Global Meteor Network - User contributions [en]

Installing OS onto a Raspberry Pi

2026-03-18T01:47:07Z

MetorsABQ9: /* Install the OS by flashing the image */

Ahoj! In this section, you will flash (or install if you wish) an OS Linux onto your SD card or USB flash key and boot your Raspberry Pi for the first time.

= Install the OS by flashing the image =

== Flash the image onto a microSD card or a USB flash drive ==

: '''NOTE:''' The process is the same for types of storage; only the target differs.

1. Download the '''Trixie''' image for '''Raspberry Pi 4 or Pi5''', and save it on your PC in any directory. The '''Trixie RMS''' image is [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/projects/sd_card_images/RMS_RPi5_RPi4_Trixie_20260116.img.xz here].

RMS_RPi5_RPi4_Trixie_20260116.img.xz is 2.5 GiB (2,735,084,084 bytes)
'''Checksum''': 235281AB4E8E9449BAC2D2AD107B605D

A second image option '''(only for Pi4)''' is Bullseye RMS, but this Operating System (OS) version has been placed on retired status by the Raspberry Pi organization. As a result, there may not be new OS patches or updates. The only reason to choose Bullseye for Pi4 would be that you '''require''' remote access using AnyDesk, RealVNC Server, NoMachine, or TeamViewer. The '''Bullseye RMS''' image is
[https://globalmeteornetwork.org/projects/sd_card_images/RMS_RPi4Bullseye_20260116.img.xz here].

RMS_RPi4Bullseye_10260116.img.xz is 3.0 GiB (3,223,859,108 bytes)
'''Checksum''': BD56C691A2E8EA0081CAD5218BD57D22

Both Trixie and Bullseye support '''RustDesk''' remote access with file transfer. Trixie includes '''Raspberry Pi Connect''' for remote access and file transfer but Bullseye is not able to run this software from the Raspberry Pi organization. Both images support VNC connections, providing PC and Pi are on the same local network (LAN). Only Bullseye supports file transfer using VNC.

Trixie and Bullseye RMS images offer '''Samba share''' directories ~/RMS_data and ~/shared. You can map these shares so they appear as local drives on your PC, and use these drive mappings to transfer files.

: Whether you choose the '''Trixie''' or '''Bullseye''' RMS image, be sure to check documentation for [[ Using RMS Images for Raspberry Pi ]] after you have followed the next instructions on how to flash the image.

: If you encounter problems with any of the images, contact the Technical Support group at https://globalmeteornetwork.groups.io/g/techsupport.

2. Download '''Raspberry Pi Imager''' v2.0.6 (or newer) [https://www.raspberrypi.com/software/ here].

3. Start '''Raspberry Pi Imager''' and flash the RMS image
- Select your Raspberry Pi device
- Under Choose operating System, Scroll down to Custom Image, and locate the RMS image you downloaded.
- Select your storage device (the storage media you plan to use on the Pi)

'''IMPORTANT:'''
Depending on the image you are flashing, you may be asked if you want to change a few things before continuing. DO NOT change the username and password. These are embedded in the image. You can change wifi options, or change them later after you have booted the Pi.

- Choose Write image, then Expect to see this warning: "You are about to ERASE all data on: xxxxxxxxx Storage Device USB Device"
- Click on the button "I UNDERSTAND, ERASE AND WRITE"
- The write pass will be followed by a verify pass
- Finally you should see Write complete!

4. Eject the USB flash drive, then remove microSD card/USB flash drive.

If you encounter errors during flashing, you can verify the '''checksum (CRC)''' of your download to make sure it was downloaded correctly. If the checksum of the image is good and errors persist when flashing, your target storage media may be bad.

'''Balena Etcher''' and '''Rufus''' are other flashing software options for RMS images. If you have issues flashing an image and have confirmed a good checksum for your download, try using different flashing software. Balena Etcher can sometimes generate false error messages at the end of the flash operation. Raspberry Pi Imager works fine when flashing the same downloaded image.

5. Insert the microSD card/USB flash drive into your Raspberry Pi. Raspberry Pi should already be connected to a TV or monitor, a keyboard, and mouse connected.
: If a TV or monitor is not connected, refer to '''[[#Booting without a TV/Monitor|these instructions]]'''.

6. Wait for the boot.
If the boot takes too long to begin, refer to the next section. If the Pi booted successfully, follow the on-screen instructions.

== Using RMS Images for Raspberry Pi ==
Click here for information on [[ Using RMS Images for Raspberry Pi ]]

== Pre-2021 Raspberry Pi 4 bootloader update - USB flash drive ONLY ==

If you encountered a problem booting Raspberry Pi 4 from a USB device (common for all USB devices, not only flash disks), the most probable reason is that your Raspberry Pi 4 is from an older batch and you must update its bootloader.

The procedure is simple, and you need a small capacity, blank microSD card to store about 1MB of data. The process is nicely described in '''[https://www.raspberrypi.com/documentation/computers/raspberry-pi.html#updating-the-bootloader the raspberry pi official documentation]'''.

: '''NOTE:''' If you are looking for an extensive USB booting guide, click ''[https://globalmeteornetwork.org/wiki/index.php?title=Booting_from_a_USB_device here]''.

The preinstalled RMS software images incorporate an auto-update feature, which updates the RMS software to the current release whenever you boot Raspberry Pi RMS. Your station always runs the most recent set of updates!

== The first boot ==

This is how the first boot of the Trixie RMS image should look:
[[File:First_boot_Trixie.png|1500px|center]]

Now is a good time to send an email to '''denis.vida@gmail.com'''. Include a short introduction that includes your country, then tell him you are building a camera and you need a camera/station code. You use a camera/station code when you set up the RMS software, after your camera is fully installed and positioned.

After you have received your Camera/Station ID from GMN, you will need to establish a network connection on your Pi.

For typical single camera installs, the camera is connected to the Ethernet port of the Pi, and a '''wifi connection''' is used to connect the Pi to your Local Area Network (LAN). To establish a wifi connection:

- left-click on the network icon located between the Bluetooth icon and speaker icon in the upper righthand part of the task bar.
- find the wifi network you want to use and then provide the wifi network passphrase to validate your wifi connection.

If successful, the Network icon should change to an active wifi icon.

Once you have a '''Camera/Station ID''' from GMN, and know the '''Latitude, Longitude, and Elevation''' of your camera to within about a meter, you are ready to go through the setup steps in the '''RMS_FirstRun''' window on your screen. These steps include:

1. Expanding the file system (if you flashed this SD card yourself).

2. confirming your Pi is connected to the Internet.

3. Changing the default password for security reasons.

4. Generating a new SSH key.

5. Editing the RMS config file to supply your Camera/Station ID, Latitude, Longitude, and Elevation.

Once you have successfully completed the steps in RMS_FirstRun, the Terminal window will display information telling you that the system is waiting to begin capturing data for the coming night.

'''Remember to send the public SSH key to GMN, as outlined in the RMS_FirstRun instructions you saw earlier.'''

'''Welcome to GMN, you are all set to begin collecting meteor data!'''

= (Optional) Install the software from scratch =
This installation is '''only''' for knowledgeable users who want to complete more advanced tasks. If you the procedure in the previous section, '''do not continue''' with the sections that follow.
: '''NOTE:''' When you set up a Raspberry Pi, you should use the prebuilt image, which includes all necessary software installed and ready to use. If you decide to install the software on the RPi from scratch, follow the instructions on '''[https://globalmeteornetwork.org/wiki/index.php?title=Advanced_RMS_installations_and_Multi-camera_support this page]'''.

Next, you will focus your camera and assemble the bits and pieces for the first test.

'''[https://globalmeteornetwork.org/wiki/index.php?title=Build_%26_Install_%26_Setup_your_camera_-_The_complete_how-to Back to the signpost page.]'''

= Boot without a TV or monitor =
If you do not have a TV or monitor connected to the Pi when you set it up, you must use '''VNC''', a remote-access tool.

1. After you burn the microSD card, insert it into the Pi and switch on the power.
: You should see the lights on the Pi flicker for a minute or two. If the lights do not flicker, it is possible the microSD card image did not properly burn.

2. If the lights flicker as ecpected, wait at least three minutes after the lights stop flickering before you proceed.
: '''NOTE:''' There are several stages to the initial boot, so it will take a while.

3. While you wait, download '''[https://www.realvnc.com/en/connect/download/viewer/ VNC Viewer]'''.
: You do not need to create an account or subscribe, so ignore the buttons and links. After a few seconds, the download will start.

4. To connect to the Pi using VNC, you must know either its name or its IP address.
: '''NOTE:''' If you did not set the hostname when you burned the microSD card, (this is an option that may available in Raspberry Pi Imager), its name is probably ''raspberrypi''.
: To find its IP address using the manufacturer name, run '''[https://www.advanced-ip-scanner.com/ Advanced IP Scanner]'''. This tool starts with Raspberry Pifind.

5. Open '''VNC Viewer''' and enter the name or IP address into the box at the top.
: After a few seconds, you see a login dialog box.

6. The default username is '''rms''' and the initial password is '''rmsraspberry'''. Change these credentials as soon as you log in.

: Now, you should now see the Pi desktop and the '''RMS_FirstBoot''' window.

Installing OS onto a Raspberry Pi

2026-03-18T01:38:16Z

MetorsABQ9: /* Flash the image onto a microSD card or a USB flash drive */

Ahoj! In this section, you will flash (or install if you wish) an OS Linux onto your SD card or USB flash key and boot your Raspberry Pi for the first time.

= Install the OS by flashing the image =

== Flash the image onto a microSD card or a USB flash drive ==

: '''NOTE:''' The process is the same for types of storage; only the target differs.

1. Download the '''Trixie''' image for '''Raspberry Pi 4 or Pi5''', and save it on your PC in any directory. The '''Trixie RMS''' image is [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/projects/sd_card_images/RMS_RPi5_RPi4_Trixie_20260116.img.xz here].

RMS_RPi5_RPi4_Trixie_20260116.img.xz is 2.5 GiB (2,735,084,084 bytes)
'''Checksum''': 235281AB4E8E9449BAC2D2AD107B605D

A second image option '''(only for Pi4)''' is Bullseye RMS, but this Operating System (OS) version has been placed on retired status by the Raspberry Pi organization. As a result, there may not be new OS patches or updates. The only reason to choose Bullseye for Pi4 would be that you '''require''' remote access using AnyDesk, RealVNC Server, NoMachine, or TeamViewer. The '''Bullseye RMS''' image is
[https://globalmeteornetwork.org/projects/sd_card_images/RMS_RPi4Bullseye_20260116.img.xz here].

RMS_RPi4Bullseye_10260116.img.xz is 3.0 GiB (3,223,859,108 bytes)
'''Checksum''': BD56C691A2E8EA0081CAD5218BD57D22

Both Trixie and Bullseye support '''RustDesk''' remote access with file transfer. Trixie includes '''Raspberry Pi Connect''' for remote access and file transfer but Bullseye is not able to run this software from the Raspberry Pi organization. Both images support VNC connections, providing PC and Pi are on the same local network (LAN). Only Bullseye supports file transfer using VNC.

Trixie and Bullseye RMS images offer '''Samba share''' directories ~/RMS_data and ~/shared. You can map these shares so they appear as local drives on your PC, and use these drive mappings to transfer files.

Whether you choose the Trixie or Bullseye RMS image, be sure to check documentation on using these images after you have followed the next set of instructions on flashing the image.

: If you encounter problems with any of the images, contact the Technical Support group at https://globalmeteornetwork.groups.io/g/techsupport.

2. Download '''Raspberry Pi Imager''' v2.0.6 (or newer) [https://www.raspberrypi.com/software/ here].

3. Start '''Raspberry Pi Imager''' and flash the RMS image
- Select your Raspberry Pi device
- Under Choose operating System, Scroll down to Custom Image, and locate the RMS image you downloaded.
- Select your storage device (the storage media you plan to use on the Pi)

'''IMPORTANT:'''
Depending on the image you are flashing, you may be asked if you want to change a few things before continuing. DO NOT change the username and password. These are embedded in the image. You can change wifi options, or change them later after you have booted the Pi.

- Choose Write image, then Expect to see this warning: "You are about to ERASE all data on: xxxxxxxxx Storage Device USB Device"
- Click on the button "I UNDERSTAND, ERASE AND WRITE"
- The write pass will be followed by a verify pass
- Finally you should see Write complete!

4. Eject the USB flash drive, then remove microSD card/USB flash drive.

If you encounter errors during flashing, you can verify the '''checksum (CRC)''' of your download to make sure it was downloaded correctly. If the checksum of the image is good and errors persist when flashing, your target storage media may be bad.

'''Balena Etcher''' and '''Rufus''' are other flashing software options for RMS images. If you have issues flashing an image and have confirmed a good checksum for your download, try using different flashing software. Balena Etcher can sometimes generate false error messages at the end of the flash operation. Raspberry Pi Imager works fine when flashing the same downloaded image.

5. Insert the microSD card/USB flash drive into your Raspberry Pi. Raspberry Pi should already be connected to a TV or monitor, a keyboard, and mouse connected.
: If a TV or monitor is not connected, refer to '''[[#Booting without a TV/Monitor|these instructions]]'''.

6. Wait for the boot.
If the boot takes too long to begin, refer to the next section. If the Pi booted successfully, follow the on-screen instructions.

== Using RMS Images for Raspberry Pi ==
Click here for information on [[ Using RMS Images for Raspberry Pi ]]

== Pre-2021 Raspberry Pi 4 bootloader update - USB flash drive ONLY ==

If you encountered a problem booting Raspberry Pi 4 from a USB device (common for all USB devices, not only flash disks), the most probable reason is that your Raspberry Pi 4 is from an older batch and you must update its bootloader.

The procedure is simple, and you need a small capacity, blank microSD card to store about 1MB of data. The process is nicely described in '''[https://www.raspberrypi.com/documentation/computers/raspberry-pi.html#updating-the-bootloader the raspberry pi official documentation]'''.

: '''NOTE:''' If you are looking for an extensive USB booting guide, click ''[https://globalmeteornetwork.org/wiki/index.php?title=Booting_from_a_USB_device here]''.

The preinstalled RMS software images incorporate an auto-update feature, which updates the RMS software to the current release whenever you boot Raspberry Pi RMS. Your station always runs the most recent set of updates!

== The first boot ==

This is how the first boot of the Trixie RMS image should look:
[[File:First_boot_Trixie.png|1500px|center]]

Now is a good time to send an email to '''denis.vida@gmail.com'''. Include a short introduction that includes your country, then tell him you are building a camera and you need a camera/station code. You use a camera/station code when you set up the RMS software, after your camera is fully installed and positioned.

After you have received your Camera/Station ID from GMN, you will need to establish a network connection on your Pi.

For typical single camera installs, the camera is connected to the Ethernet port of the Pi, and a '''wifi connection''' is used to connect the Pi to your Local Area Network (LAN). To establish a wifi connection:

- left-click on the network icon located between the Bluetooth icon and speaker icon in the upper righthand part of the task bar.
- find the wifi network you want to use and then provide the wifi network passphrase to validate your wifi connection.

If successful, the Network icon should change to an active wifi icon.

Once you have a '''Camera/Station ID''' from GMN, and know the '''Latitude, Longitude, and Elevation''' of your camera to within about a meter, you are ready to go through the setup steps in the '''RMS_FirstRun''' window on your screen. These steps include:

1. Expanding the file system (if you flashed this SD card yourself).

2. confirming your Pi is connected to the Internet.

3. Changing the default password for security reasons.

4. Generating a new SSH key.

5. Editing the RMS config file to supply your Camera/Station ID, Latitude, Longitude, and Elevation.

Once you have successfully completed the steps in RMS_FirstRun, the Terminal window will display information telling you that the system is waiting to begin capturing data for the coming night.

'''Remember to send the public SSH key to GMN, as outlined in the RMS_FirstRun instructions you saw earlier.'''

'''Welcome to GMN, you are all set to begin collecting meteor data!'''

= (Optional) Install the software from scratch =
This installation is '''only''' for knowledgeable users who want to complete more advanced tasks. If you the procedure in the previous section, '''do not continue''' with the sections that follow.
: '''NOTE:''' When you set up a Raspberry Pi, you should use the prebuilt image, which includes all necessary software installed and ready to use. If you decide to install the software on the RPi from scratch, follow the instructions on '''[https://globalmeteornetwork.org/wiki/index.php?title=Advanced_RMS_installations_and_Multi-camera_support this page]'''.

Next, you will focus your camera and assemble the bits and pieces for the first test.

'''[https://globalmeteornetwork.org/wiki/index.php?title=Build_%26_Install_%26_Setup_your_camera_-_The_complete_how-to Back to the signpost page.]'''

= Boot without a TV or monitor =
If you do not have a TV or monitor connected to the Pi when you set it up, you must use '''VNC''', a remote-access tool.

1. After you burn the microSD card, insert it into the Pi and switch on the power.
: You should see the lights on the Pi flicker for a minute or two. If the lights do not flicker, it is possible the microSD card image did not properly burn.

2. If the lights flicker as ecpected, wait at least three minutes after the lights stop flickering before you proceed.
: '''NOTE:''' There are several stages to the initial boot, so it will take a while.

3. While you wait, download '''[https://www.realvnc.com/en/connect/download/viewer/ VNC Viewer]'''.
: You do not need to create an account or subscribe, so ignore the buttons and links. After a few seconds, the download will start.

4. To connect to the Pi using VNC, you must know either its name or its IP address.
: '''NOTE:''' If you did not set the hostname when you burned the microSD card, (this is an option that may available in Raspberry Pi Imager), its name is probably ''raspberrypi''.
: To find its IP address using the manufacturer name, run '''[https://www.advanced-ip-scanner.com/ Advanced IP Scanner]'''. This tool starts with Raspberry Pifind.

5. Open '''VNC Viewer''' and enter the name or IP address into the box at the top.
: After a few seconds, you see a login dialog box.

6. The default username is '''rms''' and the initial password is '''rmsraspberry'''. Change these credentials as soon as you log in.

: Now, you should now see the Pi desktop and the '''RMS_FirstBoot''' window.

Using RMS Images for Raspberry Pi

2026-03-18T01:13:01Z

MetorsABQ9: /* Trixie */

'''Using RMS Images for Raspberry Pi'''
Trixie and Bullseye are the two supported RMS images for Raspberry Pi.

== '''Trixie''' ==
Trixie RMS is the preferred RMS image for Pi4 and Pi5. On this image, the Pi5 built-in Real-Time Clock (RTC) is fully supported. The highly recommended OEM Pi5 heatsink+fan thermal control is fully supported, and the conky Desktop display shows fan speed on the Pi5. Cooling fan speed is not reported by conky for most fans used on Pi4. MultiCam only works on Pi5, and you can find documentation for it in “MultiCam on Pi5”.

=== Change protocol to udp ===
Testing has shown that the Trixie gstreamer version does not work well with protocol set to tcp. You can find the protocol setting around line 103 in the .config file
; Transport Layer Protocol: 'tcp' or 'udp'. Defaults to tcp. UDP typically
; provides more stable connectivity, but TCP has a longer track record.
protocol: tcp
We recommend you change the protocol from tcp to udp
protocol: udp

=== Graphics and Remote Access ===
Like the earlier Bookworm OS, Wayland graphics are used in Trixie. GMN has dropped the earlier Bookworm image in favor of Trixie. Because of Wayland, most of the previously used Remote Connection software no longer work on Trixie. As of January of 2026 the non-working software includes AnyDesk, NoMachine, TeamViewer and RealVNC for connections from outside your local area network (LAN). We suspect these vendors will support Wayland soon, or they will lose market share.

=== Remote Connection Options ===
Remote connections to Trixie RMS are available from Raspberry Pi Connect or RustDesk; and connections from inside the Local Area Network (LAN) can be done with VNC connected to the IP address of the Pi. For most people, Raspberry Pi Connect will be the preferred remote connection method, but RustDesk may be more appropriate in some cases. RustDesk instructions can be found in the 'shared' directory under user rms (~/shared).

== '''Bullseye''' ==
Bullseye is not the preferred RMS image for Pi4, instead please use the Trixie RMS Image. We have kept the Bullseye RMS image available for those who require using older remote control software including AnyDesk, RealVNC Server, NoMachine, TeamViewer, and possibly a few others.

The Bullseye RMS image has been updated with OS and RMS updates and swap memory increased to 2GB. It can be used on Pi4, but not Pi5.

The Bullseye software repository has been frozen, and is not being updated to include newer versions of software like gimp for graphic file editing.

=== gimp v2.10.22 ===
When saving mask.bmp after editing in gimp, you need to use a workaround to prevent generating a bad bmp file header. The workaround is is click on compatibility option during export to bmp and select
Do not write color space information

=== Raspberry Pi Connect ===
The new remote connection software from Raspberry Pi organization is Raspberry Pi Connect, which requires Wayland graphics, so it is not supported on Bullseye.

== '''Topics for Bullseye and Trixie''' ==
A number of topics are common to both images.

=== File Manager ===
If you have problems with copy and paste with the GUI File Manager, open a second or third File Manager window and use copy/paste between two windows. The second work-around for this problem is to change the view mode in pcmanfm File Manager to icon view. This has been a common problem in the pcmanfm file manager, and has been an issue since the Bullseye image was released.

=== Multiple Cameras ===
Running more than one camera is only supported on Pi5. Documentation on how to run more than one camera on Pi5 can be found in “MultiCam on Pi5.pdf”.

=== RustDesk ===
RustDesk remote connection software is fully supported on Bullseye and Trixie RMS. Please see the notes in ~/shared.
This directory is located under user rms.

=== Swap memory ===
Swap memory is a disk allocation that supplements RAM, and can be used to page content in and out of RAM.
Both images have swap memory increased to 2GB.

=== Samba Shares ===
The directories ~/shared and ~/RMS_data are defined as Samba shares and can be accessed inside the LAN by mapping Samba shares on the PC running Windows, Linux or Mac OS.

'''Samba directories'''
Read access is enabled for /home/rms/RMS_data. Both read and write are enabled for /home/rms/shared. You can map each directory for easy access from another device. For Windows PC, follow these steps:
*Start Windows File Explorer
*right click on This PC
*Map Network Drive
*select drive designation
In the Folder window, enter the IP number of your Pi5, something like this
\\192.168.1.23\shared
*click the box "Connect using different credentials"
*click Finish
*In the next window "Enter network credentials"
*enter rms for username
*enter rmsraspberry for the samba password
*click "Remember my credentials"
*click OK

If you want to delete this mapped network drive later, you can type this at a command prompt:
net use /delete \\192.168.1.32\shared

If you would prefer, you can map to the Pi's hostname rms instead of IP number, so use \\rms\shared in the drive designation window for read/write access to /home/rms/shared. Likewise, you could use
\\rms\RMS_data
for read access to /home/rms/RMS_data

=== Configure Wi-Fi ===
To configure Wi-Fi, left-click on the blue Up/Down arrow icon toward the right-hand side of the taskbar, choose your Wi-Fi network, then supply your network passphrase. You can also use the Pi Ethernet port to connect to your local network wiring for an Internet connection and put your camera IP address on one of your local area network (LAN) addresses.

