Analysis of Hydrogen and Deuterium by Atom Probe Tomography.
in Microscopy and microanalysis : the official journal of Microscopy Society of America, Microbeam Analysis Society, Microscopical Society of Canada
| Description | UK Fireball Alliance |
| Organisation | Imperial College London |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The UK Fireball Alliance (UKFAll) is a collaboration of camera networks that aims to record meteors and fireballs and recover freshly fallen meteorites in the UK. These camera networks include: SCAMP, the UK component of the French FRIPON network. UK Fireball Network (UKFN), part of the Global Fireball Observatory. The UK Meteor Network. The Global Meteor Network. The NEMETODE Network. The AllSky7 Network. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Partners are on the management committee of the UK Fireball Alliance, and are involved with different partners in the network. |
| Impact | Multi-disciplinary outcomes |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | UK Fireball Alliance |
| Organisation | Natural History Museum |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | The UK Fireball Alliance (UKFAll) is a collaboration of camera networks that aims to record meteors and fireballs and recover freshly fallen meteorites in the UK. These camera networks include: SCAMP, the UK component of the French FRIPON network. UK Fireball Network (UKFN), part of the Global Fireball Observatory. The UK Meteor Network. The Global Meteor Network. The NEMETODE Network. The AllSky7 Network. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Partners are on the management committee of the UK Fireball Alliance, and are involved with different partners in the network. |
| Impact | Multi-disciplinary outcomes |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | UK Fireball Alliance |
| Organisation | University of Glasgow |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The UK Fireball Alliance (UKFAll) is a collaboration of camera networks that aims to record meteors and fireballs and recover freshly fallen meteorites in the UK. These camera networks include: SCAMP, the UK component of the French FRIPON network. UK Fireball Network (UKFN), part of the Global Fireball Observatory. The UK Meteor Network. The Global Meteor Network. The NEMETODE Network. The AllSky7 Network. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Partners are on the management committee of the UK Fireball Alliance, and are involved with different partners in the network. |
| Impact | Multi-disciplinary outcomes |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Appearance on BBC/PBS documentary series Solar System |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Appearance on BBC/PBS documentary series Solar System |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | BBC Scotland's The Nine |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | I appeared on two live TV broadcasts for BBC Scotland's The Nine show as an expert commentator for the arrival of samples from Asteroid Bennu from NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | BBC/PBS documentary series Solar System |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | BBC/PBS documentary series Solar System featured the Winchcombe meteorite fall and the UK meteor camera networks |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0023886 |
| Description | Feature in Meteorites book |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The fall of the Winchcombe meteorite, UK meteor camera networks, and meteorite hunting activities featured in book called The Meteorites. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| URL | https://guardianbookshop.com/the-meteorites-9781800815346/ |
| Description | Feature in the national media |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Piece in the Guardian about the fall of Winchcombe, the UK meteor camera networks, and hunting for meteorites. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| URL | https://www.theguardian.com/news/2025/feb/04/it-was-very-hard-to-contain-the-emotions-on-the-road-wi... |
| Description | Finding the UK's Next Meteorite: meteor cameras, muddy fields and (no) magnets |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Public talk and the UKFAll to the Shropshire Astronomical Society. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Interview for New York Times |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Interviewed by journalist for NYT to discuss paper in Nature Astronomy about the outcomes of the Double Asteroid Redirection Test mission. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/26/science/space/nasa-crash-asteroid-dart-study.html?unlocked_articl... |
| Description | Media activity around the launch of the USA space plane |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | I appeared on BBC news TV and BBC scotland and regional radio stations to speak about the launch of the USA space plane. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Media engagement about asteroid 2024-YR4 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Interviewed by several journalists (New York Times, New Scientist, BBC) about asteroid 2024-YR4 and the risk of its potential collision with Earth in 2032. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| URL | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5y494xkp3yo |
| Description | Media enquiry about asteroid deflection technology |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Media enquiry about recent research on the efficiency of nuclear blast as a method of asteroid deflection. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.theguardian.com/science/2024/sep/23/nuclear-blast-could-save-earth-from-large-asteroid |
| Description | Media interview about launch of Hera mission |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Interviewed about launch of Hera mission, the mission goals and success of the DART mission. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.theguardian.com/science/2024/oct/05/european-space-mission-hera-examine-nasa-dimorphos-a... |
| Description | Podcast 15/12/23 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Katherine Joy contributed to Resourceful podcast Episode 1: Space and Space resources 15/12/23. The integration of in-situ use of space resources has the potential to completely revolutionise the way space exploration is being conducted. In the long term, it can decrease the costs associated with space flights, it can make our activities in space cleaner and bring circularity into the space equation. The first episode understands more about what space resources are and the potential they have in making space exploration a cleaner and more sustainable activity. Katherine Joy, Professor of Earth Sciences at the University of Manchester shared her experience as a planetary scientist, as a space enthusiast and as someone who has been to one of the most remote places in the world to conduct science. This series is brought to by the European Space Resources Innovation Centre (ESRIC) supported by the Luxembourg National Research Fund (FNR). It is produced in collaboration with SciLux. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-Yrl30zj84 |
| Description | Press release about canyons on the Moon carved by impact ejecta |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Press release and media interviews about paper in Nature Communications about formation of large canyons on the moon carved by impact ejecta. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| URL | https://www.lpi.usra.edu/features/2025/020425/grand-canyons-of-the-moon/ |
| Description | Press release about impact rates on Mars |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Press release, media interviews and Imperial news article about research that derived a new impact rate on Mars from seismic observations of recent impacts. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/254473/surprising-meteorite-impact-rate-mars-cosmic/ |
| Description | Public lecture to Flamsteed Astronomical Society |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Talk to amateur astronomy society at Greenwich Maritime Museum about asteroid impacts on Mars and Earth |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.flamsteed.info/event-details/listening-for-impacts-on-mars |
| Description | Response to media enquiry regarding a potential meteorite fall in Scotland |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | A fireball was observed over Scotland I was approached by media outlets to provide comment on the potential for a meteorite to have landed. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | School Talk (Leyland) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Katie Joy gave an online talk to Runshaw College on 30/11/23. Overview of planetary science for Year 12 - Age 16-17, Talk to A-level Geology students about studying planetary science as a subject |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Talk to the Lincoln Astronomical Society |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Talk to the Lincoln Astronomical Society about the UK meteor camera network and hunting for meteorites. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | The Story of the Winchcombe Meteorite Fall |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Public talk about the Winchcombe meteorite and UKFAll to the West of London Astronomical Society. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |