In addition to extensive youth and public work, we also conduct scientific research. We are part of the ‘Global Meteor Network’ as well as the ‘BRAMS’ network for the monitoring and detection of meteors. This is done both visually and by means of radio waves, allowing us to study meteors both during the day and at night. Spectroscopic research of stars is also on our program and we are preparing our observatory to be used by university students in the near future…
GMN
The images shown on a screen in Astropolis, taken with a sensitive CMOS camera on our roof, are part of the ‘Global Meteor Network’ (GMN) powered by open-source meteor detection software on a Raspberry Pi mini computer . The aim of the network is to obtain highly accurate trajectories of detected meteors in order to determine the orbits of meteoroids in the solar system.
Thanks to the GMN network, known meteor showers can be monitored, but new showers are also discovered, such as the alpha Corona Borealids.
BRAMS
BRAMS (Belgian RAdio Meteor Stations) is a network of radio receiving stations that use forward scatter techniques to study the meteoroid population.
The project is coordinated by the Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BIRA), within the framework of the Solar-terrestrial Center of Excellence (STCE). It is also a very fruitful collaboration between professionals and amateurs, as most stations are hosted by either Belgian radio amateurs, groups of amateur astronomers, public astronomical observatories, schools or universities…
Since March 10, 2023, the GMN camera has been taking images of meteors above Ostend (and the surrounding area) from the Astropolis roof. All images can be viewed chronologically, via the GMN archive, for free.
You can also view the GMN images and BRAMS data ‘live’ on two screens in Astropolis (near the entrance to the Lemaitre auditorium).
Click HERE for the database !
Perseus nights
Sporadic meteors (or shooting stars in common parlance) can be seen throughout the year. Occasionally groups or swarms of meteors can also be seen, giving you the chance to observe many hundreds of meteors per night.
The undoubtedly best-known meteor shower is the Perseids, which peaks annually around August 13. That’s why we make it an annual event called: Perseus nights! Discover all about it via this website…