=== Network Configuration ===
In the Bullseye and Trixie RMS images, the Pi Ethernet interface (eth0) works for a connection to your LAN, or if no LAN, it will fall back to 192.168.42.1, which makes any camera at 192.168.42.xxx usable. There is no need to change any network settings for eth0, the fallback takes place automatically.

Please note that the Pi will need an Internet connection before you can complete the RMS_FirstRun configuration steps that you see in the terminal window at startup. You can use WiFi or a wired connection for your Internet connection. You can use RealVNC or TigerVNC viewer for remote connections inside your local network.

The eth0 (Ethernet port on the Pi) IP number can be set automatically by your DHCP server (router), if one is present. In this case, the Pi needs to be physically connected to the router directly or through a wired switch. There is no need to attach the screen, keyboard and a mouse (the Pi can run as 'headless')

=== Run “headless” ===
- connect via VNC (see below) to the Pi (you need to find out the Pi IP address from the router)

- if needed, change the camera IP with '''CamManager''' - open another terminal session and type 'python ~/source/RMS/Utils/CamManager.py'. All cameras attached to the local network will appear. Select the correct camera and change the IP address.

- finish the RMS configuration with the instructions on the RMS terminal.

If the Pi is connected via eth0 directly to the camera, the IP address of the eth0 interface is automatically set to 192.168.42.1, and the camera IP needs to be set to 192.168.42.10, instead of the default new camera IP of 192.168.1.10:

- attach the screen, keyboard and a mouse

- if needed, change the camera IP with '''CamManager''' - open another terminal session and type 'python ~/source/RMS/Utils/CamManager.py'. The camera attached to the Pi will appear. Select the correct camera and change the IP address.

- finish the RMS configuration with the instructions on the RMS terminal.

=== Configure camera parameters ===
This script uses the Python CameraControl module to configure camera parameters:

Scripts/SetCameraParams.sh

If you want to run CameraControl manually type:

python -m Utils.CameraControl

to see a list of options for CameraControl. If you open the source code in a text editor, the top of the Python file has a bit more documentation: /home/rms/source/RMS/Utils/CameraControl.py

=== Migrate a camera ===
If you migrate a camera from a Pi4, it is best to manually merge your old .config into the new default .config file (rewrite your config settings into the new file manually, do not copy the .config). We recommend merged settings because the most recent .config version often has new parameters that are not present in an older .config file.

If you want a fresh copy of the default .config file, you can run these commands in a terminal session in ~/shared (~/ equals /home/rms/)

cd ~/shared

wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/CroatianMeteorNetwork/RMS/master/.config

Use a text editor to transfer your camera settings '''Camera_ID, latitude, longitude, elevation, camera IP number''' and any other camera specific settings, then copy the new .config to ~/source/RMS. You probably want to also copy over the mask.bmp and platepar_cmn2010.cal files.

To migrate a camera, copy your old SSH keys to the new image. When copying old ssh keys, be sure to change the attributes on id_rsa (the private key) to read by owner only. Another option is to create new SSH keys and then send the id_rsa.pub (public key) to Denis.

=== Enable SSH ===
For security reasons, we do not enable SSH in this image for Pi. If you want to enable SSH access to your Pi5, go to Preferences on the main menu:

Preferences

Raspberry Pi Configuration

Interfaces

move the slider on SSH to enable this interface

click OK

You may have to reboot for the change to take effect.

== '''Images past and present''' ==
Over the years, a number of RMS images for Pi have been released. Some of the older images are no longer supported. As Raspberry Pi organization has released newer operating systems, these systems have moved to newer Python versions and have incorporated newer applications.

Trixie RMS is the preferred RMS image for Pi4 and Pi5. The Bullseye RMS image has been updated with OS and RMS updates and can be used on Pi4 if you prefer. Both new images have swap memory increased to 2GB.

=== Trixie RMS ===
Trixie RMS is the recommended image for Pi4 and Pi5. More information on Trixie can be found here.

=== Bookworm RMS ===
Bookworm RMS was our first version to support Pi5. Now that Trixie OS is released, Bookworm has been pushed to Legacy status. Because Trixie RMS offers significant advantages, we no longer offer Bookworm RMS for download or recommend using this RMS image.

=== Bullseye RMS ===
Bullseye OS has now been pushed back to unsupported status and the repository for software updates has been frozen. Bullseye was moved to 'unsupported' when Trixie OS was released, which pushed Bookworm to Legacy status, and deprecated Bullseye.

We will try to keep Bullseye RMS running, however, it is best to move to Trixie RMS for new or rebuilt Pi4 and Pi5. Additional details on using Bullseye RMS can be found here.

=== Buster RMS ===
Buster RMS was our original image for Pi4. We released a 32-bit version, which was used by a number of Pi4 systems. We no longer offer Buster RMS images for download because it has been superseded by Bullseye RMS

=== Jessie RMS ===
Jessie RMS is one of our earliest images and was only used on Pi3. In mid-2025 we stopped supporting RMS on Pi3, so limited help is available. This decision was based on the difficulty of supporting Python 2.7 which is now obsolete. It has become impossible to develop new RMS functionality while struggling to back-port it to an obsolete Python.

Plots Explained

2026-02-09T22:13:02Z

MetorsABQ9: /* Timestamp Intervals */

GMN plots and images explained
by Damir Šegon
There are more than 1,000 Global Meteor Network (GMN) cameras sharing the web pages, powered by GMN. The GMN Weblog features their image stacks and plots, and summarizes the previous night's Raspberry Meteor System (RMS) camera results.

The GMN weblog page is here: https://globalmeteornetwork.org/weblog/. Results also are available on the GMN status page: https://globalmeteornetwork.org/status. This document is a guide for typical RMS processing.

Some of these stacks/plots are easy to understand at a glance, while others require more explanation. For image stacks, CMNbinViewer software is a valuable tool that you can run on the Pi or PC. There are publications listed at the bottom of the main wiki page about RMS, which may help you understand how best to capture and detect events.

== Detected stack ==

A stack of detected images is an event that was recognized as a meteor. A detected image is the difference between MaxPixel and AveragePixel images, which is calculated in a procedure that helps suppress slow-moving clouds and most static noise. Fast moving clouds may show up on the detected stack as a set of ‘waves’ that form what appears to be an abstract art painting.

After the real-time analysis of images, several machine learning algorithms have been trained to reduce false detections from clouds flying creatures, such as bugs, bats, seagulls, and owls, or other flying entities, such as airplanes, drones, and satellites.

In spite of false event rejection filters some false positives may remain. Also note that if a plane or other false event occurs while a meteor is detected, both the meteor and the false detection will be captured in the same image. As a result, the note in the bottom right corner, Detected meteors, should be understood as an estimate. For stations with good astronomical viewing conditions, this number will be very close to the number of detected meteors.

[[File: Plots_Detected.png | center ]]

== Captured stack ==

In contrast to the Detected stack, a captured stack contains images from the entire night, some of which also are represented in the Detected stack.

[[File: Plots_Captured.png | center ]]

== Detected thumbnails ==

Similar to a Captured thumbnail, a ‘’Detected thumbnail’’ represents a matrix of only MaxPixel images that contain detections. Time stamps on these images specify a start point you can use to search for an interesting event. Unlike images in a Captured stack, Detected thumbnails are not stacked, which means that each image represents only one FF file.

[[File: Plots_DetectedThumbnails.png | center ]]

== Captured thumbnails ==

This image is built from a matrix of MaxPixel images from the entire night, and it includes time stamps in the upper left row. Each image is actually a MaxPixel stack of MaxPixel images, which are the result of combining 5 FF*.fits files.

The time difference between two neighboring time stamps should be 10.24 x 5 = 51.2 seconds. If this difference is higher than 51.2 seconds, your RMS system dropped frames and you should check for problems.

Because MaxPixel values are stacked, the sky sometimes is too bright, which causes images to become saturated (completely white). This result can be is a combination of moonlight and high humidity or lightning that flashed in your field of view (FOV), illuminating the clouds.

[[File: Plots_CapturedThumbnails.png | center ]]

== Radiants ==

‘’Radiants’’ are plots of meteors and active shower radiant positions. The size of the circle for a radiant depends on the meteor shower, and counts are provided for meteors associated with an active meteor shower.

A radiant association is based on single station observations, which may be wrong when combined with other stations. Usually, counts are highly accurate for a significant event or major shower activity. In the lower part of the plot, the vertical dashed red line represents the current position of the Earth relative to solar longitude and active radiants on the date of observation.

[[File: Plots_RadiantsPlot.png | center ]]

== Timestamp Intervals ==

This plot shows relative stability of frame recording throughout the course of the night.

[[File: Plots_Timestamp_Intervals.png | frameless | center | upright=2.0 ]]

== Deaveraged field sums ==

This plot shows variations between pixel value sums from each FF file throughout the night. Because these values are deaveraged, any significant event peak should be obvious in the plot.

[[File: Plots_DeaveratedFieldSums.png | center]]

== Peak field sums ==

This plot shows the sum of intensity values from all pixels in each frame, from each FF file throughout the night. Average values from these sums are plotted in black and peak values are plotted in red. As before, each significant event in the camera field of view is shown as a peak.

[[File: Plots_PeakFieldSums.png | center ]]

== Astrometry report ==

This plot shows the results of an image that was refitted during the night, with deviations from original calibration shown as yellow lines. The length of each line is 100x the distance from ideal calibration and the line orientation shows the direction of the deviation.

If there is a systemic error, lines display either as concentrically oriented or deviated in a single direction. Ideally, you want to see a lot of short lines that are oriented in multiple directions.

[[File: Plots_AstrometryReport.jpg | frameless | center | upright=2.0 ]]

== Calibration variation ==

In early stages of the GMN while checking astrometry, it was discovered that cameras can significantly change their orientation during the course of the night. Why this situation occurs is beyond the scope of this document, but it is important to know that this movement requires you to check the astrometry fit for each FF file that contains a detection.

The results of a recheck are shown in this plot and the time from the first FF file is color-coded. The figure shows the difference between the refitted FOV and the reference FOV center in arcminutes, usually on the X-axis. It also shows the angle of rotation between the refitted FOV and the reference FOV.

[[File: Plots_CalibrationVariation.png | frameless | center | upright=2.0 ]]

If you study this plot for your camera through the night, you may be able to identify and fix problems related to the camera mount. On average, cameras move 5 to 6 arcminutes overnight, but there are documented cases of minor movements of only 2' and much larger movements of 15' or more.

== Photometry report ==

This plot shows the photometry fit for stars extracted from an FF file of observations. Two lines represent the fit for the recent night (red) and a reference calibration (gray).

To calculate the limiting magnitude of a camera, subtract about 4 magnitudes from the photometry fit. For most 3.6mm cameras, this number is 10 or a bit more because these cameras have a limiting magnitude of about 6.

[[File: Plots_PhotometryReport.png | frameless | center | upright=2.0 ]]

== Photometric offset variation ==
Photometric offset over time

[[File: Plots_Photometric_offset.png | frameless | center | upright=2.0 ]]

== Flux total observing time ==
Graphic plot Matched vs. Predicted stars throughout the night.

[[File: Plots_Flux_total.png | frameless | center | upright=2.0 ]]

== Masked Flat ==
Flat after overlaying mask.bmp

[[File: Plots_Masked_flat.jpg | frameless | center | upright=2.0 ]]

== Observation Summary ==
Observation summary data of hardware and data recording characteristics.

[[File: Plots_ObservationSummary.png | frameless | center | upright=2.0 ]]

== Meteor Shower Flux ==
Meteor shower flux charts, if specific showers are detected.

[[File: Plots_Shower_Flux.png | center ]]

== TimeLapse video ==

This TimeLapse.mp4 video contains many images from the previous night, but not all images. This video is not valuable for scientific applications, but it is useful to check dynamic weather conditions throughout the night.

[[File: Plots_TimeLapseVideo.png | cener ]]

== Acknowledgements ==

Most of the plots and images are courtesy of Danijel Reponj, Observatory Apollo, Croatia, GMN station HR000S. His camera, Cyclops II, is a replacement for the first analog camera, which ran 24/7 for 8 years!

File:Plots Timestamp Intervals.png

2026-02-09T22:06:49Z

MetorsABQ9: MetorsABQ9 uploaded a new version of File:Plots Timestamp Intervals.png

== Summary ==
Referenced in "Plots Explanation"

Plots Explained

2026-02-09T22:03:38Z

MetorsABQ9: /* Astrometry report */

GMN plots and images explained
by Damir Šegon
There are more than 1,000 Global Meteor Network (GMN) cameras sharing the web pages, powered by GMN. The GMN Weblog features their image stacks and plots, and summarizes the previous night's Raspberry Meteor System (RMS) camera results.

The GMN weblog page is here: https://globalmeteornetwork.org/weblog/. Results also are available on the GMN status page: https://globalmeteornetwork.org/status. This document is a guide for typical RMS processing.

Some of these stacks/plots are easy to understand at a glance, while others require more explanation. For image stacks, CMNbinViewer software is a valuable tool that you can run on the Pi or PC. There are publications listed at the bottom of the main wiki page about RMS, which may help you understand how best to capture and detect events.

== Detected stack ==

A stack of detected images is an event that was recognized as a meteor. A detected image is the difference between MaxPixel and AveragePixel images, which is calculated in a procedure that helps suppress slow-moving clouds and most static noise. Fast moving clouds may show up on the detected stack as a set of ‘waves’ that form what appears to be an abstract art painting.

After the real-time analysis of images, several machine learning algorithms have been trained to reduce false detections from clouds flying creatures, such as bugs, bats, seagulls, and owls, or other flying entities, such as airplanes, drones, and satellites.

In spite of false event rejection filters some false positives may remain. Also note that if a plane or other false event occurs while a meteor is detected, both the meteor and the false detection will be captured in the same image. As a result, the note in the bottom right corner, Detected meteors, should be understood as an estimate. For stations with good astronomical viewing conditions, this number will be very close to the number of detected meteors.

[[File: Plots_Detected.png | center ]]

== Captured stack ==

In contrast to the Detected stack, a captured stack contains images from the entire night, some of which also are represented in the Detected stack.

[[File: Plots_Captured.png | center ]]

== Detected thumbnails ==

Similar to a Captured thumbnail, a ‘’Detected thumbnail’’ represents a matrix of only MaxPixel images that contain detections. Time stamps on these images specify a start point you can use to search for an interesting event. Unlike images in a Captured stack, Detected thumbnails are not stacked, which means that each image represents only one FF file.

[[File: Plots_DetectedThumbnails.png | center ]]

== Captured thumbnails ==

This image is built from a matrix of MaxPixel images from the entire night, and it includes time stamps in the upper left row. Each image is actually a MaxPixel stack of MaxPixel images, which are the result of combining 5 FF*.fits files.

The time difference between two neighboring time stamps should be 10.24 x 5 = 51.2 seconds. If this difference is higher than 51.2 seconds, your RMS system dropped frames and you should check for problems.

Because MaxPixel values are stacked, the sky sometimes is too bright, which causes images to become saturated (completely white). This result can be is a combination of moonlight and high humidity or lightning that flashed in your field of view (FOV), illuminating the clouds.

[[File: Plots_CapturedThumbnails.png | center ]]

== Radiants ==

‘’Radiants’’ are plots of meteors and active shower radiant positions. The size of the circle for a radiant depends on the meteor shower, and counts are provided for meteors associated with an active meteor shower.

A radiant association is based on single station observations, which may be wrong when combined with other stations. Usually, counts are highly accurate for a significant event or major shower activity. In the lower part of the plot, the vertical dashed red line represents the current position of the Earth relative to solar longitude and active radiants on the date of observation.

[[File: Plots_RadiantsPlot.png | center ]]

== Timestamp Intervals ==

This plot shows relative stability of frame recording throughout the course of the night.

[[File: Plots_TimestampIntervals.png | frameless | center | upright=2.0 ]]

== Deaveraged field sums ==

This plot shows variations between pixel value sums from each FF file throughout the night. Because these values are deaveraged, any significant event peak should be obvious in the plot.

[[File: Plots_DeaveratedFieldSums.png | center]]

== Peak field sums ==

This plot shows the sum of intensity values from all pixels in each frame, from each FF file throughout the night. Average values from these sums are plotted in black and peak values are plotted in red. As before, each significant event in the camera field of view is shown as a peak.

[[File: Plots_PeakFieldSums.png | center ]]

== Astrometry report ==

This plot shows the results of an image that was refitted during the night, with deviations from original calibration shown as yellow lines. The length of each line is 100x the distance from ideal calibration and the line orientation shows the direction of the deviation.

If there is a systemic error, lines display either as concentrically oriented or deviated in a single direction. Ideally, you want to see a lot of short lines that are oriented in multiple directions.

[[File: Plots_AstrometryReport.jpg | frameless | center | upright=2.0 ]]

== Calibration variation ==

In early stages of the GMN while checking astrometry, it was discovered that cameras can significantly change their orientation during the course of the night. Why this situation occurs is beyond the scope of this document, but it is important to know that this movement requires you to check the astrometry fit for each FF file that contains a detection.

The results of a recheck are shown in this plot and the time from the first FF file is color-coded. The figure shows the difference between the refitted FOV and the reference FOV center in arcminutes, usually on the X-axis. It also shows the angle of rotation between the refitted FOV and the reference FOV.

[[File: Plots_CalibrationVariation.png | frameless | center | upright=2.0 ]]

If you study this plot for your camera through the night, you may be able to identify and fix problems related to the camera mount. On average, cameras move 5 to 6 arcminutes overnight, but there are documented cases of minor movements of only 2' and much larger movements of 15' or more.

== Photometry report ==

This plot shows the photometry fit for stars extracted from an FF file of observations. Two lines represent the fit for the recent night (red) and a reference calibration (gray).

To calculate the limiting magnitude of a camera, subtract about 4 magnitudes from the photometry fit. For most 3.6mm cameras, this number is 10 or a bit more because these cameras have a limiting magnitude of about 6.

[[File: Plots_PhotometryReport.png | frameless | center | upright=2.0 ]]

== Photometric offset variation ==
Photometric offset over time

[[File: Plots_Photometric_offset.png | frameless | center | upright=2.0 ]]

== Flux total observing time ==
Graphic plot Matched vs. Predicted stars throughout the night.

[[File: Plots_Flux_total.png | frameless | center | upright=2.0 ]]

== Masked Flat ==
Flat after overlaying mask.bmp

[[File: Plots_Masked_flat.jpg | frameless | center | upright=2.0 ]]

== Observation Summary ==
Observation summary data of hardware and data recording characteristics.

[[File: Plots_ObservationSummary.png | frameless | center | upright=2.0 ]]

== Meteor Shower Flux ==
Meteor shower flux charts, if specific showers are detected.

[[File: Plots_Shower_Flux.png | center ]]

== TimeLapse video ==

This TimeLapse.mp4 video contains many images from the previous night, but not all images. This video is not valuable for scientific applications, but it is useful to check dynamic weather conditions throughout the night.

[[File: Plots_TimeLapseVideo.png | cener ]]

== Acknowledgements ==

Most of the plots and images are courtesy of Danijel Reponj, Observatory Apollo, Croatia, GMN station HR000S. His camera, Cyclops II, is a replacement for the first analog camera, which ran 24/7 for 8 years!

Plots Explained

2026-02-09T21:59:06Z

MetorsABQ9: /* Timestamp Intervals */

GMN plots and images explained
by Damir Šegon
There are more than 1,000 Global Meteor Network (GMN) cameras sharing the web pages, powered by GMN. The GMN Weblog features their image stacks and plots, and summarizes the previous night's Raspberry Meteor System (RMS) camera results.

The GMN weblog page is here: https://globalmeteornetwork.org/weblog/. Results also are available on the GMN status page: https://globalmeteornetwork.org/status. This document is a guide for typical RMS processing.

Some of these stacks/plots are easy to understand at a glance, while others require more explanation. For image stacks, CMNbinViewer software is a valuable tool that you can run on the Pi or PC. There are publications listed at the bottom of the main wiki page about RMS, which may help you understand how best to capture and detect events.

== Detected stack ==

A stack of detected images is an event that was recognized as a meteor. A detected image is the difference between MaxPixel and AveragePixel images, which is calculated in a procedure that helps suppress slow-moving clouds and most static noise. Fast moving clouds may show up on the detected stack as a set of ‘waves’ that form what appears to be an abstract art painting.

After the real-time analysis of images, several machine learning algorithms have been trained to reduce false detections from clouds flying creatures, such as bugs, bats, seagulls, and owls, or other flying entities, such as airplanes, drones, and satellites.

In spite of false event rejection filters some false positives may remain. Also note that if a plane or other false event occurs while a meteor is detected, both the meteor and the false detection will be captured in the same image. As a result, the note in the bottom right corner, Detected meteors, should be understood as an estimate. For stations with good astronomical viewing conditions, this number will be very close to the number of detected meteors.

[[File: Plots_Detected.png | center ]]

== Captured stack ==

In contrast to the Detected stack, a captured stack contains images from the entire night, some of which also are represented in the Detected stack.

[[File: Plots_Captured.png | center ]]

== Detected thumbnails ==

Similar to a Captured thumbnail, a ‘’Detected thumbnail’’ represents a matrix of only MaxPixel images that contain detections. Time stamps on these images specify a start point you can use to search for an interesting event. Unlike images in a Captured stack, Detected thumbnails are not stacked, which means that each image represents only one FF file.

[[File: Plots_DetectedThumbnails.png | center ]]

== Captured thumbnails ==

This image is built from a matrix of MaxPixel images from the entire night, and it includes time stamps in the upper left row. Each image is actually a MaxPixel stack of MaxPixel images, which are the result of combining 5 FF*.fits files.

The time difference between two neighboring time stamps should be 10.24 x 5 = 51.2 seconds. If this difference is higher than 51.2 seconds, your RMS system dropped frames and you should check for problems.

Because MaxPixel values are stacked, the sky sometimes is too bright, which causes images to become saturated (completely white). This result can be is a combination of moonlight and high humidity or lightning that flashed in your field of view (FOV), illuminating the clouds.

[[File: Plots_CapturedThumbnails.png | center ]]

== Radiants ==

‘’Radiants’’ are plots of meteors and active shower radiant positions. The size of the circle for a radiant depends on the meteor shower, and counts are provided for meteors associated with an active meteor shower.

A radiant association is based on single station observations, which may be wrong when combined with other stations. Usually, counts are highly accurate for a significant event or major shower activity. In the lower part of the plot, the vertical dashed red line represents the current position of the Earth relative to solar longitude and active radiants on the date of observation.

[[File: Plots_RadiantsPlot.png | center ]]

== Timestamp Intervals ==

This plot shows relative stability of frame recording throughout the course of the night.

[[File: Plots_TimestampIntervals.png | frameless | center | upright=2.0 ]]

== Deaveraged field sums ==

This plot shows variations between pixel value sums from each FF file throughout the night. Because these values are deaveraged, any significant event peak should be obvious in the plot.

[[File: Plots_DeaveratedFieldSums.png | center]]

== Peak field sums ==

This plot shows the sum of intensity values from all pixels in each frame, from each FF file throughout the night. Average values from these sums are plotted in black and peak values are plotted in red. As before, each significant event in the camera field of view is shown as a peak.

