Observing Falling Stars In Ibiza - Make a Wish!

The “Agrupación Astronómica” (EAE) of Ibiza has put several highly sensitive cameras into operation in the observatory on the Puig des Molins in order to observe sky phenomena, in particular bodies, falling stars and electrical discharges that occur in the upper layers of the atmosphere. 

In the first weeks after the cameras were installed, numerous interesting phenomena could already be identified.

The new system consists of three cameras, one facing north, one facing southeast and one facing northwest. They are located in the upper part of the observatory.

The cameras run at night and automatically record every light phenomenon, after activating a filter to exclude both artificial and natural sources, such as airplanes or flashes. Software saves the recordings so that the data later can be processed and classified by members of the EAE.

In the first 20 days alone, four fireballs were recorded. They mostly consist of stone and metal and have a diameter of several centimeters. When entering the Earth's atmosphere, these ignite due to air friction. One of these objects, which was sighted relatively close in the horizon above the Endesa power station, crossed the province of Girona some 400 kilometers away from Ibiza.

Text & Foto: Camino Group - Agencia de Comunicación