From shooting stars to micro space rocks
Discover how you can get involved in the study of space from the comfort of your own home
Dr Stephen Grimes
Associate Professor in Stable Isotope Geochemistry and Climate Change
School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences (Faculty of Science and Engineering)
A meteor, also known as a shooting star, is a piece of space rock (a meteoroid) that enters a planet's atmosphere at high-speed creating a streak of light in the sky.
If a meteoroid survives its trip through the atmosphere and hits the ground, it's called a meteorite.
A micrometeorite is a tiny meteorite, typically ranging in size from a fraction of a millimetre (0.05mm) to around a millimetre in size.
They, like meteorites, are remnants of comets, asteroids, and other celestial bodies that have entered the Earth’s atmosphere and survived the descent to the Earth’s surface.
Close up of a Perseid meteor seen over Plymouth - 11 August 2024
A sporadic meteor seen over Plymouth – 6 June 2024
Five nights during the Perseid meteor shower – August 2024
When can I see meteors?
If you are lucky, you can see meteors any night of the year.
With that said though, you increase your chances of seeing, and photographing, a meteor during one of the yearly meteor showers.
A meteor shower is a celestial event that occurs when the Earth passes through the debris left behind by a comet or asteroid resulting in many meteors entering the atmosphere in a short period of time.
There are 12 meteor showers per year, with the biggest three being:
- the Quadrantids in January
- the Perseid in August
- and the Geminids in December.
Are there any citizen science projects relating to the study of meteors that I can get involved in?
Yes, via the Global Meteor Network (GMN). The GMN is a worldwide organisation of amateur and professional astronomers alike, utilises highly sensitive low-cost CMOS video cameras which run open-source meteor detection software on Raspberry Pi computers.
The main goal of the GMN is to provide long-term characterisation of the radiants, flux, and size distribution of annual meteor showers and outbursts in the optical meteor mass range.
The UK branch of the GMN is called the UK Meteor Network with over 200 cameras located across the UK.
In addition to the GMN, there are also several citizen science projects you can get involved in that use radio waves rather than cameras to detect meteors. The most prominent one is the Radio Meteor Observing Bulletin (RMOB).
You can get involved in these citizen science projects as either an individual, as a community group, or as a school/college.
Star trail over Plymouth – 13 July 2024
Plymouth's GMN 3D camera view
Fireball seen over Plymouth – 17 January 2024
Where can I find micrometeorites?
The best place to find micrometeorites, other than in very remote places like Antarctica, is near drains on large surface area flat roofs, or in gutters on sloping roofs.
These places are where rainwater has collected and concentrated material off the roof in one or more spots.
Once you have collected your roof material you need to process it before looking for the micrometeorites.
While there are many different ways to process the material you have collected, the vast majority of them involve sieving to a small size range and then extracting the magnetic fraction, which will include the micrometeorites, before picking them out under a stereoscopic microscope.
Are there any citizen science projects relating to the study of micrometeorites that I can get involved in?
Not directly, but there are a few amateur groups on a range of social media sites that allow users to share their finds on, as well as offer support to those that wish to get involved in the hunt for micrometeorites.
In addition to amateur groups there are several university research groups across the UK that study micrometeorites, including here at Plymouth.
If you want to find out more about how you can study micrometeorites, as either a school/community project, as an undergraduate student, a master's student, or as a research student then feel free to contact
Dr Stephen Grimes
from the School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Science.
Research case study
Why do we study micrometeorites?
Studying micrometeorites can provide valuable insights into the composition and evolution of the solar system.
During the summer of 2023 Dr Stephen Grimes collected material from the roof of the Rolle building and from the roof of the Charles Seale-Hayne Library. This material was collected as part of a micrometeorite pilot study.
After refining the sample preparation technique over several months, and picking out hundreds of potential candidates, the first micrometeorites to be discovered in Plymouth were found.
The very first discovery was a Barred Olivine micrometeorite found on the roof of the Rolle Buidling, quickly followed by a Porphyritic Olivine micrometeorite on the roof of the Charles Seale-Hayne Library.
Barred Olivine micrometeorite found on Rolle roof
Rolle Building's roof
Close up of a Barred Olivine micrometeorite showing dendritic magnetite crystals
To date, Dr Stephen Grimes has found 15 micrometeorites on roofs of the University of Plymouth campus buildings.
Local businesses in and around Plymouth have also allowed Dr Stephen Grimes to sample material from their roofs. These include BD Vacutainer Systems, Roborough, Plymouth, and Kawasaki Precision Machinery (UK) Ltd, Ernesettle Ln, Plymouth.
The material collected from these roofs will be used by six
BSc (Hons) Geology
students as part of their 2024/25 dissertation projects.
A Porphyritic Olivine micrometeorite
Using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) at the Plymouth Electron Microscopy Centre (PEMC)
A close up of a Porphyritic Olivine micrometeorite showing dendritic magnetite crystals
Want to find out more about meteors and micrometeorites?
If you would like more information about the material covered in this article, then check out plymouthmeteors.com, a website created by Dr Stephen Grimes.
Also, check out the undergraduate, masters and research courses on offer in the
School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences
Explore our planet – understand the past to benefit the future
Earth sciences at Plymouth encompasses geology, physical geography and environmental geoscience, and are the cutting edge of research into sustainable futures.
Our modules explore critical relationships between Earth processes and society: how to reduce risks from natural hazards; understanding environmental change over time, and how we transition to cleaner energy sources.