[[File: Plots_PeakFieldSums.png | center ]]

== Astrometry report ==

This plot shows the results of an image that was refitted during the night, with deviations from original calibration shown as yellow lines. The length of each line is 100x the distance from ideal calibration and the line orientation shows the direction of the deviation.

If there is a systemic error, lines display either as concentrically oriented or deviated in a single direction. Ideally, you want to see a lot of short lines that are oriented in multiple directions.

[[File: Plots_AstrometryReport.png | center ]]

== Calibration variation ==

In early stages of the GMN while checking astrometry, it was discovered that cameras can significantly change their orientation during the course of the night. Why this situation occurs is beyond the scope of this document, but it is important to know that this movement requires you to check the astrometry fit for each FF file that contains a detection.

The results of a recheck are shown in this plot and the time from the first FF file is color-coded. The figure shows the difference between the refitted FOV and the reference FOV center in arcminutes, usually on the X-axis. It also shows the angle of rotation between the refitted FOV and the reference FOV.

[[File: Plots_CalibrationVariation.png | frameless | center | upright=2.0 ]]

If you study this plot for your camera through the night, you may be able to identify and fix problems related to the camera mount. On average, cameras move 5 to 6 arcminutes overnight, but there are documented cases of minor movements of only 2' and much larger movements of 15' or more.

== Photometry report ==

This plot shows the photometry fit for stars extracted from an FF file of observations. Two lines represent the fit for the recent night (red) and a reference calibration (gray).

To calculate the limiting magnitude of a camera, subtract about 4 magnitudes from the photometry fit. For most 3.6mm cameras, this number is 10 or a bit more because these cameras have a limiting magnitude of about 6.

[[File: Plots_PhotometryReport.png | frameless | center | upright=2.0 ]]

== Photometric offset variation ==
Photometric offset over time

[[File: Plots_Photometric_offset.png | frameless | center | upright=2.0 ]]

== Flux total observing time ==
Graphic plot Matched vs. Predicted stars throughout the night.

[[File: Plots_Flux_total.png | frameless | center | upright=2.0 ]]

== Masked Flat ==
Flat after overlaying mask.bmp

[[File: Plots_Masked_flat.jpg | frameless | center | upright=2.0 ]]

== Observation Summary ==
Observation summary data of hardware and data recording characteristics.

[[File: Plots_ObservationSummary.png | frameless | center | upright=2.0 ]]

== Meteor Shower Flux ==
Meteor shower flux charts, if specific showers are detected.

[[File: Plots_Shower_Flux.png | center ]]

== TimeLapse video ==

This TimeLapse.mp4 video contains many images from the previous night, but not all images. This video is not valuable for scientific applications, but it is useful to check dynamic weather conditions throughout the night.

[[File: Plots_TimeLapseVideo.png | cener ]]

== Acknowledgements ==

Most of the plots and images are courtesy of Danijel Reponj, Observatory Apollo, Croatia, GMN station HR000S. His camera, Cyclops II, is a replacement for the first analog camera, which ran 24/7 for 8 years!

Plots Explained

2026-02-09T21:53:54Z

MetorsABQ9: /* Photometry report */

GMN plots and images explained
by Damir Šegon
There are more than 1,000 Global Meteor Network (GMN) cameras sharing the web pages, powered by GMN. The GMN Weblog features their image stacks and plots, and summarizes the previous night's Raspberry Meteor System (RMS) camera results.

The GMN weblog page is here: https://globalmeteornetwork.org/weblog/. Results also are available on the GMN status page: https://globalmeteornetwork.org/status. This document is a guide for typical RMS processing.

Some of these stacks/plots are easy to understand at a glance, while others require more explanation. For image stacks, CMNbinViewer software is a valuable tool that you can run on the Pi or PC. There are publications listed at the bottom of the main wiki page about RMS, which may help you understand how best to capture and detect events.

== Detected stack ==

A stack of detected images is an event that was recognized as a meteor. A detected image is the difference between MaxPixel and AveragePixel images, which is calculated in a procedure that helps suppress slow-moving clouds and most static noise. Fast moving clouds may show up on the detected stack as a set of ‘waves’ that form what appears to be an abstract art painting.

After the real-time analysis of images, several machine learning algorithms have been trained to reduce false detections from clouds flying creatures, such as bugs, bats, seagulls, and owls, or other flying entities, such as airplanes, drones, and satellites.

In spite of false event rejection filters some false positives may remain. Also note that if a plane or other false event occurs while a meteor is detected, both the meteor and the false detection will be captured in the same image. As a result, the note in the bottom right corner, Detected meteors, should be understood as an estimate. For stations with good astronomical viewing conditions, this number will be very close to the number of detected meteors.

[[File: Plots_Detected.png | center ]]

== Captured stack ==

In contrast to the Detected stack, a captured stack contains images from the entire night, some of which also are represented in the Detected stack.

[[File: Plots_Captured.png | center ]]

== Detected thumbnails ==

Similar to a Captured thumbnail, a ‘’Detected thumbnail’’ represents a matrix of only MaxPixel images that contain detections. Time stamps on these images specify a start point you can use to search for an interesting event. Unlike images in a Captured stack, Detected thumbnails are not stacked, which means that each image represents only one FF file.

[[File: Plots_DetectedThumbnails.png | center ]]

== Captured thumbnails ==

This image is built from a matrix of MaxPixel images from the entire night, and it includes time stamps in the upper left row. Each image is actually a MaxPixel stack of MaxPixel images, which are the result of combining 5 FF*.fits files.

The time difference between two neighboring time stamps should be 10.24 x 5 = 51.2 seconds. If this difference is higher than 51.2 seconds, your RMS system dropped frames and you should check for problems.

Because MaxPixel values are stacked, the sky sometimes is too bright, which causes images to become saturated (completely white). This result can be is a combination of moonlight and high humidity or lightning that flashed in your field of view (FOV), illuminating the clouds.

[[File: Plots_CapturedThumbnails.png | center ]]

== Radiants ==

‘’Radiants’’ are plots of meteors and active shower radiant positions. The size of the circle for a radiant depends on the meteor shower, and counts are provided for meteors associated with an active meteor shower.

A radiant association is based on single station observations, which may be wrong when combined with other stations. Usually, counts are highly accurate for a significant event or major shower activity. In the lower part of the plot, the vertical dashed red line represents the current position of the Earth relative to solar longitude and active radiants on the date of observation.

[[File: Plots_RadiantsPlot.png | center ]]

== Timestamp Intervals ==

This plot shows relative stability of frame recording throughout the course of the night.

[[File: PlotsTimestampIntervals.png | frameless | center | upright=2.0 ]]

== Deaveraged field sums ==

This plot shows variations between pixel value sums from each FF file throughout the night. Because these values are deaveraged, any significant event peak should be obvious in the plot.

[[File: Plots_DeaveratedFieldSums.png | center]]

== Peak field sums ==

This plot shows the sum of intensity values from all pixels in each frame, from each FF file throughout the night. Average values from these sums are plotted in black and peak values are plotted in red. As before, each significant event in the camera field of view is shown as a peak.

[[File: Plots_PeakFieldSums.png | center ]]

== Astrometry report ==

This plot shows the results of an image that was refitted during the night, with deviations from original calibration shown as yellow lines. The length of each line is 100x the distance from ideal calibration and the line orientation shows the direction of the deviation.

If there is a systemic error, lines display either as concentrically oriented or deviated in a single direction. Ideally, you want to see a lot of short lines that are oriented in multiple directions.

[[File: Plots_AstrometryReport.png | center ]]

== Calibration variation ==

In early stages of the GMN while checking astrometry, it was discovered that cameras can significantly change their orientation during the course of the night. Why this situation occurs is beyond the scope of this document, but it is important to know that this movement requires you to check the astrometry fit for each FF file that contains a detection.

The results of a recheck are shown in this plot and the time from the first FF file is color-coded. The figure shows the difference between the refitted FOV and the reference FOV center in arcminutes, usually on the X-axis. It also shows the angle of rotation between the refitted FOV and the reference FOV.

[[File: Plots_CalibrationVariation.png | frameless | center | upright=2.0 ]]

If you study this plot for your camera through the night, you may be able to identify and fix problems related to the camera mount. On average, cameras move 5 to 6 arcminutes overnight, but there are documented cases of minor movements of only 2' and much larger movements of 15' or more.

== Photometry report ==

This plot shows the photometry fit for stars extracted from an FF file of observations. Two lines represent the fit for the recent night (red) and a reference calibration (gray).

To calculate the limiting magnitude of a camera, subtract about 4 magnitudes from the photometry fit. For most 3.6mm cameras, this number is 10 or a bit more because these cameras have a limiting magnitude of about 6.

[[File: Plots_PhotometryReport.png | frameless | center | upright=2.0 ]]

== Photometric offset variation ==
Photometric offset over time

[[File: Plots_Photometric_offset.png | frameless | center | upright=2.0 ]]

== Flux total observing time ==
Graphic plot Matched vs. Predicted stars throughout the night.

[[File: Plots_Flux_total.png | frameless | center | upright=2.0 ]]

== Masked Flat ==
Flat after overlaying mask.bmp

[[File: Plots_Masked_flat.jpg | frameless | center | upright=2.0 ]]

== Observation Summary ==
Observation summary data of hardware and data recording characteristics.

[[File: Plots_ObservationSummary.png | frameless | center | upright=2.0 ]]

== Meteor Shower Flux ==
Meteor shower flux charts, if specific showers are detected.

[[File: Plots_Shower_Flux.png | center ]]

== TimeLapse video ==

This TimeLapse.mp4 video contains many images from the previous night, but not all images. This video is not valuable for scientific applications, but it is useful to check dynamic weather conditions throughout the night.

[[File: Plots_TimeLapseVideo.png | cener ]]

== Acknowledgements ==

Most of the plots and images are courtesy of Danijel Reponj, Observatory Apollo, Croatia, GMN station HR000S. His camera, Cyclops II, is a replacement for the first analog camera, which ran 24/7 for 8 years!

Plots Explained

2026-02-09T21:53:27Z

MetorsABQ9: /* Calibration variation */

GMN plots and images explained
by Damir Šegon
There are more than 1,000 Global Meteor Network (GMN) cameras sharing the web pages, powered by GMN. The GMN Weblog features their image stacks and plots, and summarizes the previous night's Raspberry Meteor System (RMS) camera results.

The GMN weblog page is here: https://globalmeteornetwork.org/weblog/. Results also are available on the GMN status page: https://globalmeteornetwork.org/status. This document is a guide for typical RMS processing.

Some of these stacks/plots are easy to understand at a glance, while others require more explanation. For image stacks, CMNbinViewer software is a valuable tool that you can run on the Pi or PC. There are publications listed at the bottom of the main wiki page about RMS, which may help you understand how best to capture and detect events.

== Detected stack ==

A stack of detected images is an event that was recognized as a meteor. A detected image is the difference between MaxPixel and AveragePixel images, which is calculated in a procedure that helps suppress slow-moving clouds and most static noise. Fast moving clouds may show up on the detected stack as a set of ‘waves’ that form what appears to be an abstract art painting.

After the real-time analysis of images, several machine learning algorithms have been trained to reduce false detections from clouds flying creatures, such as bugs, bats, seagulls, and owls, or other flying entities, such as airplanes, drones, and satellites.

In spite of false event rejection filters some false positives may remain. Also note that if a plane or other false event occurs while a meteor is detected, both the meteor and the false detection will be captured in the same image. As a result, the note in the bottom right corner, Detected meteors, should be understood as an estimate. For stations with good astronomical viewing conditions, this number will be very close to the number of detected meteors.

[[File: Plots_Detected.png | center ]]

== Captured stack ==

In contrast to the Detected stack, a captured stack contains images from the entire night, some of which also are represented in the Detected stack.

[[File: Plots_Captured.png | center ]]

== Detected thumbnails ==

Similar to a Captured thumbnail, a ‘’Detected thumbnail’’ represents a matrix of only MaxPixel images that contain detections. Time stamps on these images specify a start point you can use to search for an interesting event. Unlike images in a Captured stack, Detected thumbnails are not stacked, which means that each image represents only one FF file.

[[File: Plots_DetectedThumbnails.png | center ]]

== Captured thumbnails ==

This image is built from a matrix of MaxPixel images from the entire night, and it includes time stamps in the upper left row. Each image is actually a MaxPixel stack of MaxPixel images, which are the result of combining 5 FF*.fits files.

The time difference between two neighboring time stamps should be 10.24 x 5 = 51.2 seconds. If this difference is higher than 51.2 seconds, your RMS system dropped frames and you should check for problems.

Because MaxPixel values are stacked, the sky sometimes is too bright, which causes images to become saturated (completely white). This result can be is a combination of moonlight and high humidity or lightning that flashed in your field of view (FOV), illuminating the clouds.

[[File: Plots_CapturedThumbnails.png | center ]]

== Radiants ==

‘’Radiants’’ are plots of meteors and active shower radiant positions. The size of the circle for a radiant depends on the meteor shower, and counts are provided for meteors associated with an active meteor shower.

A radiant association is based on single station observations, which may be wrong when combined with other stations. Usually, counts are highly accurate for a significant event or major shower activity. In the lower part of the plot, the vertical dashed red line represents the current position of the Earth relative to solar longitude and active radiants on the date of observation.

[[File: Plots_RadiantsPlot.png | center ]]

== Timestamp Intervals ==

This plot shows relative stability of frame recording throughout the course of the night.

[[File: PlotsTimestampIntervals.png | frameless | center | upright=2.0 ]]

== Deaveraged field sums ==

This plot shows variations between pixel value sums from each FF file throughout the night. Because these values are deaveraged, any significant event peak should be obvious in the plot.

[[File: Plots_DeaveratedFieldSums.png | center]]

== Peak field sums ==

This plot shows the sum of intensity values from all pixels in each frame, from each FF file throughout the night. Average values from these sums are plotted in black and peak values are plotted in red. As before, each significant event in the camera field of view is shown as a peak.

[[File: Plots_PeakFieldSums.png | center ]]

== Astrometry report ==

This plot shows the results of an image that was refitted during the night, with deviations from original calibration shown as yellow lines. The length of each line is 100x the distance from ideal calibration and the line orientation shows the direction of the deviation.

If there is a systemic error, lines display either as concentrically oriented or deviated in a single direction. Ideally, you want to see a lot of short lines that are oriented in multiple directions.

[[File: Plots_AstrometryReport.png | center ]]

== Calibration variation ==

In early stages of the GMN while checking astrometry, it was discovered that cameras can significantly change their orientation during the course of the night. Why this situation occurs is beyond the scope of this document, but it is important to know that this movement requires you to check the astrometry fit for each FF file that contains a detection.

The results of a recheck are shown in this plot and the time from the first FF file is color-coded. The figure shows the difference between the refitted FOV and the reference FOV center in arcminutes, usually on the X-axis. It also shows the angle of rotation between the refitted FOV and the reference FOV.

[[File: Plots_CalibrationVariation.png | frameless | center | upright=2.0 ]]

If you study this plot for your camera through the night, you may be able to identify and fix problems related to the camera mount. On average, cameras move 5 to 6 arcminutes overnight, but there are documented cases of minor movements of only 2' and much larger movements of 15' or more.

== Photometry report ==

This plot shows the photometry fit for stars extracted from an FF file of observations. Two lines represent the fit for the recent night (red) and a reference calibration (gray).

To calculate the limiting magnitude of a camera, subtract about 4 magnitudes from the photometry fit. For most 3.6mm cameras, this number is 10 or a bit more because these cameras have a limiting magnitude of about 6.

[[File: Plots_PhotometryReport.png | center ]]

== Photometric offset variation ==
Photometric offset over time

[[File: Plots_Photometric_offset.png | frameless | center | upright=2.0 ]]

== Flux total observing time ==
Graphic plot Matched vs. Predicted stars throughout the night.

[[File: Plots_Flux_total.png | frameless | center | upright=2.0 ]]

== Masked Flat ==
Flat after overlaying mask.bmp

[[File: Plots_Masked_flat.jpg | frameless | center | upright=2.0 ]]

== Observation Summary ==
Observation summary data of hardware and data recording characteristics.

[[File: Plots_ObservationSummary.png | frameless | center | upright=2.0 ]]

== Meteor Shower Flux ==
Meteor shower flux charts, if specific showers are detected.

[[File: Plots_Shower_Flux.png | center ]]

== TimeLapse video ==

This TimeLapse.mp4 video contains many images from the previous night, but not all images. This video is not valuable for scientific applications, but it is useful to check dynamic weather conditions throughout the night.

[[File: Plots_TimeLapseVideo.png | cener ]]

== Acknowledgements ==

Most of the plots and images are courtesy of Danijel Reponj, Observatory Apollo, Croatia, GMN station HR000S. His camera, Cyclops II, is a replacement for the first analog camera, which ran 24/7 for 8 years!

Plots Explained

2026-02-09T21:18:59Z

MetorsABQ9: /* Timestamp Intervals */

GMN plots and images explained
by Damir Šegon
There are more than 1,000 Global Meteor Network (GMN) cameras sharing the web pages, powered by GMN. The GMN Weblog features their image stacks and plots, and summarizes the previous night's Raspberry Meteor System (RMS) camera results.

The GMN weblog page is here: https://globalmeteornetwork.org/weblog/. Results also are available on the GMN status page: https://globalmeteornetwork.org/status. This document is a guide for typical RMS processing.

Some of these stacks/plots are easy to understand at a glance, while others require more explanation. For image stacks, CMNbinViewer software is a valuable tool that you can run on the Pi or PC. There are publications listed at the bottom of the main wiki page about RMS, which may help you understand how best to capture and detect events.

== Detected stack ==

A stack of detected images is an event that was recognized as a meteor. A detected image is the difference between MaxPixel and AveragePixel images, which is calculated in a procedure that helps suppress slow-moving clouds and most static noise. Fast moving clouds may show up on the detected stack as a set of ‘waves’ that form what appears to be an abstract art painting.

After the real-time analysis of images, several machine learning algorithms have been trained to reduce false detections from clouds flying creatures, such as bugs, bats, seagulls, and owls, or other flying entities, such as airplanes, drones, and satellites.

In spite of false event rejection filters some false positives may remain. Also note that if a plane or other false event occurs while a meteor is detected, both the meteor and the false detection will be captured in the same image. As a result, the note in the bottom right corner, Detected meteors, should be understood as an estimate. For stations with good astronomical viewing conditions, this number will be very close to the number of detected meteors.

[[File: Plots_Detected.png | center ]]

== Captured stack ==

In contrast to the Detected stack, a captured stack contains images from the entire night, some of which also are represented in the Detected stack.

[[File: Plots_Captured.png | center ]]

== Detected thumbnails ==

Similar to a Captured thumbnail, a ‘’Detected thumbnail’’ represents a matrix of only MaxPixel images that contain detections. Time stamps on these images specify a start point you can use to search for an interesting event. Unlike images in a Captured stack, Detected thumbnails are not stacked, which means that each image represents only one FF file.

[[File: Plots_DetectedThumbnails.png | center ]]

== Captured thumbnails ==

This image is built from a matrix of MaxPixel images from the entire night, and it includes time stamps in the upper left row. Each image is actually a MaxPixel stack of MaxPixel images, which are the result of combining 5 FF*.fits files.

The time difference between two neighboring time stamps should be 10.24 x 5 = 51.2 seconds. If this difference is higher than 51.2 seconds, your RMS system dropped frames and you should check for problems.

Because MaxPixel values are stacked, the sky sometimes is too bright, which causes images to become saturated (completely white). This result can be is a combination of moonlight and high humidity or lightning that flashed in your field of view (FOV), illuminating the clouds.

[[File: Plots_CapturedThumbnails.png | center ]]

== Radiants ==

‘’Radiants’’ are plots of meteors and active shower radiant positions. The size of the circle for a radiant depends on the meteor shower, and counts are provided for meteors associated with an active meteor shower.

A radiant association is based on single station observations, which may be wrong when combined with other stations. Usually, counts are highly accurate for a significant event or major shower activity. In the lower part of the plot, the vertical dashed red line represents the current position of the Earth relative to solar longitude and active radiants on the date of observation.

[[File: Plots_RadiantsPlot.png | center ]]

== Timestamp Intervals ==

This plot shows relative stability of frame recording throughout the course of the night.

[[File: PlotsTimestampIntervals.png | frameless | center | upright=2.0 ]]

== Deaveraged field sums ==

This plot shows variations between pixel value sums from each FF file throughout the night. Because these values are deaveraged, any significant event peak should be obvious in the plot.

[[File: Plots_DeaveratedFieldSums.png | center]]

== Peak field sums ==

This plot shows the sum of intensity values from all pixels in each frame, from each FF file throughout the night. Average values from these sums are plotted in black and peak values are plotted in red. As before, each significant event in the camera field of view is shown as a peak.

[[File: Plots_PeakFieldSums.png | center ]]

== Astrometry report ==

This plot shows the results of an image that was refitted during the night, with deviations from original calibration shown as yellow lines. The length of each line is 100x the distance from ideal calibration and the line orientation shows the direction of the deviation.

If there is a systemic error, lines display either as concentrically oriented or deviated in a single direction. Ideally, you want to see a lot of short lines that are oriented in multiple directions.

[[File: Plots_AstrometryReport.png | center ]]

== Calibration variation ==

In early stages of the GMN while checking astrometry, it was discovered that cameras can significantly change their orientation during the course of the night. Why this situation occurs is beyond the scope of this document, but it is important to know that this movement requires you to check the astrometry fit for each FF file that contains a detection.

The results of a recheck are shown in this plot and the time from the first FF file is color-coded. The figure shows the difference between the refitted FOV and the reference FOV center in arcminutes, usually on the X-axis. It also shows the angle of rotation between the refitted FOV and the reference FOV.

[[File: Plots_CalibrationVariation.png | center ]]

If you study this plot for your camera through the night, you may be able to identify and fix problems related to the camera mount. On average, cameras move 5 to 6 arcminutes overnight, but there are documented cases of minor movements of only 2' and much larger movements of 15' or more.

== Photometry report ==

This plot shows the photometry fit for stars extracted from an FF file of observations. Two lines represent the fit for the recent night (red) and a reference calibration (gray).

To calculate the limiting magnitude of a camera, subtract about 4 magnitudes from the photometry fit. For most 3.6mm cameras, this number is 10 or a bit more because these cameras have a limiting magnitude of about 6.

[[File: Plots_PhotometryReport.png | center ]]

== Photometric offset variation ==
Photometric offset over time

[[File: Plots_Photometric_offset.png | frameless | center | upright=2.0 ]]

== Flux total observing time ==
Graphic plot Matched vs. Predicted stars throughout the night.

[[File: Plots_Flux_total.png | frameless | center | upright=2.0 ]]

== Masked Flat ==
Flat after overlaying mask.bmp

[[File: Plots_Masked_flat.jpg | frameless | center | upright=2.0 ]]

== Observation Summary ==
Observation summary data of hardware and data recording characteristics.

[[File: Plots_ObservationSummary.png | frameless | center | upright=2.0 ]]

== Meteor Shower Flux ==
Meteor shower flux charts, if specific showers are detected.

