New operational spectral meteor cameras on the Canary Islands

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Roque de los Muchachos – Canary Islands

The astronomers of the Comenius University in Bratislava in cooperation with the Valašské Meziříčí Observatory on November 11, 2016 successfully installed two spectral cameras for meteor spectra observations at Teide (Fig. 1) and Roque de los Muchachos (Fig. 2) observatories on Canary Islands.

Figure 1. AMOS system along with the new spectral camera (right) on Teide Observatory, IAC. The Teide Volcano of Tenerife can be seen in the background, and the cupola of the SONG telescope is on the far right. (Author: J. Šimon)

Figure 1. AMOS system along with the new spectral camera (right) on Teide Observatory, IAC. The Teide Volcano of Tenerife can be seen in the background, and the cupola of the SONG telescope is on the far right. (Author: J. Šimon)
Figure 2. AMOS system along with the new spectral camera (left) on Roche de Los Muchachos Observatory, IAC. The cupola of the 4 meter Herschel telescope can be seen in the background. (Author: J. Šimon)

Figure 2. AMOS system along with the new spectral camera (left) on Roche de Los Muchachos Observatory, IAC. The cupola of the 4 meter Herschel telescope can be seen in the background. (Author: J. Šimon)

The spectral systems will accompany the already established All-Sky Meteor Orbit Systems (AMOS), which are in operation since March 2015 and collect meteor data almost every night. Spectral observations will be used to study the composition of meteoroids, providing us with more complex information about the nature and origin of these particles. Example of a meteor spectrum captured only few days after the installation of the camera is on Figure 3.

Figure 3. Fireball spectrum captured by the new spectral camera at the Roche de Los Muchachos Observatory, IAC on November 11, 2016 4:20:09 UT. The fireball was also captured by the AMOS-LP system.

Figure 3. Fireball spectrum captured by the new spectral camera at the Roche de Los Muchachos Observatory, IAC on November 11, 2016 4:20:09 UT. The fireball was also captured by the AMOS-LP system.

The project for the purchase and operation of spectral meteor cameras with high resolution is supported partially by grant APVV-0517-12, by the program for the regional cooperation of the Czech Academy of Sciences, reg. no. R200401521, and by the internal grant of the J. Heyrovský Instutute of Physical Chemistry no. 994316.

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