Bulletin of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. Astronomy, no. 73, p. 35-46 (2026)
INTEGRATION OF RMS STATIONS OF THE ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATORY
OF TARAS SHEVCHENKO NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF KYIV INTO THE UKRAINIAN METEOR OBSERVATION NETWORK AND THE GLOBAL METEOR NETWORK: INFRASTRUCTURE AND RESULTS
Alexander GOLUBAEV, PhD (Phys. & Math.)
ORCID ID: 0000-0002-3265-5285
e-mail: alexandr_sky1@ukr.net
V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, Kharkiv, Ukraine,
Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Kyiv, Ukraine
Alona MOZGOVA, PhD (Phys. & Math.)
ORCID ID: 0000-0002-8490-4327
e-mail: alenamozgova@knu.ua
Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Kyiv, Ukraine
Abstract
Background. This paper presents the results of modernizing the meteor patrol of the Astronomical Observatory of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv (AO KNU) by integrating new automated RMS (Raspberry Meteor Station) stations into the Ukrainian Meteor Observation Network (UMON) and the Global Meteor Network (GMN). The objective of this work is to describe the hardware and software architecture of the network and to analyze the first scientific results of simultaneous (multistation) meteor observations.
Methods. The hardware component of the system relies on Raspberry Pi 4 single-board computers paired with Sony STARVIS IMX462 sensors. To organize remote connection with the meteor stations, a hybrid network architecture with redundant communication channels (wired Internet and 4G/LTE) and Power over Ethernet (PoE) technology was implemented. Astrometric calibration, trajectory triangulation, orbit calculation, and dark flight modeling were performed using the automated RMS pipeline and the WMPL (Western Meteor Physics Library, University of Western Ontario, Canada) software suite. Statistical errors were evaluated using the Monte Carlo method.
Results. During the first week of operation, numerous sporadic meteors were recorded. A bright fireball observed on June 21, 2026 (20:48:20 UT), which was detected by four stations (including amateur ones), was analyzed in detail. The heliocentric orbit of the body was determined (a = 2,63 AU; e = 0,61; i = 12,15°; ω = 178,69°; Ω = 90,15°) along with its Tisserand’s parameter relative to Jupiter (TJ = 3,075), indicating a sporadic asteroid origin. A formal terminal height uncertainty of ±9 m (calculated via the Monte Carlo method) and a low end height (29,5 km) enabled the modeling of the strewn field ellipse for a potential meteorite fall (with an estimated main mass on the order of 15 g) near the village of Makarivka, Kyiv Region (51,01941° N, 29,88367° E). Due to intense fragmentation and the low initial mass of the body, the probability of a macroscopic meteorite surviving is extremely low.
Conclusions. The results demonstrate the successful validation of the full computational pipeline – from automated event detection to modeling the potential meteorite fall zone. The findings confirm the effectiveness of the deployed infrastructure for meteor activity monitoring and its readiness for rapid response to fireball events with high meteorite potential.
Key words
Meteor astronomy, RMS (Raspberry Meteor Station), Global Meteor Network (GMN), Ukrainian Meteor Observation Network (UMON), multi-station observations, fireball, astrometric calibration, meteorite fall.
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.17721/BTSNUA.2026.73.35-46
Received: 05.07.26
Revised: 27.07.26
Accepted: 28.07.26
Published: 13.11.26