[[File: Plots_Shower_Flux.png | center ]]

== TimeLapse video ==

This TimeLapse.mp4 video contains many images from the previous night, but not all images. This video is not valuable for scientific applications, but it is useful to check dynamic weather conditions throughout the night.

[[File: Plots_TimeLapseVideo.png | cener ]]

== Acknowledgements ==

Most of the plots and images are courtesy of Danijel Reponj, Observatory Apollo, Croatia, GMN station HR000S. His camera, Cyclops II, is a replacement for the first analog camera, which ran 24/7 for 8 years!

File:Plots TimestampIntevals.png

2026-02-09T21:07:00Z

MetorsABQ9: Referenced in "Plots Explanation"

== Summary ==
Referenced in "Plots Explanation"

File:Plots TimeLapseVideo.png

2026-02-09T21:06:34Z

MetorsABQ9: MetorsABQ9 uploaded a new version of File:Plots TimeLapseVideo.png

== Summary ==
Referenced in "Plots Explanation"

File:Plots PhotometryReport.png

2026-02-09T21:06:05Z

MetorsABQ9: MetorsABQ9 uploaded a new version of File:Plots PhotometryReport.png

== Summary ==
Referenced in "Plots Explanation"

File:Plots Masked flat.jpg

2026-02-09T21:05:28Z

MetorsABQ9: MetorsABQ9 uploaded a new version of File:Plots Masked flat.jpg

== Summary ==
Referenced in "Plots Explanation"

File:Plots CalibrationVariation.png

2026-02-09T21:04:44Z

MetorsABQ9: MetorsABQ9 uploaded a new version of File:Plots CalibrationVariation.png

== Summary ==
Referenced in "Plots Explanation"

File:Plots AstrometryReport.jpg

2026-02-09T21:03:27Z

MetorsABQ9: Referenced in "Plots Explanation"

== Summary ==
Referenced in "Plots Explanation"

Plots Explained

2026-02-09T16:22:00Z

MetorsABQ9: /* Flux total observing tim */

GMN plots and images explained
by Damir Šegon
There are more than 1,000 Global Meteor Network (GMN) cameras sharing the web pages, powered by GMN. The GMN Weblog features their image stacks and plots, and summarizes the previous night's Raspberry Meteor System (RMS) camera results.

The GMN weblog page is here: https://globalmeteornetwork.org/weblog/. Results also are available on the GMN status page: https://globalmeteornetwork.org/status. This document is a guide for typical RMS processing.

Some of these stacks/plots are easy to understand at a glance, while others require more explanation. For image stacks, CMNbinViewer software is a valuable tool that you can run on the Pi or PC. There are publications listed at the bottom of the main wiki page about RMS, which may help you understand how best to capture and detect events.

== Detected stack ==

A stack of detected images is an event that was recognized as a meteor. A detected image is the difference between MaxPixel and AveragePixel images, which is calculated in a procedure that helps suppress slow-moving clouds and most static noise. Fast moving clouds may show up on the detected stack as a set of ‘waves’ that form what appears to be an abstract art painting.

After the real-time analysis of images, several machine learning algorithms have been trained to reduce false detections from clouds flying creatures, such as bugs, bats, seagulls, and owls, or other flying entities, such as airplanes, drones, and satellites.

In spite of false event rejection filters some false positives may remain. Also note that if a plane or other false event occurs while a meteor is detected, both the meteor and the false detection will be captured in the same image. As a result, the note in the bottom right corner, Detected meteors, should be understood as an estimate. For stations with good astronomical viewing conditions, this number will be very close to the number of detected meteors.

[[File: Plots_Detected.png | center ]]

== Captured stack ==

In contrast to the Detected stack, a captured stack contains images from the entire night, some of which also are represented in the Detected stack.

[[File: Plots_Captured.png | center ]]

== Detected thumbnails ==

Similar to a Captured thumbnail, a ‘’Detected thumbnail’’ represents a matrix of only MaxPixel images that contain detections. Time stamps on these images specify a start point you can use to search for an interesting event. Unlike images in a Captured stack, Detected thumbnails are not stacked, which means that each image represents only one FF file.

[[File: Plots_DetectedThumbnails.png | center ]]

== Captured thumbnails ==

This image is built from a matrix of MaxPixel images from the entire night, and it includes time stamps in the upper left row. Each image is actually a MaxPixel stack of MaxPixel images, which are the result of combining 5 FF*.fits files.

The time difference between two neighboring time stamps should be 10.24 x 5 = 51.2 seconds. If this difference is higher than 51.2 seconds, your RMS system dropped frames and you should check for problems.

Because MaxPixel values are stacked, the sky sometimes is too bright, which causes images to become saturated (completely white). This result can be is a combination of moonlight and high humidity or lightning that flashed in your field of view (FOV), illuminating the clouds.

[[File: Plots_CapturedThumbnails.png | center ]]

== Radiants ==

‘’Radiants’’ are plots of meteors and active shower radiant positions. The size of the circle for a radiant depends on the meteor shower, and counts are provided for meteors associated with an active meteor shower.

A radiant association is based on single station observations, which may be wrong when combined with other stations. Usually, counts are highly accurate for a significant event or major shower activity. In the lower part of the plot, the vertical dashed red line represents the current position of the Earth relative to solar longitude and active radiants on the date of observation.

[[File: Plots_RadiantsPlot.png | center ]]

== Timestamp Intervals ==

This plot shows relative stability of frame recording throughout the course of the night.

[[File: Plots_Timestamp_Intervals.png | frameless | center | upright=2.0 ]]

== Deaveraged field sums ==

This plot shows variations between pixel value sums from each FF file throughout the night. Because these values are deaveraged, any significant event peak should be obvious in the plot.

[[File: Plots_DeaveratedFieldSums.png | center]]

== Peak field sums ==

This plot shows the sum of intensity values from all pixels in each frame, from each FF file throughout the night. Average values from these sums are plotted in black and peak values are plotted in red. As before, each significant event in the camera field of view is shown as a peak.

[[File: Plots_PeakFieldSums.png | center ]]

== Astrometry report ==

This plot shows the results of an image that was refitted during the night, with deviations from original calibration shown as yellow lines. The length of each line is 100x the distance from ideal calibration and the line orientation shows the direction of the deviation.

If there is a systemic error, lines display either as concentrically oriented or deviated in a single direction. Ideally, you want to see a lot of short lines that are oriented in multiple directions.

[[File: Plots_AstrometryReport.png | center ]]

== Calibration variation ==

In early stages of the GMN while checking astrometry, it was discovered that cameras can significantly change their orientation during the course of the night. Why this situation occurs is beyond the scope of this document, but it is important to know that this movement requires you to check the astrometry fit for each FF file that contains a detection.

The results of a recheck are shown in this plot and the time from the first FF file is color-coded. The figure shows the difference between the refitted FOV and the reference FOV center in arcminutes, usually on the X-axis. It also shows the angle of rotation between the refitted FOV and the reference FOV.

[[File: Plots_CalibrationVariation.png | center ]]

If you study this plot for your camera through the night, you may be able to identify and fix problems related to the camera mount. On average, cameras move 5 to 6 arcminutes overnight, but there are documented cases of minor movements of only 2' and much larger movements of 15' or more.

== Photometry report ==

This plot shows the photometry fit for stars extracted from an FF file of observations. Two lines represent the fit for the recent night (red) and a reference calibration (gray).

To calculate the limiting magnitude of a camera, subtract about 4 magnitudes from the photometry fit. For most 3.6mm cameras, this number is 10 or a bit more because these cameras have a limiting magnitude of about 6.

[[File: Plots_PhotometryReport.png | center ]]

== Photometric offset variation ==
Photometric offset over time

[[File: Plots_Photometric_offset.png | frameless | center | upright=2.0 ]]

== Flux total observing time ==
Graphic plot Matched vs. Predicted stars throughout the night.

[[File: Plots_Flux_total.png | frameless | center | upright=2.0 ]]

== Masked Flat ==
Flat after overlaying mask.bmp

[[File: Plots_Masked_flat.jpg | frameless | center | upright=2.0 ]]

== Observation Summary ==
Observation summary data of hardware and data recording characteristics.

[[File: Plots_ObservationSummary.png | frameless | center | upright=2.0 ]]

== Meteor Shower Flux ==
Meteor shower flux charts, if specific showers are detected.

[[File: Plots_Shower_Flux.png | center ]]

== TimeLapse video ==

This TimeLapse.mp4 video contains many images from the previous night, but not all images. This video is not valuable for scientific applications, but it is useful to check dynamic weather conditions throughout the night.

[[File: Plots_TimeLapseVideo.png | cener ]]

== Acknowledgements ==

Most of the plots and images are courtesy of Danijel Reponj, Observatory Apollo, Croatia, GMN station HR000S. His camera, Cyclops II, is a replacement for the first analog camera, which ran 24/7 for 8 years!

Installing OS onto a Raspberry Pi

2026-02-09T16:14:54Z

MetorsABQ9: /* Install the OS by flashing the image */

Ahoj! In this section, you will flash (or install if you wish) an OS Linux onto your SD card or USB flash key and boot your Raspberry Pi for the first time.

= Install the OS by flashing the image =

== Flash the image onto a microSD card or a USB flash drive ==

: '''NOTE:''' The process is the same for types of storage; only the target differs.

1. Download the '''Trixie''' image for '''Raspberry Pi 4 or Pi5''', and save it on your PC in any directory. The '''Trixie RMS''' image is [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/projects/sd_card_images/RMS_RPi5_RPi4_Trixie_20260116.img.xz here].

RMS_RPi5_RPi4_Trixie_20260116.img.xz is 2.5 GiB (2,735,084,084 bytes)
'''Checksum''': 235281AB4E8E9449BAC2D2AD107B605D

A second image option '''(only for Pi4)''' is Bullseye RMS, but this Operating System (OS) version has been placed on retired status by the Raspberry Pi organization. As a result, there may not be new OS patches or updates. The only reason to choose Bullseye for Pi4 would be that you '''require''' remote access using AnyDesk, RealVNC Server, NoMachine, or TeamViewer. The '''Bullseye RMS''' image is
[https://globalmeteornetwork.org/projects/sd_card_images/RMS_RPi4Bullseye_20260116.img.xz here].

RMS_RPi4Bullseye_10260116.img.xz is 3.0 GiB (3,223,859,108 bytes)
'''Checksum''': BD56C691A2E8EA0081CAD5218BD57D22

Both Trixie and Bullseye support '''RustDesk''' remote access with file transfer. Trixie includes '''Raspberry Pi Connect''' for remote access and file transfer but Bullseye is not able to run this software from the Raspberry Pi organization. Both images support VNC connections, providing PC and Pi are on the same local network (LAN). Only Bullseye supports file transfer using VNC.

Trixie and Bullseye RMS images offer '''Samba share''' directories ~/RMS_data and ~/shared. You can map these shares so they appear as local drives on your PC, and use these drive mappings to transfer files.

: If you encounter problems with any of the images, contact the Technical Support group at https://globalmeteornetwork.groups.io/g/techsupport.

2. Download '''Raspberry Pi Imager''' v2.0.6 (or newer) [https://www.raspberrypi.com/software/ here].

3. Start '''Raspberry Pi Imager''' and flash the RMS image
- Select your Raspberry Pi device
- Under Choose operating System, Scroll down to Custom Image, and locate the RMS image you downloaded.
- Select your storage device (the storage media you plan to use on the Pi)

'''IMPORTANT:'''
Depending on the image you are flashing, you may be asked if you want to change a few things before continuing. DO NOT change the username and password. These are embedded in the image. You can change wifi options, or change them later after you have booted the Pi.

- Choose Write image, then Expect to see this warning: "You are about to ERASE all data on: xxxxxxxxx Storage Device USB Device"
- Click on the button "I UNDERSTAND, ERASE AND WRITE"
- The write pass will be followed by a verify pass
- Finally you should see Write complete!

4. Eject the USB flash drive, then remove microSD card/USB flash drive.

If you encounter errors during flashing, you can verify the '''checksum (CRC)''' of your download to make sure it was downloaded correctly. If the checksum of the image is good and errors persist when flashing, your target storage media may be bad.

'''Balena Etcher''' and '''Rufus''' are other flashing software options for RMS images. If you have issues flashing an image and have confirmed a good checksum for your download, try using different flashing software. Balena Etcher can sometimes generate false error messages at the end of the flash operation. Raspberry Pi Imager works fine when flashing the same downloaded image.

5. Insert the microSD card/USB flash drive into your Raspberry Pi. Raspberry Pi should already be connected to a TV or monitor, a keyboard, and mouse connected.
: If a TV or monitor is not connected, refer to '''[[#Booting without a TV/Monitor|these instructions]]'''.

6. Wait for the boot.
If the boot takes too long to begin, refer to the next section. If the Pi booted successfully, follow the on-screen instructions.

== Using RMS Images for Raspberry Pi ==
Click here for information on [[ Using RMS Images for Raspberry Pi ]]

== Pre-2021 Raspberry Pi 4 bootloader update - USB flash drive ONLY ==

If you encountered a problem booting Raspberry Pi 4 from a USB device (common for all USB devices, not only flash disks), the most probable reason is that your Raspberry Pi 4 is from an older batch and you must update its bootloader.

The procedure is simple, and you need a small capacity, blank microSD card to store about 1MB of data. The process is nicely described in '''[https://www.raspberrypi.com/documentation/computers/raspberry-pi.html#updating-the-bootloader the raspberry pi official documentation]'''.

: '''NOTE:''' If you are looking for an extensive USB booting guide, click ''[https://globalmeteornetwork.org/wiki/index.php?title=Booting_from_a_USB_device here]''.

The preinstalled RMS software images incorporate an auto-update feature, which updates the RMS software to the current release whenever you boot Raspberry Pi RMS. Your station always runs the most recent set of updates!

== The first boot ==

This is how the first boot of the Trixie RMS image should look:
[[File:First_boot_Trixie.png|1500px|center]]

Now is a good time to send an email to '''denis.vida@gmail.com'''. Include a short introduction that includes your country, then tell him you are building a camera and you need a camera/station code. You use a camera/station code when you set up the RMS software, after your camera is fully installed and positioned.

After you have received your Camera/Station ID from GMN, you will need to establish a network connection on your Pi.

For typical single camera installs, the camera is connected to the Ethernet port of the Pi, and a '''wifi connection''' is used to connect the Pi to your Local Area Network (LAN). To establish a wifi connection:

- left-click on the network icon located between the Bluetooth icon and speaker icon in the upper righthand part of the task bar.
- find the wifi network you want to use and then provide the wifi network passphrase to validate your wifi connection.

If successful, the Network icon should change to an active wifi icon.

Once you have a '''Camera/Station ID''' from GMN, and know the '''Latitude, Longitude, and Elevation''' of your camera to within about a meter, you are ready to go through the setup steps in the '''RMS_FirstRun''' window on your screen. These steps include:

1. Expanding the file system (if you flashed this SD card yourself).

2. confirming your Pi is connected to the Internet.

3. Changing the default password for security reasons.

4. Generating a new SSH key.

5. Editing the RMS config file to supply your Camera/Station ID, Latitude, Longitude, and Elevation.

Once you have successfully completed the steps in RMS_FirstRun, the Terminal window will display information telling you that the system is waiting to begin capturing data for the coming night.

'''Remember to send the public SSH key to GMN, as outlined in the RMS_FirstRun instructions you saw earlier.'''

'''Welcome to GMN, you are all set to begin collecting meteor data!'''

= (Optional) Install the software from scratch =
This installation is '''only''' for knowledgeable users who want to complete more advanced tasks. If you the procedure in the previous section, '''do not continue''' with the sections that follow.
: '''NOTE:''' When you set up a Raspberry Pi, you should use the prebuilt image, which includes all necessary software installed and ready to use. If you decide to install the software on the RPi from scratch, follow the instructions on '''[https://globalmeteornetwork.org/wiki/index.php?title=Advanced_RMS_installations_and_Multi-camera_support this page]'''.

Next, you will focus your camera and assemble the bits and pieces for the first test.

'''[https://globalmeteornetwork.org/wiki/index.php?title=Build_%26_Install_%26_Setup_your_camera_-_The_complete_how-to Back to the signpost page.]'''

= Boot without a TV or monitor =
If you do not have a TV or monitor connected to the Pi when you set it up, you must use '''VNC''', a remote-access tool.

1. After you burn the microSD card, insert it into the Pi and switch on the power.
: You should see the lights on the Pi flicker for a minute or two. If the lights do not flicker, it is possible the microSD card image did not properly burn.

2. If the lights flicker as ecpected, wait at least three minutes after the lights stop flickering before you proceed.
: '''NOTE:''' There are several stages to the initial boot, so it will take a while.

3. While you wait, download '''[https://www.realvnc.com/en/connect/download/viewer/ VNC Viewer]'''.
: You do not need to create an account or subscribe, so ignore the buttons and links. After a few seconds, the download will start.

4. To connect to the Pi using VNC, you must know either its name or its IP address.
: '''NOTE:''' If you did not set the hostname when you burned the microSD card, (this is an option that may available in Raspberry Pi Imager), its name is probably ''raspberrypi''.
: To find its IP address using the manufacturer name, run '''[https://www.advanced-ip-scanner.com/ Advanced IP Scanner]'''. This tool starts with Raspberry Pifind.

5. Open '''VNC Viewer''' and enter the name or IP address into the box at the top.
: After a few seconds, you see a login dialog box.

6. The default username is '''rms''' and the initial password is '''rmsraspberry'''. Change these credentials as soon as you log in.

: Now, you should now see the Pi desktop and the '''RMS_FirstBoot''' window.

Plots Explained

2026-02-08T22:14:17Z

MetorsABQ9:

GMN plots and images explained
by Damir Šegon
There are more than 1,000 Global Meteor Network (GMN) cameras sharing the web pages, powered by GMN. The GMN Weblog features their image stacks and plots, and summarizes the previous night's Raspberry Meteor System (RMS) camera results.

The GMN weblog page is here: https://globalmeteornetwork.org/weblog/. Results also are available on the GMN status page: https://globalmeteornetwork.org/status. This document is a guide for typical RMS processing.

Some of these stacks/plots are easy to understand at a glance, while others require more explanation. For image stacks, CMNbinViewer software is a valuable tool that you can run on the Pi or PC. There are publications listed at the bottom of the main wiki page about RMS, which may help you understand how best to capture and detect events.

== Detected stack ==

A stack of detected images is an event that was recognized as a meteor. A detected image is the difference between MaxPixel and AveragePixel images, which is calculated in a procedure that helps suppress slow-moving clouds and most static noise. Fast moving clouds may show up on the detected stack as a set of ‘waves’ that form what appears to be an abstract art painting.

After the real-time analysis of images, several machine learning algorithms have been trained to reduce false detections from clouds flying creatures, such as bugs, bats, seagulls, and owls, or other flying entities, such as airplanes, drones, and satellites.

In spite of false event rejection filters some false positives may remain. Also note that if a plane or other false event occurs while a meteor is detected, both the meteor and the false detection will be captured in the same image. As a result, the note in the bottom right corner, Detected meteors, should be understood as an estimate. For stations with good astronomical viewing conditions, this number will be very close to the number of detected meteors.

[[File: Plots_Detected.png | center ]]

== Captured stack ==

In contrast to the Detected stack, a captured stack contains images from the entire night, some of which also are represented in the Detected stack.

[[File: Plots_Captured.png | center ]]

== Detected thumbnails ==

Similar to a Captured thumbnail, a ‘’Detected thumbnail’’ represents a matrix of only MaxPixel images that contain detections. Time stamps on these images specify a start point you can use to search for an interesting event. Unlike images in a Captured stack, Detected thumbnails are not stacked, which means that each image represents only one FF file.

[[File: Plots_DetectedThumbnails.png | center ]]

== Captured thumbnails ==

This image is built from a matrix of MaxPixel images from the entire night, and it includes time stamps in the upper left row. Each image is actually a MaxPixel stack of MaxPixel images, which are the result of combining 5 FF*.fits files.

The time difference between two neighboring time stamps should be 10.24 x 5 = 51.2 seconds. If this difference is higher than 51.2 seconds, your RMS system dropped frames and you should check for problems.

Because MaxPixel values are stacked, the sky sometimes is too bright, which causes images to become saturated (completely white). This result can be is a combination of moonlight and high humidity or lightning that flashed in your field of view (FOV), illuminating the clouds.

[[File: Plots_CapturedThumbnails.png | center ]]

== Radiants ==

‘’Radiants’’ are plots of meteors and active shower radiant positions. The size of the circle for a radiant depends on the meteor shower, and counts are provided for meteors associated with an active meteor shower.

A radiant association is based on single station observations, which may be wrong when combined with other stations. Usually, counts are highly accurate for a significant event or major shower activity. In the lower part of the plot, the vertical dashed red line represents the current position of the Earth relative to solar longitude and active radiants on the date of observation.

[[File: Plots_RadiantsPlot.png | center ]]

== Timestamp Intervals ==

This plot shows relative stability of frame recording throughout the course of the night.

[[File: Plots_Timestamp_Intervals.png | frameless | center | upright=2.0 ]]

== Deaveraged field sums ==

This plot shows variations between pixel value sums from each FF file throughout the night. Because these values are deaveraged, any significant event peak should be obvious in the plot.

[[File: Plots_DeaveratedFieldSums.png | center]]

== Peak field sums ==

This plot shows the sum of intensity values from all pixels in each frame, from each FF file throughout the night. Average values from these sums are plotted in black and peak values are plotted in red. As before, each significant event in the camera field of view is shown as a peak.

[[File: Plots_PeakFieldSums.png | center ]]

== Astrometry report ==

This plot shows the results of an image that was refitted during the night, with deviations from original calibration shown as yellow lines. The length of each line is 100x the distance from ideal calibration and the line orientation shows the direction of the deviation.

If there is a systemic error, lines display either as concentrically oriented or deviated in a single direction. Ideally, you want to see a lot of short lines that are oriented in multiple directions.

[[File: Plots_AstrometryReport.png | center ]]

== Calibration variation ==

In early stages of the GMN while checking astrometry, it was discovered that cameras can significantly change their orientation during the course of the night. Why this situation occurs is beyond the scope of this document, but it is important to know that this movement requires you to check the astrometry fit for each FF file that contains a detection.

The results of a recheck are shown in this plot and the time from the first FF file is color-coded. The figure shows the difference between the refitted FOV and the reference FOV center in arcminutes, usually on the X-axis. It also shows the angle of rotation between the refitted FOV and the reference FOV.

[[File: Plots_CalibrationVariation.png | center ]]

If you study this plot for your camera through the night, you may be able to identify and fix problems related to the camera mount. On average, cameras move 5 to 6 arcminutes overnight, but there are documented cases of minor movements of only 2' and much larger movements of 15' or more.

== Photometry report ==

This plot shows the photometry fit for stars extracted from an FF file of observations. Two lines represent the fit for the recent night (red) and a reference calibration (gray).

To calculate the limiting magnitude of a camera, subtract about 4 magnitudes from the photometry fit. For most 3.6mm cameras, this number is 10 or a bit more because these cameras have a limiting magnitude of about 6.

[[File: Plots_PhotometryReport.png | center ]]

== Photometric offset variation ==
Photometric offset over time

[[File: Plots_Photometric_offset.png | frameless | center | upright=2.0 ]]

== Flux total observing tim ==
Graphic plot Matched vs. Predicted stars throughout the night.

[[File: Plots_Flux_total.png | frameless | center | upright=2.0 ]]

== Masked Flat ==
Flat after overlaying mask.bmp

[[File: Plots_Masked_flat.jpg | frameless | center | upright=2.0 ]]

== Observation Summary ==
Observation summary data of hardware and data recording characteristics.

[[File: Plots_ObservationSummary.png | frameless | center | upright=2.0 ]]

== Meteor Shower Flux ==
Meteor shower flux charts, if specific showers are detected.

[[File: Plots_Shower_Flux.png | center ]]

== TimeLapse video ==

This TimeLapse.mp4 video contains many images from the previous night, but not all images. This video is not valuable for scientific applications, but it is useful to check dynamic weather conditions throughout the night.

[[File: Plots_TimeLapseVideo.png | cener ]]

== Acknowledgements ==

Most of the plots and images are courtesy of Danijel Reponj, Observatory Apollo, Croatia, GMN station HR000S. His camera, Cyclops II, is a replacement for the first analog camera, which ran 24/7 for 8 years!

Plots Explained

2026-02-01T22:16:26Z

MetorsABQ9: /* Acknowledgements */

GMN plots and images explained
by Damir Šegon
There are more than 1,000 Global Meteor Network (GMN) cameras sharing the web pages, powered by GMN. The GMN Weblog features their image stacks and plots, and summarizes the previous night's Raspberry Meteor System (RMS) camera results.

The GMN weblog page is here: https://globalmeteornetwork.org/weblog/. Results also are available on the GMN status page: https://globalmeteornetwork.org/status. This document is a guide for typical RMS processing.

Some of these stacks/plots are easy to understand at a glance, while others require more explanation. For image stacks, CMNbinViewer software is a valuable tool that you can run on the Pi or PC. There are publications listed at the bottom of the main wiki page about RMS, which may help you understand how best to capture and detect events.

== Detected stack ==

A stack of detected images is an event that was recognized as a meteor. A detected image is the difference between MaxPixel and AveragePixel images, which is calculated in a procedure that helps suppress slow-moving clouds and most static noise. Fast moving clouds may show up on the detected stack as a set of ‘waves’ that form what appears to be an abstract art painting.

After the real-time analysis of images, several machine learning algorithms have been trained to reduce false detections from clouds flying creatures, such as bugs, bats, seagulls, and owls, or other flying entities, such as airplanes, drones, and satellites.

In spite of false event rejection filters some false positives may remain. Also note that if a plane or other false event occurs while a meteor is detected, both the meteor and the false detection will be captured in the same image. As a result, the note in the bottom right corner, Detected meteors, should be understood as an estimate. For stations with good astronomical viewing conditions, this number will be very close to the number of detected meteors.

[[File: Plots_Detected.png | Detected.png ]]

== Captured stack ==

In contrast to the Detected stack, a captured stack contains images from the entire night, some of which also are represented in the Detected stack.

[[File: Plots_Captured.png | Captured.png ]]

== Detected thumbnails ==

Similar to a Captured thumbnail, a ‘’Detected thumbnail’’ represents a matrix of only MaxPixel images that contain detections. Time stamps on these images specify a start point you can use to search for an interesting event. Unlike images in a Captured stack, Detected thumbnails are not stacked, which means that each image represents only one FF file.

[[File: Plots_DetectedThumbnails.png | DetectedThumbnails.png ]]

== Captured thumbnails ==

This image is built from a matrix of MaxPixel images from the entire night, and it includes time stamps in the upper left row. Each image is actually a MaxPixel stack of MaxPixel images, which are the result of combining 5 FF*.fits files.

The time difference between two neighboring time stamps should be 10.24 x 5 = 51.2 seconds. If this difference is higher than 51.2 seconds, your RMS system dropped frames and you should check for problems.

Because MaxPixel values are stacked, the sky sometimes is too bright, which causes images to become saturated (completely white). This result can be is a combination of moonlight and high humidity or lightning that flashed in your field of view (FOV), illuminating the clouds.

[[File: Plots_CapturedThumbnails.png | CapturedThumbnails.png ]]

== Radiants ==

‘’Radiants’’ are plots of meteors and active shower radiant positions. The size of the circle for a radiant depends on the meteor shower, and counts are provided for meteors associated with an active meteor shower.

A radiant association is based on single station observations, which may be wrong when combined with other stations. Usually, counts are highly accurate for a significant event or major shower activity. In the lower part of the plot, the vertical dashed red line represents the current position of the Earth relative to solar longitude and active radiants on the date of observation.

[[File: Plots_RadiantsPlot.png | RadiantsPlot.png ]]

== Timestamp Intervals ==

This plot shows relative stability of frame recording throughout the course of the night.

[[File: Plots_Timestamp_Intervals.png | Timestamp_Intervals.png ]]

== Deaveraged field sums ==

This plot shows variations between pixel value sums from each FF file throughout the night. Because these values are deaveraged, any significant event peak should be obvious in the plot.

[[File: Plots_DeaveratedFieldSums.png | DeaveratedFieldSums.png ]]

== Peak field sums ==

This plot shows the sum of intensity values from all pixels in each frame, from each FF file throughout the night. Average values from these sums are plotted in black and peak values are plotted in red. As before, each significant event in the camera field of view is shown as a peak.

[[File: Plots_PeakFieldSums.png | PeakFieldSums.png ]]

== Astrometry report ==

This plot shows the results of an image that was refitted during the night, with deviations from original calibration shown as yellow lines. The length of each line is 100x the distance from ideal calibration and the line orientation shows the direction of the deviation.

If there is a systemic error, lines display either as concentrically oriented or deviated in a single direction. Ideally, you want to see a lot of short lines that are oriented in multiple directions.

[[File: Plots_AstrometryReport.png | AstrometryReport.png ]]

== Calibration variation ==

In early stages of the GMN while checking astrometry, it was discovered that cameras can significantly change their orientation during the course of the night. Why this situation occurs is beyond the scope of this document, but it is important to know that this movement requires you to check the astrometry fit for each FF file that contains a detection.

The results of a recheck are shown in this plot and the time from the first FF file is color-coded. The figure shows the difference between the refitted FOV and the reference FOV center in arcminutes, usually on the X-axis. It also shows the angle of rotation between the refitted FOV and the reference FOV.

[[File: Plots_CalibrationVariation.png | CalibrationVariation.png ]]

If you study this plot for your camera through the night, you may be able to identify and fix problems related to the camera mount. On average, cameras move 5 to 6 arcminutes overnight, but there are documented cases of minor movements of only 2' and much larger movements of 15' or more.

== Photometry report ==

This plot shows the photometry fit for stars extracted from an FF file of observations. Two lines represent the fit for the recent night (red) and a reference calibration (gray).

To calculate the limiting magnitude of a camera, subtract about 4 magnitudes from the photometry fit. For most 3.6mm cameras, this number is 10 or a bit more because these cameras have a limiting magnitude of about 6.

[[File: Plots_PhotometryReport.png | PhotometryReport.png ]]

== Photometric offset variation ==
Photometric offset over time

[[File: Plots_Photometric_offset.png |Photometric_offset.png ]]

== Flux total observing tim ==
Graphic plot Matched vs. Predicted stars throughout the night.

[[File: Plots_Flux_total.png | Flux_total.png ]]

== Masked Flat ==
Flat after overlaying mask.bmp

[[File: Plots_Masked_flat.jpg | Masked_flat.jpg ]]

== Observation Summary ==
Observation summary data of hardware and data recording characteristics.

[[File: Plots_ObservationSummary.png | ObservationSummary.png ]]

== Meteor Shower Flux ==
Meteor shower flux charts, if specific showers are detected.

[[File: Plots_Shower_Flux.png | Shower_Flux.png ]]

== TimeLapse video ==

This TimeLapse.mp4 video contains many images from the previous night, but not all images. This video is not valuable for scientific applications, but it is useful to check dynamic weather conditions throughout the night.

[[File: Plots_TimeLapseVideo.png | TimeLapseVideo.png ]]

== Acknowledgements ==

Most of the plots and images are courtesy of Danijel Reponj, Observatory Apollo, Croatia, GMN station HR000S. His camera, Cyclops II, is a replacement for the first analog camera, which ran 24/7 for 8 years!

Plots Explained

2026-02-01T22:15:16Z

MetorsABQ9: /* Observation Summary */

GMN plots and images explained
by Damir Šegon
There are more than 1,000 Global Meteor Network (GMN) cameras sharing the web pages, powered by GMN. The GMN Weblog features their image stacks and plots, and summarizes the previous night's Raspberry Meteor System (RMS) camera results.

The GMN weblog page is here: https://globalmeteornetwork.org/weblog/. Results also are available on the GMN status page: https://globalmeteornetwork.org/status. This document is a guide for typical RMS processing.

Some of these stacks/plots are easy to understand at a glance, while others require more explanation. For image stacks, CMNbinViewer software is a valuable tool that you can run on the Pi or PC. There are publications listed at the bottom of the main wiki page about RMS, which may help you understand how best to capture and detect events.

== Detected stack ==

A stack of detected images is an event that was recognized as a meteor. A detected image is the difference between MaxPixel and AveragePixel images, which is calculated in a procedure that helps suppress slow-moving clouds and most static noise. Fast moving clouds may show up on the detected stack as a set of ‘waves’ that form what appears to be an abstract art painting.

After the real-time analysis of images, several machine learning algorithms have been trained to reduce false detections from clouds flying creatures, such as bugs, bats, seagulls, and owls, or other flying entities, such as airplanes, drones, and satellites.

In spite of false event rejection filters some false positives may remain. Also note that if a plane or other false event occurs while a meteor is detected, both the meteor and the false detection will be captured in the same image. As a result, the note in the bottom right corner, Detected meteors, should be understood as an estimate. For stations with good astronomical viewing conditions, this number will be very close to the number of detected meteors.

[[File: Plots_Detected.png | Detected.png ]]

== Captured stack ==

In contrast to the Detected stack, a captured stack contains images from the entire night, some of which also are represented in the Detected stack.

[[File: Plots_Captured.png | Captured.png ]]

== Detected thumbnails ==

Similar to a Captured thumbnail, a ‘’Detected thumbnail’’ represents a matrix of only MaxPixel images that contain detections. Time stamps on these images specify a start point you can use to search for an interesting event. Unlike images in a Captured stack, Detected thumbnails are not stacked, which means that each image represents only one FF file.

[[File: Plots_DetectedThumbnails.png | DetectedThumbnails.png ]]

== Captured thumbnails ==

This image is built from a matrix of MaxPixel images from the entire night, and it includes time stamps in the upper left row. Each image is actually a MaxPixel stack of MaxPixel images, which are the result of combining 5 FF*.fits files.

The time difference between two neighboring time stamps should be 10.24 x 5 = 51.2 seconds. If this difference is higher than 51.2 seconds, your RMS system dropped frames and you should check for problems.

Because MaxPixel values are stacked, the sky sometimes is too bright, which causes images to become saturated (completely white). This result can be is a combination of moonlight and high humidity or lightning that flashed in your field of view (FOV), illuminating the clouds.

[[File: Plots_CapturedThumbnails.png | CapturedThumbnails.png ]]

== Radiants ==

‘’Radiants’’ are plots of meteors and active shower radiant positions. The size of the circle for a radiant depends on the meteor shower, and counts are provided for meteors associated with an active meteor shower.

A radiant association is based on single station observations, which may be wrong when combined with other stations. Usually, counts are highly accurate for a significant event or major shower activity. In the lower part of the plot, the vertical dashed red line represents the current position of the Earth relative to solar longitude and active radiants on the date of observation.

[[File: Plots_RadiantsPlot.png | RadiantsPlot.png ]]

== Timestamp Intervals ==

This plot shows relative stability of frame recording throughout the course of the night.

[[File: Plots_Timestamp_Intervals.png | Timestamp_Intervals.png ]]

== Deaveraged field sums ==

This plot shows variations between pixel value sums from each FF file throughout the night. Because these values are deaveraged, any significant event peak should be obvious in the plot.

[[File: Plots_DeaveratedFieldSums.png | DeaveratedFieldSums.png ]]

== Peak field sums ==

This plot shows the sum of intensity values from all pixels in each frame, from each FF file throughout the night. Average values from these sums are plotted in black and peak values are plotted in red. As before, each significant event in the camera field of view is shown as a peak.

[[File: Plots_PeakFieldSums.png | PeakFieldSums.png ]]

== Astrometry report ==

This plot shows the results of an image that was refitted during the night, with deviations from original calibration shown as yellow lines. The length of each line is 100x the distance from ideal calibration and the line orientation shows the direction of the deviation.

If there is a systemic error, lines display either as concentrically oriented or deviated in a single direction. Ideally, you want to see a lot of short lines that are oriented in multiple directions.

[[File: Plots_AstrometryReport.png | AstrometryReport.png ]]

== Calibration variation ==

In early stages of the GMN while checking astrometry, it was discovered that cameras can significantly change their orientation during the course of the night. Why this situation occurs is beyond the scope of this document, but it is important to know that this movement requires you to check the astrometry fit for each FF file that contains a detection.

The results of a recheck are shown in this plot and the time from the first FF file is color-coded. The figure shows the difference between the refitted FOV and the reference FOV center in arcminutes, usually on the X-axis. It also shows the angle of rotation between the refitted FOV and the reference FOV.

[[File: Plots_CalibrationVariation.png | CalibrationVariation.png ]]

If you study this plot for your camera through the night, you may be able to identify and fix problems related to the camera mount. On average, cameras move 5 to 6 arcminutes overnight, but there are documented cases of minor movements of only 2' and much larger movements of 15' or more.

== Photometry report ==

This plot shows the photometry fit for stars extracted from an FF file of observations. Two lines represent the fit for the recent night (red) and a reference calibration (gray).

To calculate the limiting magnitude of a camera, subtract about 4 magnitudes from the photometry fit. For most 3.6mm cameras, this number is 10 or a bit more because these cameras have a limiting magnitude of about 6.

[[File: Plots_PhotometryReport.png | PhotometryReport.png ]]

== Photometric offset variation ==
Photometric offset over time

[[File: Plots_Photometric_offset.png |Photometric_offset.png ]]

== Flux total observing tim ==
Graphic plot Matched vs. Predicted stars throughout the night.

[[File: Plots_Flux_total.png | Flux_total.png ]]

== Masked Flat ==
Flat after overlaying mask.bmp

[[File: Plots_Masked_flat.jpg | Masked_flat.jpg ]]

== Observation Summary ==
Observation summary data of hardware and data recording characteristics.

[[File: Plots_ObservationSummary.png | ObservationSummary.png ]]

== Meteor Shower Flux ==
Meteor shower flux charts, if specific showers are detected.

[[File: Plots_Shower_Flux.png | Shower_Flux.png ]]

== TimeLapse video ==

This TimeLapse.mp4 video contains many images from the previous night, but not all images. This video is not valuable for scientific applications, but it is useful to check dynamic weather conditions throughout the night.

[[File: Plots_TimeLapseVideo.png | TimeLapseVideo.png ]]

== Acknowledgements ==

Plots and images in this document are courtesy of Danijel Reponj, Observatory Apollo, Croatia, GMN station HR000S. His camera, Cyclops II, is a replacement for the first analog camera, which ran 24/7 for 8 years!

File:Plots ObservationSummary.png

2026-02-01T22:14:41Z

MetorsABQ9:

Plots Explained

2026-02-01T22:13:49Z

MetorsABQ9: /* Masked Flat */

GMN plots and images explained
by Damir Šegon
There are more than 1,000 Global Meteor Network (GMN) cameras sharing the web pages, powered by GMN. The GMN Weblog features their image stacks and plots, and summarizes the previous night's Raspberry Meteor System (RMS) camera results.

The GMN weblog page is here: https://globalmeteornetwork.org/weblog/. Results also are available on the GMN status page: https://globalmeteornetwork.org/status. This document is a guide for typical RMS processing.

Some of these stacks/plots are easy to understand at a glance, while others require more explanation. For image stacks, CMNbinViewer software is a valuable tool that you can run on the Pi or PC. There are publications listed at the bottom of the main wiki page about RMS, which may help you understand how best to capture and detect events.

== Detected stack ==

A stack of detected images is an event that was recognized as a meteor. A detected image is the difference between MaxPixel and AveragePixel images, which is calculated in a procedure that helps suppress slow-moving clouds and most static noise. Fast moving clouds may show up on the detected stack as a set of ‘waves’ that form what appears to be an abstract art painting.

After the real-time analysis of images, several machine learning algorithms have been trained to reduce false detections from clouds flying creatures, such as bugs, bats, seagulls, and owls, or other flying entities, such as airplanes, drones, and satellites.

In spite of false event rejection filters some false positives may remain. Also note that if a plane or other false event occurs while a meteor is detected, both the meteor and the false detection will be captured in the same image. As a result, the note in the bottom right corner, Detected meteors, should be understood as an estimate. For stations with good astronomical viewing conditions, this number will be very close to the number of detected meteors.

[[File: Plots_Detected.png | Detected.png ]]

== Captured stack ==

In contrast to the Detected stack, a captured stack contains images from the entire night, some of which also are represented in the Detected stack.

[[File: Plots_Captured.png | Captured.png ]]

== Detected thumbnails ==

Similar to a Captured thumbnail, a ‘’Detected thumbnail’’ represents a matrix of only MaxPixel images that contain detections. Time stamps on these images specify a start point you can use to search for an interesting event. Unlike images in a Captured stack, Detected thumbnails are not stacked, which means that each image represents only one FF file.

[[File: Plots_DetectedThumbnails.png | DetectedThumbnails.png ]]

== Captured thumbnails ==

This image is built from a matrix of MaxPixel images from the entire night, and it includes time stamps in the upper left row. Each image is actually a MaxPixel stack of MaxPixel images, which are the result of combining 5 FF*.fits files.

The time difference between two neighboring time stamps should be 10.24 x 5 = 51.2 seconds. If this difference is higher than 51.2 seconds, your RMS system dropped frames and you should check for problems.

Because MaxPixel values are stacked, the sky sometimes is too bright, which causes images to become saturated (completely white). This result can be is a combination of moonlight and high humidity or lightning that flashed in your field of view (FOV), illuminating the clouds.

[[File: Plots_CapturedThumbnails.png | CapturedThumbnails.png ]]

== Radiants ==

‘’Radiants’’ are plots of meteors and active shower radiant positions. The size of the circle for a radiant depends on the meteor shower, and counts are provided for meteors associated with an active meteor shower.

A radiant association is based on single station observations, which may be wrong when combined with other stations. Usually, counts are highly accurate for a significant event or major shower activity. In the lower part of the plot, the vertical dashed red line represents the current position of the Earth relative to solar longitude and active radiants on the date of observation.

[[File: Plots_RadiantsPlot.png | RadiantsPlot.png ]]

== Timestamp Intervals ==

This plot shows relative stability of frame recording throughout the course of the night.

[[File: Plots_Timestamp_Intervals.png | Timestamp_Intervals.png ]]

== Deaveraged field sums ==

This plot shows variations between pixel value sums from each FF file throughout the night. Because these values are deaveraged, any significant event peak should be obvious in the plot.

[[File: Plots_DeaveratedFieldSums.png | DeaveratedFieldSums.png ]]

== Peak field sums ==

This plot shows the sum of intensity values from all pixels in each frame, from each FF file throughout the night. Average values from these sums are plotted in black and peak values are plotted in red. As before, each significant event in the camera field of view is shown as a peak.

[[File: Plots_PeakFieldSums.png | PeakFieldSums.png ]]

== Astrometry report ==

This plot shows the results of an image that was refitted during the night, with deviations from original calibration shown as yellow lines. The length of each line is 100x the distance from ideal calibration and the line orientation shows the direction of the deviation.

If there is a systemic error, lines display either as concentrically oriented or deviated in a single direction. Ideally, you want to see a lot of short lines that are oriented in multiple directions.

[[File: Plots_AstrometryReport.png | AstrometryReport.png ]]

== Calibration variation ==

In early stages of the GMN while checking astrometry, it was discovered that cameras can significantly change their orientation during the course of the night. Why this situation occurs is beyond the scope of this document, but it is important to know that this movement requires you to check the astrometry fit for each FF file that contains a detection.

The results of a recheck are shown in this plot and the time from the first FF file is color-coded. The figure shows the difference between the refitted FOV and the reference FOV center in arcminutes, usually on the X-axis. It also shows the angle of rotation between the refitted FOV and the reference FOV.

[[File: Plots_CalibrationVariation.png | CalibrationVariation.png ]]

If you study this plot for your camera through the night, you may be able to identify and fix problems related to the camera mount. On average, cameras move 5 to 6 arcminutes overnight, but there are documented cases of minor movements of only 2' and much larger movements of 15' or more.

== Photometry report ==

This plot shows the photometry fit for stars extracted from an FF file of observations. Two lines represent the fit for the recent night (red) and a reference calibration (gray).

To calculate the limiting magnitude of a camera, subtract about 4 magnitudes from the photometry fit. For most 3.6mm cameras, this number is 10 or a bit more because these cameras have a limiting magnitude of about 6.

[[File: Plots_PhotometryReport.png | PhotometryReport.png ]]

== Photometric offset variation ==
Photometric offset over time

[[File: Plots_Photometric_offset.png |Photometric_offset.png ]]

== Flux total observing tim ==
Graphic plot Matched vs. Predicted stars throughout the night.

[[File: Plots_Flux_total.png | Flux_total.png ]]

== Masked Flat ==
Flat after overlaying mask.bmp

[[File: Plots_Masked_flat.jpg | Masked_flat.jpg ]]

== Observation Summary ==
Observation summary data of hardware and data recording characteristics.

[[File: Plots_Observation_Summary.png | Observation_Summary.png ]]

== Meteor Shower Flux ==
Meteor shower flux charts, if specific showers are detected.

[[File: Plots_Shower_Flux.png | Shower_Flux.png ]]

== TimeLapse video ==

This TimeLapse.mp4 video contains many images from the previous night, but not all images. This video is not valuable for scientific applications, but it is useful to check dynamic weather conditions throughout the night.

[[File: Plots_TimeLapseVideo.png | TimeLapseVideo.png ]]

== Acknowledgements ==

Plots and images in this document are courtesy of Danijel Reponj, Observatory Apollo, Croatia, GMN station HR000S. His camera, Cyclops II, is a replacement for the first analog camera, which ran 24/7 for 8 years!

File:Plots Masked flat.jpg

2026-02-01T22:13:01Z

MetorsABQ9: Referenced in "Plots Explanation"

== Summary ==
Referenced in "Plots Explanation"

File:Plots Flux total.png

2026-02-01T22:12:15Z

MetorsABQ9: Referenced in "Plots Explanation"

== Summary ==
Referenced in "Plots Explanation"

File:Plots Photometric offset.png

2026-02-01T22:11:25Z

MetorsABQ9: Referenced in "Plots Explanation"

== Summary ==
Referenced in "Plots Explanation"

File:Plots Timestamp Intervals.png

2026-02-01T22:09:23Z

MetorsABQ9: Referenced in "Plots Explanation"

== Summary ==
Referenced in "Plots Explanation"

File:Plots ff Intervals.png

2026-02-01T22:03:23Z

MetorsABQ9: Referenced in "Plots Explanation"

== Summary ==
Referenced in "Plots Explanation"

Main Page

2026-02-01T16:31:42Z

MetorsABQ9:

Welcome to the Global Meteor Network wiki page!

The Global Meteor Network (GMN) is a world-wide organization of amateur and professional astronomers. The goal is to observe the night sky using low-light video cameras and produce meteor trajectories in a coordinated network of recording stations. Here, you can find information about the purpose and structure of the GMN, and how to assemble and operate your own meteor camera. You also will discover how to contribute to the development of RMS (the GMN software) and how your observations as a citizen scientist contribute to the ongoing understanding of our solar system's formation and evolution.

'''If you are here to find out how to build and set up a camera from scratch, jump ahead to [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/wiki/index.php?title=Build_%26_Install_%26_Setup_your_camera_-_The_complete_how-to this] section!'''

'''For German speakers, there is "Build camera from scratch" documentation written by students of [https://fsg-preetz.de/ Friedrich-Schiller-Gymnasium in Preetz] available [http://wiki.linux-astronomie.de/doku.php?id=ceres here]. This version is maintained by Friedrich-Schiller-Gymnasium in Preetz. '''

== Global Meteor Network overview ==

=== [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/?page_id=141 Our mission] ===

=== [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/?p=363 A brief history of the Global Meteor Network] ===

=== [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAGq-XqD5Po Video introduction - Overview of the Global Meteor Network (IMC2020)] ===

=== [https://youtu.be/oM7lfQ4nmyw Video overview - Meteor tracking and the GMN from Astro Imaging Channel presentation] ===

=== [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/data/ Some 'live' GMN data products] ===

== Meteor detection station ==

What is an RMS GMN station? An RMS-based GMN station consists of a Raspberry Pi (RPi) single board computer, a low light level security video camera, the RMS software, and a connection to the Internet via Wifi. The camera is securely mounted in a weatherproof housing, pointed at the sky, and connected to the RPi with a Power Over Ethernet (POE) cable. To be a part of the GMN network, you need a fairly powerful Raspberry Pi (Pi 4, 5, or better) and a reasonably fast Internet connection. The internet connection is required only for data upload to a central server each morning and to provide automatic updates for the RMS software.

Nightly, the RPi records video from the camera shortly after local sunset, then continuously compressing and storing the video data on a local SSD drive. Each morning before sunrise, when capture is complete, the RPi analyzes the video and extracts meteor observations from the previous night. These extracted video clips of detected meteors are archived and then uploaded to a server. On a 'busy' night, the clips can total hundreds of megabytes as a result of a heavy meteor shower or a night with a lot of false detections.
: '''NOTE:''' Continuous progress is being made on the detection software to filter out false detections.

The server finds meteors that were observed from more than one station, which allows the server to triangulate meteor trails in 3D and calculate the orbits of the meteors.

=== What do I need? ===

You need a Raspberry Pi computer, RMS software, and a camera kit.
: '''NOTE:''' We strongly recommend the Pi 4 or 5 model.
The software can run on a Pi3, but it is much slower and it is no longer supported. A list with everything you need is available here: [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/wiki/index.php?title=Shopping_list_and_tools_needed page].

You can run multiple cameras on a Linux PC, and details are available '''[https://docs.google.com/document/d/16PSFi8RAqbenPdluhulCRaIenOkEzgs5piUhkX3yaOc/edit here]'''.

=== How do I obtain a camera? ===
There are two options - buy a camera or build a camera.

==== Buy a Camera ====
You can buy a camera and prebuilt Pi, and ready to install. Cameras are available from several suppliers, as well as the Croatian Meteor Network, as explained here: [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/?page_id=136 this page].
If you are in the UK, you can contact the UK Meteor network for advice. [https://ukmeteornetwork.org/ UK Meteor Network].
: '''NOTE:''' As of 2024, UK Meteor network can no longer sell cameras directly.

==== Build your own from scratch ====
This option requires an intermediate level of DIY skills and familiarity with the Raspberry Pi, but do not be put off. The instructions are comprehensive and, if you get stuck, you can ask for advice in the forum here: '''[https://groups.io/g/globalmeteornetwork groups.io]''' forum.

You can find out more about this option here: '''[[Build & Install & Setup your camera - The complete how-to]]'''.

=== Advanced RMS installations and multi-camera support ===
If you would like to explore advanced RMS installation options for various platforms or run multiple cameras on a single Linux computer, complete information is available on '''[https://globalmeteornetwork.org/wiki/index.php?title=Advanced_RMS_installations_and_Multi-camera_support this page]'''.

If you plan to run RMS software on the Raspberry Pi 4 or 5, the best supported and easiest solution is our prepared image. Complete information is available in an '''[https://globalmeteornetwork.org/wiki/index.php?title=Build_%26_Install_%26_Setup_your_camera_-_The_complete_how-to extensive guide]'''.

If you want to run single or multiple cameras on the Raspberry Pi 5, please see
'''[https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/lkq0731w8ba8oomux32m2/Read_Me_Pi5.pdf?rlkey=6k3plpgco8v1lodrkov5l5nf9&st=gvap3tyq&dl=1 Read_Me_Pi5.pdf]''',
and for more detailed documentation
'''[https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/wg0uhvyhtqidbvq3ieusv/MultiCam-on-Pi5.pdf?rlkey=g04zxck1c97wgrjcnra3lumos&dl=1 MultiCam on Pi5.pdf]'''.

=== Can I use a commercial all-sky camera? ===

Generally, this is not a good idea because these cameras lack sufficient sensitivity. More information is available here: '''[https://globalmeteornetwork.org/?p=163 See this recent experiment]'''.

== Operate and maintain your GMN station ==

=== Overview ===

: '''NOTE:''' GMS is a nascent operation, so you may share some of our growing pains if you choose to be involved. We are constantly solving bugs and making improvements, which is an opportunity for you to help if you have programming skills! The workload of day-to-day operation can be non-zero, and may require some of your time.

Ideally, you should monitor your RMS Pi systems daily to identify freezes, glitches, or other problems. For example, you may see birds nesting or soiling the camera window, someone may unintentionally unplug the power cord, or animals (mice, cats, or dogs) may chew on the camera Ethernet cable. Although we make constant progress, the GMS network is not yet a 'power up and forget about it' system.

By its nature, the GMS network is staffed by lots of people who are willing to help newcomers get started. Here are some suggestions for daily operation of your RMS camera.

=== What does the meteor camera do over the course of 24 hours? ===

The RMS python-based system calculates the sundown to sunrise interval, and schedules video camera capture all night. Based on the video camera and capabilities of the Pi, the camera captures at least 25 frames per second between evening and morning twilight. During each nightly continuous image capture, the station processes captured image data and identifies frames that contain a minimum number of stars (usually around 20) that are worth reviewing for meteor detections. When data capture is complete, the station begins processing all frames it flagged with possible detections, then refines the astrometric accuracy of every positive detection. Using the station plate parameters (platepar) calibration file, processing iterates to find the best astrometry and photometry solution for each detected meteor. After this process analyzes each detection, summary files are created.

The summary files include many types of information.
* Text file data presentation in several widely accepted formats (such as ''CAMS'' and ''UFOorbit'').
* Graphic plots of detection frequencies throughout the night.
* Plot of all detections, showing any identified radiants.
* Plots of photometry, astrometry, and camera pointing drift in arc minutes throughout the course of the night as the mount or building flexes.
* Thumbnail images of detections.
* Thumbnail images of data captured throughout the night.
* Single image with all detections stacked together.
* Single image with all captured images stacked together.
* Flat file for correcting images.
* An ''.mp4'' movie time lapse of the night's captured images.
* Meteor shower flux charts, if specific showers are detected.
* Observation summary data of hardware and data recording characteristics.

'''Detailed information about plots is available [[ Plots Explained | here ]]'''

When you click a meteor track, its data displays in the lower data window. Ultimately, all results are combined into a single compressed archive that automatically uploads each morning to the central server.

Each morning, you can review the result files on the RPi and copy anything you want to your computer or tablet.

===Archive data ===

Your primary scientific data is automatically uploaded to the central server every morning after data processing is complete.
: '''NOTE:''' When the night's results are uploaded, RMS purges the oldest data to free up space for the next night's run. As a result, you may want to copy some of the data to a PC, NAS, or the cloud for further analysis.
: You should consider backing up the content of '''~/RMS_data/ArchivedFiles''', which holds individual files and data that RMS determined were probably meteors.

Details about backing up data is beyond the scope of the GMN Wiki. Tools such as Robocopy for Windows and rsync for Linux/MacOS are ideal, and they can 'mirror' data across a network. Help to configure these tools is available in the '''Globalmeteornetwork''' group on '''groups.io'''.

In addition, we added some automated tools that can help you back up data to a thumb drive inserted into the RPi. Assistance about these tools also is available in the '''Globalmeteornetwork''' group on '''groups.io'''.

===Backup and restore the configuration and RSA keys===

:'''NOTE:''' If you are on an older Buster image, you must replace username ''rms'' with username ''pi''. For example, enter ''/home/pi'' instead of ''/home/rms''.

To determine which username to use, run
::''ls /home/rms home/pi''
to display the username that is your home directory.

'''Back up the configuration'''

1. Open a terminal and run the command ''Scripts/RMS_Backup.sh''.

: A compressed ''.zip'' file, with all important configuration files and keys, is created in your user home directory with the prefix ''RMS_Backup'' and the ''.zip'' extension.
: For example, ''/home/rms/RMS_Backup_XX0001_2023-01-28.zip''.

2. Copy the ''.zip'' file to a safe place outside RPi.

: Later, it will be useful to restore the system in case of failure. The ''.zip'' file contains the RSA public and private keys used to contact GMN servers, so keep it secret.

'''Restore the configuration'''

1. Unzip the backup file in any folder on the RPi.

2. Copy the files ''.config'', ''platepar_cmn2010.cal'', and ''mask.bmp'' to the folder ''/home/rms/source/RMS/''.

3. Copy the files ''id_rsa'' and ''id_rsa.pub'' to the folder ''/home/rms/.ssh/'', as shown in this example:

: ''cp .config platepar_cmn2010.cal mask.bmp /home/rms/source/RMS/''
: ''cp id_rsa id_rsa.pub /home/rms/.ssh/''

4. To make sure that permission bits in the RSA key files are correct, enter:

: ''chmod 400 ~/.ssh/id_rsa*''

=== View the data ===

To view data, you can use '''CMN_binViewer''' software [https://github.com/CroatianMeteorNetwork/cmn_binviewer], which is included in the RMS SD image.
: '''NOTE:''' There also is a Windows version [https://github.com/CroatianMeteorNetwork/cmn_binviewer/releases] you can install.

: '''IMPORTANT:''' You can open images in astronomical FITS viewers, such as '''FITS Liberator''' or '''Pixinsight''', but what you see may be surprising. For example, in '''FITS Liberator''', the image is upside down, which is an artefact of how the software reads the image.

In space, there is no 'up' or 'down', so the FITS specification does not dictate if pixel (0,0) is at a specific corner. Some software, notably '''FITS Liberator''', specifies the top left corner as the origin location, which causes terrestrial images to display vertically mirrored.

=== GMN Plots and Images Explained ===

'''[https://IstraStream.com IstraStream.com]''' was an independent hosting site primarily intended for cameras sold by IstraStream. In mid-2023, Istrastream stopped listing camera image output and the IstraStream data display was replaced with the '''[https://globalmeteornetwork.org/weblog/ GMN weblog]'''.

The GMN weblog is a quick way to review the status of cameras in your area. The section '''[[ Plots Explained | GMN Plots and Images ]]''' was originally written as a guide to understanding the IstraStream data display.

=== Using RMS Images for Raspberry Pi ===
Please see this section for information on [[ Using RMS Images for Raspberry Pi ]]

=== Tools and utilities ===

There are many tools available.

* '''[https://www.realvnc.com/en/connect/download/viewer/ RealVNC]''', '''[https://www.nomachine.com/ NoMachine]''', '''[https://anydesk.com/en AnyDesk]''', or '''[https://rustdesk.com/ RustDesk]''' remote connect tools provide station access from anywhere. Access to your station from outside your network is enabled by an OpenVPN connection address that is available to meteor stations.
: With '''VNC''' and '''Teamviewer''', you can create an account and team on their websites, and then remotely access your station.
* '''Samba''' data directory access allows you to copy data results directly from your RPi to your computer or tablet.
* '''[https://github.com/CroatianMeteorNetwork/cmn_binviewer CMN_binViewer]''' allows you to view standard FITS image files that contain meteor detections. It runs on the RPi, and it can run under Windows.
* '''[https://sonotaco.com/soft/e_index.html UFO Orbit]''' allows you to process data from multiple stations, and generate unified radiants of two or more stations that see the same meteor. '''[https://sonotaco.com/soft/e_index.html UFO Orbit]''' can plot the shared object ground path and orbital characteristics, and it can output a summary file of all objects seen by more than one station.
* RMS software can be installed under Windows to allow much of the RMS python-based code to run on your computer. This means you can run RMS against meteor station data that was transferred to your computer from the RPi.

You also can run RMS python jobs on the RPi to sample captured image files, and then condense them into an ''.mp4'' video. Sometimes, these videos are mesmerizing summaries that can run for more than two minutes of winter time data.

== What can I do with my GMN station? ==

=== Use SkyFit2 for astrometric and photometric calibration + Manually reduce observations of fireballs and compute their trajectories ===
* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ao3J9Jf0iLQ Updated 2023 video tutorial]'''
* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOjb3qxDlX4 Old 2021 video tutorial]'''

=== [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/fov3d/ Generate a Google Earth KML file to show your station's field of view] ===

=== [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/?p=253 Use the UFO Orbit program to estimate meteor trajectories] ===

=== [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/?p=221 Urban meteor observing] ===

== Data analysis with SkyFit2 ==

'''SkyFit2''', a program in the RMS library, allows you to analyze optical meteor data in most of the optical formats in current use. The program supports popular video formats (''.mp4'', ''.avi'', and ''.mkv''), sequences of static images, and single images with shutter breaks.

A '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ao3J9Jf0iLQ video tutorial]''' explains how to useg '''SkyFit2''' to run astrometric and photometric calibrations on GMN data, and it can manually reduce observations of fireballs and compute their trajectories.

A more detailed description of '''SkyFit2''' is available on the '''[[SkyFit2|SkyFit2]]''' page.

== FAQ ==

=== What should I back up when I re-flash an SD card or a USB disk? ===

You should backup the ''.config'', platepar, and mask files that are in the RMS source directory, plus the entire content of the hidden directory ''/home/pi/.ssh''. Refer to the section titled, '''Back up the configuration'''.

If your SD card or USB disk fails or becomes corrupted, you can fetch the config files from the server because they are uploaded every day, together with the data.
: '''NOTE:''' The content of ''.ssh'' is essential for connection to the server, so you also must save these files.

After you set up a new SD card or USB disk, return the files to their original location.

=== What are the values in the ''FTPdetectinfo_*'' file designated as hnr mle bin Pix/fm Rho Phi? ===

Some of these values (hnr mle bin) are not used in RMS but they are used in CAMS, so their presence is to conform to the standard. As a result, these values are all zeros.

There are other values:
* Pix/fm is the average angular speed of the meteor, in pixels, per frame.
* Rho, Phi are parameters that define the line of the meteor in polar coordinates, see this '''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hough_transform#Theory page]''' for more detail.
: ''Rho'' is the distance of the line from the center of the image.
: ''Phi'' is the angle of the line, as measured from the positive direction of the Y axis. (Basically, this is a line from the center of the image to the top of the image.) The positive angles are measured clockwise, although the CAMS standard may define these parameters a bit differently, with the Y axis flipped.
The ''intensity'' is the sum of all pixel intensities of the meteor on a given frame.

For example, you could represent an area around the meteor on a given frame, as shown in the figure, where the numbers are pixel intensities on an 8-bit image (so they can range from 0 to 255) and the pixel values inside the red boundary represent the meteor blob on the frame. The result? The intensity is the sum of all numbers inside the red boundary.
: '''NOTE:''' Later, this value is used to compute the magnitude.

[[File:Intensity_sum.png |Intensity_sum.png ]]

The magnitude is computed as
: ''mag = -2.5*log10(intensity sum) + photometric_offset''

To estimate the photometric offset in '''SkyFit''', fit the line with slope -2.5 through pairs of known magnitudes of stars and logartihms of their pixel intensity sum. Fundamentally, the photometric offset is the intercept of that line.
: '''NOTE:''' The constant slope of -2.5 comes from the '''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apparent_magnitude#Calculations Definition of stellar magnitudes]'''.

== GMN data policy ==

The Global Meteor Network produces three levels of data products.
* Level 1 - The lowest level data (as close to 'raw' as possible) are the FF image and FR video files saved to the RPi by the capture code and the fireball detector.
* Level 2 - Data is used in three ways:
:* The meteor detector extracts positional and brightness information of individual meteors (''FTPdetectinfo'' file).
:* Images are used for astrometric and photometric calibration (platepar file).
:* Meteor and star detections are used to generate a range of plots, such as the single-station shower association graph and the camera drift graph. The calibrated meteor measurements are uploaded to the GMN server, together with the raw images of individual meteors.
* Level 3 - Software on the server correlates individual observations and computes multi-station meteor trajectories, which are published daily on the '''GMN [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/data/ Data website]'''. This data is made public under the '''[https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ CC BY 4.0 license]'''.

Operators of individual GMN stations exclusively own the Level 1 and Level 2 data their stations produce. In practice, this means they are free to share this data with other meteor networks if they wish. The data that is uploaded to the GMN server is not shared publicly or with other parties without the operator's consent. However, the data may be used internally by the GMN coordinators to manually produce other data products, such as the trajectory of a meteorite dropping fireball or an analysis of a meteor shower.
: '''IMPORTANT:''' All station operators are credited for their data in all GMN publications.

== For more information ==

=== [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/?page_id=43 Contact the Global Meteor Network] ===

=== [https://groups.io/g/globalmeteornetwork Join the Global Meteor Network Forum] ===

=== [https://github.com/markmac99/ukmon-pitools/wiki UK Meteor Network Wiki]===
This wiki has numerous FAQs and tips on maintaining, monitoring and managing your system, and several explainers such as how to calibrate and create a mask, how to copy data and so forth.

=== Important GMN resources ===

There are two additional web pages you should know about.

* The '''[https://globalmeteornetwork.org/status GMN status page]''' provides access to the '''[https://globalmeteornetwork.org/weblog/ GMN weblog]'''.
* A mapping utility website that is directly derived from GMN data: '''[https://tammojan.github.io/meteormap Meteor map]'''.
: '''NOTE:''' This map takes quite a while to load. When you review the map, you must scroll down to see the full power of the data display.

=== GMN talks ===

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tV7WBo0RrQ 2025 GMN Meeting Session 1 (February 2025)]

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z23aJeIg7wo 2025 GMN Meeting Session 2 (February 2025)]

: [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmQ5Bvz4ACYJLYfswIeAipapoeGeI6QWy GMN talk for Society for Astronomical Sciences workshop 2024 (The first 3 videos)]

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juOvRTtoqhs 2024 GMN Meeting Session 1 (February 2024)]

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXhVIxrz2ks 2024 GMN Meeting Session 2 (February 2024)]

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfUyCHjMATc 2023 GMN Meeting Session 1 (February 2023)]

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I78KwF5-1GE 2023 GMN Meeting Session 2 (February 2023)]

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDdrG_FCyGk 2022 GMN Meeting Session 1 (February 2022)]

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_75CDPzjI4 2022 GMN Meeting Session 2 (February 2022)]

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6x9_WCVphY GMN talk at the European Space Agency's Fireball Workshop (June 2021)]

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXBTLPnPDWs 2021 GMN Meeting] - [https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ia9vagug5lxm8k9/AAB_i_1jcWThUdAHO_2gF_Ksa?dl=0 Link to slides]

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAGq-XqD5Po Overview of the GMN - IMC2020 (September 2020)]

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oM7lfQ4nmyw Overview of the GMN, Astro Imaging Channel presentation (May 2020)]

=== GMN-related publications ===

: [https://arxiv.org/abs/2206.11365 Vida, D., Blaauw Erskine, R. C., Brown, P. G., Kambulow, J., Campbell-Brown, M., & Mazur, M. J. (2022). Computing optical meteor flux using global meteor network data. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 515(2), 2322-2339.]

: [https://academic.oup.com/mnras/advance-article/doi/10.1093/mnras/stab2557/6368869 Moorhead, A. V., Clements, T., & Vida, D. (2021). Meteor shower radiant dispersions in Global Meteor Network data. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 508(1), 326-339.]

: [https://arxiv.org/abs/2107.12335 Vida, D., Šegon, D., Gural, P. S., Brown, P. G., McIntyre, M. J., Dijkema, T. J., Pavletić, L., Kukić, P., Mazur, M.J., Eschman, P., Roggemans, P., Merlak, A., & Zubović, D. (2021). The Global Meteor Network–Methodology and first results. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 506(4), 5046-5074.]

: [https://arxiv.org/abs/2003.05458/ Moorhead, A. V., Clements, T. D., & Vida, D. (2020). Realistic gravitational focusing of meteoroid streams. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 494(2), 2982-2994.]

: [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Kukic-et-al-2018-Rolling-shutter.pdf Kukić, P., Gural, P., Vida, D., Šegon, D. & Merlak, A. (2018) Correction for meteor centroids observed using rolling shutter cameras. WGN, Journal of the International Meteor Organization, 46:5, 154-118.]

: [https://gmn.duckdns.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/2018_WGN___RMS_sun_skirter_final.pdf Vida, D., Mazur, M. J., Šegon, D., Kukić, P., & Merlak, A. (2018). Compressive strength of a skirting Daytime Arietid-first science results from low-cost Raspberry Pi-based meteor stations. WGN, Journal of the International Meteor Organization, 46, 113-118.]

: [https://arxiv.org/pdf/1911.02979.pdf Vida, D., Gural, P., Brown, P., Campbell-Brown, M., Wiegert, P. (2019) Estimating trajectories of meteors: an observational Monte Carlo approach - I. Theory. arXiv:1911.02979v4 [astro-ph.EP] 21 Apr 2020]

: [https://arxiv.org/pdf/1911.11734.pdf Vida, D., Gural, P., Brown, P., Campbell-Brown, M., Wiegert, P. (2019) Estimating trajectories of meteors: an observational Monte Carlo approach - II. Results. arXiv:1911.11734v1 [astro-ph.EP] 26 Novr 2019]

: [https://gmn.duckdns.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/2018_WGN___RMS_first_results-final.pdf Vida, D., Mazur, M. J., Šegon, D., Zubović, D., Kukić, P., Parag, F., & Macan, A. (2018). First results of a Raspberry Pi based meteor camera system. WGN, Journal of the International Meteor Organization, 46, 71-78.]

: [https://gmn.duckdns.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Vida_IMC2016_proceedings_final.pdf Vida, D., Zubović, D., Šegon, D., Gural, P., & Cupec, R. (2016). Open-source meteor detection software for low-cost single-board computers. In Proceedings of the International Meteor Conference (IMC2016), Egmond, The Netherlands (pp. 2-5).]

: [https://gmn.duckdns.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Zubovic_IMC2015_priceedings_final.pdf Zubović, D., Vida, D., Gural, P., & Šegon, D. (2015). Advances in the development of a low-cost video meteor station. In Proceedings of the International Meteor Conference, Mistelbach, Austria (pp. 27-30).]

Installing OS onto a Raspberry Pi

2026-02-01T16:27:26Z

MetorsABQ9:

Ahoj! In this section, you will flash (or install if you wish) an OS Linux onto your SD card or USB flash key and boot your Raspberry Pi for the first time.

= Install the OS by flashing the image =

== Flash the image onto a microSD card or a USB flash drive ==

: '''NOTE:''' The process is the same for types of storage; only the target differs.

1. Download the '''Trixie''' image for '''Raspberry Pi 4 or Pi5''', and save it on your PC in any directory. The '''Trixie RMS''' image is [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/projects/sd_card_images/RMS_RPi5_RPi4_Trixie_20260116.img.xz here].

RMS_RPi5_RPi4_Trixie_20260116.img.xz is 2.5 GiB (2,735,084,084 bytes)
'''Checksum''': 235281AB4E8E9449BAC2D2AD107B605D

A second image option '''(only for Pi4)''' is Bullseye RMS, but this Operating System (OS) version has been placed on retired status by the Raspberry Pi organization. As a result, there may not be new OS patches or updates. The only reason to choose Bullseye for Pi4 would be that you '''require''' remote access using AnyDesk, RealVNC Server, NoMachine, or TeamViewer. The '''Bullseye RMS''' image is
[https://globalmeteornetwork.org/projects/sd_card_images/RMS_RPi4Bullseye_20260116.img.xz here].

RMS_RPi4Bullseye_10260116.img.xz is 3.0 GiB (3,223,859,108 bytes)
'''Checksum''': BD56C691A2E8EA0081CAD5218BD57D22

Both Trixie and Bullseye support '''RustDesk''' remote access with file transfer. Trixie includes '''Raspberry Pi Connect''' for remote access and file transfer but Bullseye is not able to run this software from the Raspberry Pi organization. Both images support VNC connections, providing PC and Pi are on the same local network (LAN). Only Bullseye supports file transfer using VNC.

Trixie and Bullseye RMS images offer '''Samba share''' directories ~/RMS_data and ~/shared. You can map these shares so they appear as local drives on your PC, and use these drive mappings to transfer files.

: If you encounter problems with any of the images, contact the Technical Support group at https://globalmeteornetwork.groups.io/g/techsupport.

2. Download '''Raspberry Pi Imager''' v2.0 (or newer) [https://www.raspberrypi.com/software/ here].

3. Start '''Raspberry Pi Imager''' and flash the RMS image
- Select your Raspberry Pi device
- Under Choose operating System, Scroll down to Custom Image, and locate the RMS image you downloaded.
- Select your storage device (the storage media you plan to use on the Pi)

'''IMPORTANT:'''
Depending on the image you are flashing, you may be asked if you want to change a few things before continuing. DO NOT change the username and password. These are embedded in the image. You can change wifi options, or change them later after you have booted the Pi.

- Choose Write image, then Expect to see this warning: "You are about to ERASE all data on: xxxxxxxxx Storage Device USB Device"
- Click on the button "I UNDERSTAND, ERASE AND WRITE"
- The write pass will be followed by a verify pass
- Finally you should see Write complete!

4. Eject the USB flash drive, then remove microSD card/USB flash drive.

If you encounter errors during flashing, you can verify the '''checksum (CRC)''' of your download to make sure it was downloaded correctly. If the checksum of the image is good and errors persist when flashing, your target storage media may be bad.

'''Balena Etcher''' and '''Rufus''' are other flashing software options for RMS images. If you have issues flashing an image and have confirmed a good checksum for your download, try using different flashing software. Balena Etcher can sometimes generate false error messages at the end of the flash operation. Raspberry Pi Imager works fine when flashing the same downloaded image.

5. Insert the microSD card/USB flash drive into your Raspberry Pi. Raspberry Pi should already be connected to a TV or monitor, a keyboard, and mouse connected.
: If a TV or monitor is not connected, refer to '''[[#Booting without a TV/Monitor|these instructions]]'''.

6. Wait for the boot.
If the boot takes too long to begin, refer to the next section. If the Pi booted successfully, follow the on-screen instructions.

== Using RMS Images for Raspberry Pi ==
Click here for information on [[ Using RMS Images for Raspberry Pi ]]

== Pre-2021 Raspberry Pi 4 bootloader update - USB flash drive ONLY ==

If you encountered a problem booting Raspberry Pi 4 from a USB device (common for all USB devices, not only flash disks), the most probable reason is that your Raspberry Pi 4 is from an older batch and you must update its bootloader.

The procedure is simple, and you need a small capacity, blank microSD card to store about 1MB of data. The process is nicely described in '''[https://www.raspberrypi.com/documentation/computers/raspberry-pi.html#updating-the-bootloader the raspberry pi official documentation]'''.

: '''NOTE:''' If you are looking for an extensive USB booting guide, click ''[https://globalmeteornetwork.org/wiki/index.php?title=Booting_from_a_USB_device here]''.

The preinstalled RMS software images incorporate an auto-update feature, which updates the RMS software to the current release whenever you boot Raspberry Pi RMS. Your station always runs the most recent set of updates!

== The first boot ==

This is how the first boot of the Trixie RMS image should look:
[[File:First_boot_Trixie.png|1500px|center]]

Now is a good time to send an email to '''denis.vida@gmail.com'''. Include a short introduction that includes your country, then tell him you are building a camera and you need a camera/station code. You use a camera/station code when you set up the RMS software, after your camera is fully installed and positioned.

After you have received your Camera/Station ID from GMN, you will need to establish a network connection on your Pi.

For typical single camera installs, the camera is connected to the Ethernet port of the Pi, and a '''wifi connection''' is used to connect the Pi to your Local Area Network (LAN). To establish a wifi connection:

- left-click on the network icon located between the Bluetooth icon and speaker icon in the upper righthand part of the task bar.
- find the wifi network you want to use and then provide the wifi network passphrase to validate your wifi connection.

If successful, the Network icon should change to an active wifi icon.

Once you have a '''Camera/Station ID''' from GMN, and know the '''Latitude, Longitude, and Elevation''' of your camera to within about a meter, you are ready to go through the setup steps in the '''RMS_FirstRun''' window on your screen. These steps include:

1. Expanding the file system (if you flashed this SD card yourself).

2. confirming your Pi is connected to the Internet.

3. Changing the default password for security reasons.

4. Generating a new SSH key.

5. Editing the RMS config file to supply your Camera/Station ID, Latitude, Longitude, and Elevation.

Once you have successfully completed the steps in RMS_FirstRun, the Terminal window will display information telling you that the system is waiting to begin capturing data for the coming night.

'''Remember to send the public SSH key to GMN, as outlined in the RMS_FirstRun instructions you saw earlier.'''

'''Welcome to GMN, you are all set to begin collecting meteor data!'''

= (Optional) Install the software from scratch =
This installation is '''only''' for knowledgeable users who want to complete more advanced tasks. If you the procedure in the previous section, '''do not continue''' with the sections that follow.
: '''NOTE:''' When you set up a Raspberry Pi, you should use the prebuilt image, which includes all necessary software installed and ready to use. If you decide to install the software on the RPi from scratch, follow the instructions on '''[https://globalmeteornetwork.org/wiki/index.php?title=Advanced_RMS_installations_and_Multi-camera_support this page]'''.

Next, you will focus your camera and assemble the bits and pieces for the first test.

'''[https://globalmeteornetwork.org/wiki/index.php?title=Build_%26_Install_%26_Setup_your_camera_-_The_complete_how-to Back to the signpost page.]'''

= Boot without a TV or monitor =
If you do not have a TV or monitor connected to the Pi when you set it up, you must use '''VNC''', a remote-access tool.

1. After you burn the microSD card, insert it into the Pi and switch on the power.
: You should see the lights on the Pi flicker for a minute or two. If the lights do not flicker, it is possible the microSD card image did not properly burn.

2. If the lights flicker as ecpected, wait at least three minutes after the lights stop flickering before you proceed.
: '''NOTE:''' There are several stages to the initial boot, so it will take a while.

3. While you wait, download '''[https://www.realvnc.com/en/connect/download/viewer/ VNC Viewer]'''.
: You do not need to create an account or subscribe, so ignore the buttons and links. After a few seconds, the download will start.

4. To connect to the Pi using VNC, you must know either its name or its IP address.
: '''NOTE:''' If you did not set the hostname when you burned the microSD card, (this is an option that may available in Raspberry Pi Imager), its name is probably ''raspberrypi''.
: To find its IP address using the manufacturer name, run '''[https://www.advanced-ip-scanner.com/ Advanced IP Scanner]'''. This tool starts with Raspberry Pifind.

5. Open '''VNC Viewer''' and enter the name or IP address into the box at the top.
: After a few seconds, you see a login dialog box.

6. The default username is '''rms''' and the initial password is '''rmsraspberry'''. Change these credentials as soon as you log in.

: Now, you should now see the Pi desktop and the '''RMS_FirstBoot''' window.

Using RMS Images for Raspberry Pi

2026-02-01T16:24:59Z

MetorsABQ9: Created page with "'''Using RMS Images for Raspberry Pi''' Trixie and Bullseye are the two supported RMS images for Raspberry Pi. == '''Trixie''' == Trixie RMS is the preferred RMS image for Pi4 and Pi5. On this image, the Pi5 built-in Real-Time Clock (RTC) is fully supported. The highly recommended OEM Pi5 heatsink+fan thermal control is fully supported, and the conky Desktop display shows fan speed on the Pi5. Cooling fan speed is not reported by conky for most fans used on Pi4. MultiCa..."

'''Using RMS Images for Raspberry Pi'''
Trixie and Bullseye are the two supported RMS images for Raspberry Pi.

== '''Trixie''' ==
Trixie RMS is the preferred RMS image for Pi4 and Pi5. On this image, the Pi5 built-in Real-Time Clock (RTC) is fully supported. The highly recommended OEM Pi5 heatsink+fan thermal control is fully supported, and the conky Desktop display shows fan speed on the Pi5. Cooling fan speed is not reported by conky for most fans used on Pi4. MultiCam only works on Pi5, and you can find documentation for it in “MultiCam on Pi5”.

=== Graphics and Remote Access ===
Like the earlier Bookworm OS, Wayland graphics are used in Trixie. GMN has dropped the earlier Bookworm image in favor of Trixie. Because of Wayland, most of the previously used Remote Connection software no longer work on Trixie. As of January of 2026 the non-working software includes AnyDesk, NoMachine, TeamViewer and RealVNC for connections from outside your local area network (LAN). We suspect these vendors will support Wayland soon, or they will lose market share.

=== Remote Connection Options ===
Remote connections to Trixie RMS are available from Raspberry Pi Connect or RustDesk; and connections from inside the Local Area Network (LAN) can be done with VNC connected to the IP address of the Pi. For most people, Raspberry Pi Connect will be the preferred remote connection method, but RustDesk may be more appropriate in some cases. RustDesk instructions can be found in the 'shared' directory under user rms (~/shared).

== '''Bullseye''' ==
Bullseye is not the preferred RMS image for Pi4, instead please use the Trixie RMS Image. We have kept the Bullseye RMS image available for those who require using older remote control software including AnyDesk, RealVNC Server, NoMachine, TeamViewer, and possibly a few others.

The Bullseye RMS image has been updated with OS and RMS updates and swap memory increased to 2GB. It can be used on Pi4, but not Pi5.

The Bullseye software repository has been frozen, and is not being updated to include newer versions of software like gimp for graphic file editing.

=== gimp v2.10.22 ===
When saving mask.bmp after editing in gimp, you need to use a workaround to prevent generating a bad bmp file header. The workaround is is click on compatibility option during export to bmp and select
Do not write color space information

=== Raspberry Pi Connect ===
The new remote connection software from Raspberry Pi organization is Raspberry Pi Connect, which requires Wayland graphics, so it is not supported on Bullseye.

== '''Topics for Bullseye and Trixie''' ==
A number of topics are common to both images.

=== File Manager ===
If you have problems with copy and paste with the GUI File Manager, open a second or third File Manager window and use copy/paste between two windows. The second work-around for this problem is to change the view mode in pcmanfm File Manager to icon view. This has been a common problem in the pcmanfm file manager, and has been an issue since the Bullseye image was released.

=== Multiple Cameras ===
Running more than one camera is only supported on Pi5. Documentation on how to run more than one camera on Pi5 can be found in “MultiCam on Pi5.pdf”.

=== RustDesk ===
RustDesk remote connection software is fully supported on Bullseye and Trixie RMS. Please see the notes in ~/shared.
This directory is located under user rms.

=== Swap memory ===
Swap memory is a disk allocation that supplements RAM, and can be used to page content in and out of RAM.
Both images have swap memory increased to 2GB.

=== Samba Shares ===
The directories ~/shared and ~/RMS_data are defined as Samba shares and can be accessed inside the LAN by mapping Samba shares on the PC running Windows, Linux or Mac OS.

'''Samba directories'''
Read access is enabled for /home/rms/RMS_data. Both read and write are enabled for /home/rms/shared. You can map each directory for easy access from another device. For Windows PC, follow these steps:
*Start Windows File Explorer
*right click on This PC
*Map Network Drive
*select drive designation
In the Folder window, enter the IP number of your Pi5, something like this
\\192.168.1.23\shared
*click the box "Connect using different credentials"
*click Finish
*In the next window "Enter network credentials"
*enter rms for username
*enter rmsraspberry for the samba password
*click "Remember my credentials"
*click OK

If you want to delete this mapped network drive later, you can type this at a command prompt:
net use /delete \\192.168.1.32\shared

If you would prefer, you can map to the Pi's hostname rms instead of IP number, so use \\rms\shared in the drive designation window for read/write access to /home/rms/shared. Likewise, you could use
\\rms\RMS_data
for read access to /home/rms/RMS_data

=== Configure Wi-Fi ===
To configure Wi-Fi, left-click on the blue Up/Down arrow icon toward the right-hand side of the taskbar, choose your Wi-Fi network, then supply your network passphrase. You can also use the Pi Ethernet port to connect to your local network wiring for an Internet connection and put your camera IP address on one of your local area network (LAN) addresses.

=== Network Configuration ===
In the Bullseye and Trixie RMS images, the Pi Ethernet interface (eth0) works for a connection to your LAN, or if no LAN, it will fall back to 192.168.42.1, which makes any camera at 192.168.42.xxx usable. There is no need to change any network settings for eth0, the fallback takes place automatically.

Please note that the Pi will need an Internet connection before you can complete the RMS_FirstRun configuration steps that you see in the terminal window at startup. You can use WiFi or a wired connection for your Internet connection. You can use RealVNC or TigerVNC viewer for remote connections inside your local network.

The eth0 (Ethernet port on the Pi) IP number can be set automatically by your DHCP server (router), if one is present. In this case, the Pi needs to be physically connected to the router directly or through a wired switch. There is no need to attach the screen, keyboard and a mouse (the Pi can run as 'headless')

=== Run “headless” ===
- connect via VNC (see below) to the Pi (you need to find out the Pi IP address from the router)

- if needed, change the camera IP with '''CamManager''' - open another terminal session and type 'python ~/source/RMS/Utils/CamManager.py'. All cameras attached to the local network will appear. Select the correct camera and change the IP address.

- finish the RMS configuration with the instructions on the RMS terminal.

If the Pi is connected via eth0 directly to the camera, the IP address of the eth0 interface is automatically set to 192.168.42.1, and the camera IP needs to be set to 192.168.42.10, instead of the default new camera IP of 192.168.1.10:

- attach the screen, keyboard and a mouse

- if needed, change the camera IP with '''CamManager''' - open another terminal session and type 'python ~/source/RMS/Utils/CamManager.py'. The camera attached to the Pi will appear. Select the correct camera and change the IP address.

- finish the RMS configuration with the instructions on the RMS terminal.

=== Configure camera parameters ===
This script uses the Python CameraControl module to configure camera parameters:

Scripts/SetCameraParams.sh

If you want to run CameraControl manually type:

python -m Utils.CameraControl

to see a list of options for CameraControl. If you open the source code in a text editor, the top of the Python file has a bit more documentation: /home/rms/source/RMS/Utils/CameraControl.py

=== Migrate a camera ===
If you migrate a camera from a Pi4, it is best to manually merge your old .config into the new default .config file (rewrite your config settings into the new file manually, do not copy the .config). We recommend merged settings because the most recent .config version often has new parameters that are not present in an older .config file.

If you want a fresh copy of the default .config file, you can run these commands in a terminal session in ~/shared (~/ equals /home/rms/)

cd ~/shared

wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/CroatianMeteorNetwork/RMS/master/.config

Use a text editor to transfer your camera settings '''Camera_ID, latitude, longitude, elevation, camera IP number''' and any other camera specific settings, then copy the new .config to ~/source/RMS. You probably want to also copy over the mask.bmp and platepar_cmn2010.cal files.

To migrate a camera, copy your old SSH keys to the new image. When copying old ssh keys, be sure to change the attributes on id_rsa (the private key) to read by owner only. Another option is to create new SSH keys and then send the id_rsa.pub (public key) to Denis.

=== Enable SSH ===
For security reasons, we do not enable SSH in this image for Pi. If you want to enable SSH access to your Pi5, go to Preferences on the main menu:

Preferences

Raspberry Pi Configuration

Interfaces

move the slider on SSH to enable this interface

click OK

You may have to reboot for the change to take effect.

== '''Images past and present''' ==
Over the years, a number of RMS images for Pi have been released. Some of the older images are no longer supported. As Raspberry Pi organization has released newer operating systems, these systems have moved to newer Python versions and have incorporated newer applications.

Trixie RMS is the preferred RMS image for Pi4 and Pi5. The Bullseye RMS image has been updated with OS and RMS updates and can be used on Pi4 if you prefer. Both new images have swap memory increased to 2GB.

=== Trixie RMS ===
Trixie RMS is the recommended image for Pi4 and Pi5. More information on Trixie can be found here.

=== Bookworm RMS ===
Bookworm RMS was our first version to support Pi5. Now that Trixie OS is released, Bookworm has been pushed to Legacy status. Because Trixie RMS offers significant advantages, we no longer offer Bookworm RMS for download or recommend using this RMS image.

=== Bullseye RMS ===
Bullseye OS has now been pushed back to unsupported status and the repository for software updates has been frozen. Bullseye was moved to 'unsupported' when Trixie OS was released, which pushed Bookworm to Legacy status, and deprecated Bullseye.

We will try to keep Bullseye RMS running, however, it is best to move to Trixie RMS for new or rebuilt Pi4 and Pi5. Additional details on using Bullseye RMS can be found here.

=== Buster RMS ===
Buster RMS was our original image for Pi4. We released a 32-bit version, which was used by a number of Pi4 systems. We no longer offer Buster RMS images for download because it has been superseded by Bullseye RMS

=== Jessie RMS ===
Jessie RMS is one of our earliest images and was only used on Pi3. In mid-2025 we stopped supporting RMS on Pi3, so limited help is available. This decision was based on the difficulty of supporting Python 2.7 which is now obsolete. It has become impossible to develop new RMS functionality while struggling to back-port it to an obsolete Python.

Plots Explained

2026-01-27T21:32:58Z

MetorsABQ9:

GMN plots and images explained
by Damir Šegon
There are more than 1,000 Global Meteor Network (GMN) cameras sharing the web pages, powered by GMN. The GMN Weblog features their image stacks and plots, and summarizes the previous night's Raspberry Meteor System (RMS) camera results.

The GMN weblog page is here: https://globalmeteornetwork.org/weblog/. Results also are available on the GMN status page: https://globalmeteornetwork.org/status. This document is a guide for typical RMS processing.

Some of these stacks/plots are easy to understand at a glance, while others require more explanation. For image stacks, CMNbinViewer software is a valuable tool that you can run on the Pi or PC. There are publications listed at the bottom of the main wiki page about RMS, which may help you understand how best to capture and detect events.

== Detected stack ==

A stack of detected images is an event that was recognized as a meteor. A detected image is the difference between MaxPixel and AveragePixel images, which is calculated in a procedure that helps suppress slow-moving clouds and most static noise. Fast moving clouds may show up on the detected stack as a set of ‘waves’ that form what appears to be an abstract art painting.

After the real-time analysis of images, several machine learning algorithms have been trained to reduce false detections from clouds flying creatures, such as bugs, bats, seagulls, and owls, or other flying entities, such as airplanes, drones, and satellites.

In spite of false event rejection filters some false positives may remain. Also note that if a plane or other false event occurs while a meteor is detected, both the meteor and the false detection will be captured in the same image. As a result, the note in the bottom right corner, Detected meteors, should be understood as an estimate. For stations with good astronomical viewing conditions, this number will be very close to the number of detected meteors.

[[File: Plots_Detected.png | Detected.png ]]

== Captured stack ==

In contrast to the Detected stack, a captured stack contains images from the entire night, some of which also are represented in the Detected stack.

[[File: Plots_Captured.png | Captured.png ]]

== Detected thumbnails ==

Similar to a Captured thumbnail, a ‘’Detected thumbnail’’ represents a matrix of only MaxPixel images that contain detections. Time stamps on these images specify a start point you can use to search for an interesting event. Unlike images in a Captured stack, Detected thumbnails are not stacked, which means that each image represents only one FF file.

[[File: Plots_DetectedThumbnails.png | DetectedThumbnails.png ]]

== Captured thumbnails ==

This image is built from a matrix of MaxPixel images from the entire night, and it includes time stamps in the upper left row. Each image is actually a MaxPixel stack of MaxPixel images, which are the result of combining 5 FF*.fits files.

The time difference between two neighboring time stamps should be 10.24 x 5 = 51.2 seconds. If this difference is higher than 51.2 seconds, your RMS system dropped frames and you should check for problems.

Because MaxPixel values are stacked, the sky sometimes is too bright, which causes images to become saturated (completely white). This result can be is a combination of moonlight and high humidity or lightning that flashed in your field of view (FOV), illuminating the clouds.

[[File: Plots_CapturedThumbnails.png | CapturedThumbnails.png ]]

== Radiants ==

‘’Radiants’’ are plots of meteors and active shower radiant positions. The size of the circle for a radiant depends on the meteor shower, and counts are provided for meteors associated with an active meteor shower.

A radiant association is based on single station observations, which may be wrong when combined with other stations. Usually, counts are highly accurate for a significant event or major shower activity. In the lower part of the plot, the vertical dashed red line represents the current position of the Earth relative to solar longitude and active radiants on the date of observation.

[[File: Plots_RadiantsPlot.png | RadiantsPlot.png ]]

== Timestamp Intervals ==

This plot shows relative stability of frame recording throughout the course of the night.

[[File: Plots_Timestamp_Intervals.png | Timestamp_Intervals.png ]]

== Deaveraged field sums ==

This plot shows variations between pixel value sums from each FF file throughout the night. Because these values are deaveraged, any significant event peak should be obvious in the plot.

[[File: Plots_DeaveratedFieldSums.png | DeaveratedFieldSums.png ]]

== Peak field sums ==

This plot shows the sum of intensity values from all pixels in each frame, from each FF file throughout the night. Average values from these sums are plotted in black and peak values are plotted in red. As before, each significant event in the camera field of view is shown as a peak.

[[File: Plots_PeakFieldSums.png | PeakFieldSums.png ]]

== Astrometry report ==

This plot shows the results of an image that was refitted during the night, with deviations from original calibration shown as yellow lines. The length of each line is 100x the distance from ideal calibration and the line orientation shows the direction of the deviation.

If there is a systemic error, lines display either as concentrically oriented or deviated in a single direction. Ideally, you want to see a lot of short lines that are oriented in multiple directions.

[[File: Plots_AstrometryReport.png | AstrometryReport.png ]]

== Calibration variation ==

In early stages of the GMN while checking astrometry, it was discovered that cameras can significantly change their orientation during the course of the night. Why this situation occurs is beyond the scope of this document, but it is important to know that this movement requires you to check the astrometry fit for each FF file that contains a detection.

The results of a recheck are shown in this plot and the time from the first FF file is color-coded. The figure shows the difference between the refitted FOV and the reference FOV center in arcminutes, usually on the X-axis. It also shows the angle of rotation between the refitted FOV and the reference FOV.

[[File: Plots_CalibrationVariation.png | CalibrationVariation.png ]]

If you study this plot for your camera through the night, you may be able to identify and fix problems related to the camera mount. On average, cameras move 5 to 6 arcminutes overnight, but there are documented cases of minor movements of only 2' and much larger movements of 15' or more.

== Photometry report ==

This plot shows the photometry fit for stars extracted from an FF file of observations. Two lines represent the fit for the recent night (red) and a reference calibration (gray).

To calculate the limiting magnitude of a camera, subtract about 4 magnitudes from the photometry fit. For most 3.6mm cameras, this number is 10 or a bit more because these cameras have a limiting magnitude of about 6.

[[File: Plots_PhotometryReport.png | PhotometryReport.png ]]

== Photometric offset variation ==
Photometric offset over time

[[File: Plots_Photometric_offset.png |Photometric_offset.png ]]

== Flux total observing tim ==
Graphic plot Matched vs. Predicted stars throughout the night.

[[File: Plots_Flux_total.png | Flux_total.png ]]

== Masked Flat ==
Flat after overlaying mask.bmp

[[File: Plots_Masked_flat.png | Masked_flat.png ]]

== Observation Summary ==
Observation summary data of hardware and data recording characteristics.

[[File: Plots_Observation_Summary.png | Observation_Summary.png ]]

== Meteor Shower Flux ==
Meteor shower flux charts, if specific showers are detected.

[[File: Plots_Shower_Flux.png | Shower_Flux.png ]]

== TimeLapse video ==

This TimeLapse.mp4 video contains many images from the previous night, but not all images. This video is not valuable for scientific applications, but it is useful to check dynamic weather conditions throughout the night.

[[File: Plots_TimeLapseVideo.png | TimeLapseVideo.png ]]

== Acknowledgements ==

Plots and images in this document are courtesy of Danijel Reponj, Observatory Apollo, Croatia, GMN station HR000S. His camera, Cyclops II, is a replacement for the first analog camera, which ran 24/7 for 8 years!

Plots Explained

2026-01-27T21:29:01Z

MetorsABQ9:

GMN plots and images explained
by Damir Šegon
There are more than 1,000 Global Meteor Network (GMN) cameras sharing the web pages, powered by GMN. The GMN Weblog features their image stacks and plots, and summarizes the previous night's Raspberry Meteor System (RMS) camera results.

The GMN weblog page is here: https://globalmeteornetwork.org/weblog/. Results also are available on the GMN status page: https://globalmeteornetwork.org/status. This document is a guide for typical RMS processing.

Some of these stacks/plots are easy to understand at a glance, while others require more explanation. For image stacks, CMNbinViewer software is a valuable tool that you can run on the Pi or PC. These papers about RMS can help you understand how best to capture and detect events.

== Detected stack ==

A stack of detected images is an event that was recognized as a meteor. A detected image is the difference between MaxPixel and AveragePixel images, which is calculated in a procedure that helps suppress slow-moving clouds and most static noise. Fast moving clouds may show up on the detected stack as a set of ‘waves’ that form what appears to be an abstract art painting.

After the real-time analysis of images, several machine learning algorithms have been trained to reduce false detections from clouds flying creatures, such as bugs, bats, seagulls, and owls, or other flying entities, such as airplanes, drones, and satellites.

In spite of false event rejection filters some false positives may remain. Also note that if a plane or other false event occurs while a meteor is detected, both the meteor and the false detection will be captured in the same image. As a result, the note in the bottom right corner, Detected meteors, should be understood as an estimate. For stations with good astronomical viewing conditions, this number will be very close to the number of detected meteors.

[[File: Plots_Detected.png | Detected.png ]]

== Captured stack ==

In contrast to the Detected stack, a captured stack contains images from the entire night, some of which also are represented in the Detected stack.

[[File: Plots_Captured.png | Captured.png ]]

== Detected thumbnails ==

Similar to a Captured thumbnail, a ‘’Detected thumbnail’’ represents a matrix of only MaxPixel images that contain detections. Time stamps on these images specify a start point you can use to search for an interesting event. Unlike images in a Captured stack, Detected thumbnails are not stacked, which means that each image represents only one FF file.

[[File: Plots_DetectedThumbnails.png | DetectedThumbnails.png ]]

== Captured thumbnails ==

This image is built from a matrix of MaxPixel images from the entire night, and it includes time stamps in the upper left row. Each image is actually a MaxPixel stack of MaxPixel images, which are the result of combining 5 FF*.fits files.

The time difference between two neighboring time stamps should be 10.24 x 5 = 51.2 seconds. If this difference is higher than 51.2 seconds, your RMS system dropped frames and you should check for problems.

Because MaxPixel values are stacked, the sky sometimes is too bright, which causes images to become saturated (completely white). This result can be is a combination of moonlight and high humidity or lightning that flashed in your field of view (FOV), illuminating the clouds.

[[File: Plots_CapturedThumbnails.png | CapturedThumbnails.png ]]

== Radiants ==

‘’Radiants’’ are plots of meteors and active shower radiant positions. The size of the circle for a radiant depends on the meteor shower, and counts are provided for meteors associated with an active meteor shower.

A radiant association is based on single station observations, which may be wrong when combined with other stations. Usually, counts are highly accurate for a significant event or major shower activity. In the lower part of the plot, the vertical dashed red line represents the current position of the Earth relative to solar longitude and active radiants on the date of observation.

[[File: Plots_RadiantsPlot.png | RadiantsPlot.png ]]

== Timestamp Intervals ==

This plot shows relative stability of frame recording throughout the course of the night.

[[File: Plots_Timestamp_Intervals.png | Timestamp_Intervals.png ]]

== Deaveraged field sums ==

This plot shows variations between pixel value sums from each FF file throughout the night. Because these values are deaveraged, any significant event peak should be obvious in the plot.

[[File: Plots_DeaveratedFieldSums.png | DeaveratedFieldSums.png ]]

== Peak field sums ==

This plot shows the sum of intensity values from all pixels in each frame, from each FF file throughout the night. Average values from these sums are plotted in black and peak values are plotted in red. As before, each significant event in the camera field of view is shown as a peak.

[[File: Plots_PeakFieldSums.png | PeakFieldSums.png ]]

== Astrometry report ==

This plot shows the results of an image that was refitted during the night, with deviations from original calibration shown as yellow lines. The length of each line is 100x the distance from ideal calibration and the line orientation shows the direction of the deviation.

If there is a systemic error, lines display either as concentrically oriented or deviated in a single direction. Ideally, you want to see a lot of short lines that are oriented in multiple directions.

[[File: Plots_AstrometryReport.png | AstrometryReport.png ]]

== Calibration variation ==

In early stages of the GMN while checking astrometry, it was discovered that cameras can significantly change their orientation during the course of the night. Why this situation occurs is beyond the scope of this document, but it is important to know that this movement requires you to check the astrometry fit for each FF file that contains a detection.

The results of a recheck are shown in this plot and the time from the first FF file is color-coded. The figure shows the difference between the refitted FOV and the reference FOV center in arcminutes, usually on the X-axis. It also shows the angle of rotation between the refitted FOV and the reference FOV.

[[File: Plots_CalibrationVariation.png | CalibrationVariation.png ]]

If you study this plot for your camera through the night, you may be able to identify and fix problems related to the camera mount. On average, cameras move 5 to 6 arcminutes overnight, but there are documented cases of minor movements of only 2' and much larger movements of 15' or more.

== Photometry report ==

This plot shows the photometry fit for stars extracted from an FF file of observations. Two lines represent the fit for the recent night (red) and a reference calibration (gray).

To calculate the limiting magnitude of a camera, subtract about 4 magnitudes from the photometry fit. For most 3.6mm cameras, this number is 10 or a bit more because these cameras have a limiting magnitude of about 6.

[[File: Plots_PhotometryReport.png | PhotometryReport.png ]]

== Photometric offset variation ==
Photometric offset over time

[[File: Plots_Photometric_offset.png |Photometric_offset.png ]]

== Flux total observing tim ==
Graphic plot Matched vs. Predicted stars throughout the night.

[[File: Plots_Flux_total.png | Flux_total.png ]]

== Masked Flat ==
Flat after overlaying mask.bmp

[[File: Plots_Masked_flat.png | Masked_flat.png ]]

== Observation Summary ==
Observation summary data of hardware and data recording characteristics.

[[File: Plots_Observation_Summary.png | Observation_Summary.png ]]

== Meteor Shower Flux ==
Meteor shower flux charts, if specific showers are detected.

[[File: Plots_Shower_Flux.png | Shower_Flux.png ]]

== TimeLapse video ==

This TimeLapse.mp4 video contains many images from the previous night, but not all images. This video is not valuable for scientific applications, but it is useful to check dynamic weather conditions throughout the night.

[[File: Plots_TimeLapseVideo.png | TimeLapseVideo.png ]]

== Acknowledgements ==

Plots and images in this document are courtesy of Danijel Reponj, Observatory Apollo, Croatia, GMN station HR000S. His camera, Cyclops II, is a replacement for the first analog camera, which ran 24/7 for 8 years!

Plots Explained

2026-01-27T21:27:18Z

MetorsABQ9:

GMN plots and images explained
by Damir Šegon
There are more than 1,000 Global Meteor Network (GMN) cameras sharing the web pages, powered by GMN. The GMN Weblog features their image stacks and plots, and summarizes the previous night's Raspberry Meteor System (RMS) camera results.

The GMN weblog page is here: https://globalmeteornetwork.org/weblog/. Results also are available on the GMN status page: https://globalmeteornetwork.org/status. This document is a guide for typical RMS processing.

Some of these stacks/plots are easy to understand at a glance, while others require more explanation. For image stacks, CMNbinViewer software is a valuable tool that you can run on the Pi or PC. These papers about RMS can help you understand how best to capture and detect events.

== Detected stack ==

A stack of detected images is an event that was recognized as a meteor. A detected image is the difference between MaxPixel and AveragePixel images, which is calculated in a procedure that helps suppress slow-moving clouds and most static noise. Fast moving clouds may show up on the detected stack as a set of ‘waves’ that form what appears to be an abstract art painting.

After the real-time analysis of images, several machine learning algorithms have been trained to reduce false detections from clouds flying creatures, such as bugs, bats, seagulls, and owls, or other flying entities, such as airplanes, drones, and satellites.

In spite of false event rejection filters some false positives may remain. Also note that if a plane or other false event occurs while a meteor is detected, both the meteor and the false detection will be captured in the same image. As a result, the note in the bottom right corner, Detected meteors, should be understood as an estimate. For stations with good astronomical viewing conditions, this number will be very close to the number of detected meteors.

[[File: Plots_Detected.png | Detected.png ]]

== Captured stack ==

In contrast to the Detected stack, a captured stack contains images from the entire night, some of which also are represented in the Detected stack.

[[File: Plots_Captured.png | Captured.png ]]

== Detected thumbnails ==

Similar to a Captured thumbnail, a ‘’Detected thumbnail’’ represents a matrix of only MaxPixel images that contain detections. Time stamps on these images specify a start point you can use to search for an interesting event. Unlike images in a Captured stack, Detected thumbnails are not stacked, which means that each image represents only one FF file.

[[File: Plots_DetectedThumbnails.png | DetectedThumbnails.png ]]

==Captured thumbnails ==

This image is built from a matrix of MaxPixel images from the entire night, and it includes time stamps in the upper left row. Each image is actually a MaxPixel stack of MaxPixel images, which are the result of combining 5 FF*.fits files.

The time difference between two neighboring time stamps should be 10.24 x 5 = 51.2 seconds. If this difference is higher than 51.2 seconds, your RMS system dropped frames and you should check for problems.

Because MaxPixel values are stacked, the sky sometimes is too bright, which causes images to become saturated (completely white). This result can be is a combination of moonlight and high humidity or lightning that flashed in your field of view (FOV), illuminating the clouds.

[[File: Plots_CapturedThumbnails.png | CapturedThumbnails.png ]]

== Radiants ==

‘’Radiants’’ are plots of meteors and active shower radiant positions. The size of the circle for a radiant depends on the meteor shower, and counts are provided for meteors associated with an active meteor shower.

A radiant association is based on single station observations, which may be wrong when combined with other stations. Usually, counts are highly accurate for a significant event or major shower activity. In the lower part of the plot, the vertical dashed red line represents the current position of the Earth relative to solar longitude and active radiants on the date of observation.

[[File: Plots_RadiantsPlot.png | RadiantsPlot.png ]]

== Timestamp Intervals ==

This plot shows relative stability of frame recording throughout the course of the night.

[[File: Plots_Timestamp_Intervals.png | Timestamp_Intervals.png ]]

== Deaveraged field sums ==

This plot shows variations between pixel value sums from each FF file throughout the night. Because these values are deaveraged, any significant event peak should be obvious in the plot.

[[File: Plots_DeaveratedFieldSums.png | DeaveratedFieldSums.png ]]

== Peak field sums ==

This plot shows the sum of intensity values from all pixels in each frame, from each FF file throughout the night. Average values from these sums are plotted in black and peak values are plotted in red. As before, each significant event in the camera field of view is shown as a peak.

[[File: Plots_PeakFieldSums.png | PeakFieldSums.png ]]

== Astrometry report ==

This plot shows the results of an image that was refitted during the night, with deviations from original calibration shown as yellow lines. The length of each line is 100x the distance from ideal calibration and the line orientation shows the direction of the deviation.

If there is a systemic error, lines display either as concentrically oriented or deviated in a single direction. Ideally, you want to see a lot of short lines that are oriented in multiple directions.

[[File: Plots_AstrometryReport.png | AstrometryReport.png ]]

== Calibration variation ==

In early stages of the GMN while checking astrometry, it was discovered that cameras can significantly change their orientation during the course of the night. Why this situation occurs is beyond the scope of this document, but it is important to know that this movement requires you to check the astrometry fit for each FF file that contains a detection.

The results of a recheck are shown in this plot and the time from the first FF file is color-coded. The figure shows the difference between the refitted FOV and the reference FOV center in arcminutes, usually on the X-axis. It also shows the angle of rotation between the refitted FOV and the reference FOV.

[[File: Plots_CalibrationVariation.png | CalibrationVariation.png ]]

If you study this plot for your camera through the night, you may be able to identify and fix problems related to the camera mount. On average, cameras move 5 to 6 arcminutes overnight, but there are documented cases of minor movements of only 2' and much larger movements of 15' or more.

== Photometry report ==

This plot shows the photometry fit for stars extracted from an FF file of observations. Two lines represent the fit for the recent night (red) and a reference calibration (gray).

To calculate the limiting magnitude of a camera, subtract about 4 magnitudes from the photometry fit. For most 3.6mm cameras, this number is 10 or a bit more because these cameras have a limiting magnitude of about 6.

[[File: Plots_PhotometryReport.png | PhotometryReport.png ]]

=== Photometric offset variation ===
Photometric offset over time

[[File: Plots_Photometric_offset.png |Photometric_offset.png ]]

=== Flux total observing tim ===
Graphic plot Matched vs. Predicted stars throughout the night.

[[File: Plots_Flux_total.png | Flux_total.png ]]

=== Masked Flat ===
Flat after overlaying mask.bmp

[[File: Plots_Masked_flat.png | Masked_flat.png ]]

=== Observation Summary ===
Observation summary data of hardware and data recording characteristics.

[[File: Plots_Observation_Summary.png | Observation_Summary.png ]]

=== Meteor Shower Flux ===
Meteor shower flux charts, if specific showers are detected.

[[File: Plots_Shower_Flux.png | Shower_Flux.png ]]

== TimeLapse video ==

This TimeLapse.mp4 video contains many images from the previous night, but not all images. This video is not valuable for scientific applications, but it is useful to check dynamic weather conditions throughout the night.

[[File: Plots_TimeLapseVideo.png | TimeLapseVideo.png ]]

== Acknowledgements ==

Plots and images in this document are courtesy of Danijel Reponj, Observatory Apollo, Croatia, GMN station HR000S. His camera, Cyclops II, is a replacement for the first analog camera, which ran 24/7 for 8 years!

Main Page

2026-01-27T19:18:31Z

MetorsABQ9:

Welcome to the Global Meteor Network wiki page!

The Global Meteor Network (GMN) is a world-wide organization of amateur and professional astronomers. The goal is to observe the night sky using low-light video cameras and produce meteor trajectories in a coordinated network of recording stations. Here, you can find information about the purpose and structure of the GMN, and how to assemble and operate your own meteor camera. You also will discover how to contribute to the development of RMS (the GMN software) and how your observations as a citizen scientist contribute to the ongoing understanding of our solar system's formation and evolution.

'''If you are here to find out how to build and set up a camera from scratch, jump ahead to [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/wiki/index.php?title=Build_%26_Install_%26_Setup_your_camera_-_The_complete_how-to this] section!'''

'''For German speakers, there is "Build camera from scratch" documentation written by students of [https://fsg-preetz.de/ Friedrich-Schiller-Gymnasium in Preetz] available [http://wiki.linux-astronomie.de/doku.php?id=ceres here]. This version is maintained by Friedrich-Schiller-Gymnasium in Preetz. '''

== Global Meteor Network overview ==

=== [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/?page_id=141 Our mission] ===

=== [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/?p=363 A brief history of the Global Meteor Network] ===

=== [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAGq-XqD5Po Video introduction - Overview of the Global Meteor Network (IMC2020)] ===

=== [https://youtu.be/oM7lfQ4nmyw Video overview - Meteor tracking and the GMN from Astro Imaging Channel presentation] ===

=== [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/data/ Some 'live' GMN data products] ===

== Meteor detection station ==

What is an RMS GMN station? An RMS-based GMN station consists of a Raspberry Pi (RPi) single board computer, a low light level security video camera, the RMS software, and a connection to the Internet via Wifi. The camera is securely mounted in a weatherproof housing, pointed at the sky, and connected to the RPi with a Power Over Ethernet (POE) cable. To be a part of the GMN network, you need a fairly powerful Raspberry Pi (Pi 4, 5, or better) and a reasonably fast Internet connection. The internet connection is required only for data upload to a central server each morning and to provide automatic updates for the RMS software.

Nightly, the RPi records video from the camera shortly after local sunset, then continuously compressing and storing the video data on a local SSD drive. Each morning before sunrise, when capture is complete, the RPi analyzes the video and extracts meteor observations from the previous night. These extracted video clips of detected meteors are archived and then uploaded to a server. On a 'busy' night, the clips can total hundreds of megabytes as a result of a heavy meteor shower or a night with a lot of false detections.
: '''NOTE:''' Continuous progress is being made on the detection software to filter out false detections.

The server finds meteors that were observed from more than one station, which allows the server to triangulate meteor trails in 3D and calculate the orbits of the meteors.

=== What do I need? ===

You need a Raspberry Pi computer, RMS software, and a camera kit.
: '''NOTE:''' We strongly recommend the Pi 4 or 5 model.
The software can run on a Pi3, but it is much slower and it is no longer supported. A list with everything you need is available here: [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/wiki/index.php?title=Shopping_list_and_tools_needed page].

You can run multiple cameras on a Linux PC, and details are available '''[https://docs.google.com/document/d/16PSFi8RAqbenPdluhulCRaIenOkEzgs5piUhkX3yaOc/edit here]'''.

=== How do I obtain a camera? ===
There are two options - buy a camera or build a camera.

==== Buy a Camera ====
You can buy a camera and prebuilt Pi, and ready to install. Cameras are available from several suppliers, as well as the Croatian Meteor Network, as explained here: [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/?page_id=136 this page].
If you are in the UK, you can contact the UK Meteor network for advice. [https://ukmeteornetwork.org/ UK Meteor Network].
: '''NOTE:''' As of 2024, UK Meteor network can no longer sell cameras directly.

==== Build your own from scratch ====
This option requires an intermediate level of DIY skills and familiarity with the Raspberry Pi, but do not be put off. The instructions are comprehensive and, if you get stuck, you can ask for advice in the forum here: '''[https://groups.io/g/globalmeteornetwork groups.io]''' forum.

You can find out more about this option here: '''[[Build & Install & Setup your camera - The complete how-to]]'''.

=== Advanced RMS installations and multi-camera support ===
If you would like to explore advanced RMS installation options for various platforms or run multiple cameras on a single Linux computer, complete information is available on '''[https://globalmeteornetwork.org/wiki/index.php?title=Advanced_RMS_installations_and_Multi-camera_support this page]'''.

If you plan to run RMS software on the Raspberry Pi 4 or 5, the best supported and easiest solution is our prepared image. Complete information is available in an '''[https://globalmeteornetwork.org/wiki/index.php?title=Build_%26_Install_%26_Setup_your_camera_-_The_complete_how-to extensive guide]'''.

If you want to run single or multiple cameras on the Raspberry Pi 5, please see
'''[https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/lkq0731w8ba8oomux32m2/Read_Me_Pi5.pdf?rlkey=6k3plpgco8v1lodrkov5l5nf9&st=gvap3tyq&dl=1 Read_Me_Pi5.pdf]''',
and for more detailed documentation
'''[https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/wg0uhvyhtqidbvq3ieusv/MultiCam-on-Pi5.pdf?rlkey=g04zxck1c97wgrjcnra3lumos&dl=1 MultiCam on Pi5.pdf]'''.

=== Can I use a commercial all-sky camera? ===

Generally, this is not a good idea because these cameras lack sufficient sensitivity. More information is available here: '''[https://globalmeteornetwork.org/?p=163 See this recent experiment]'''.

== Operate and maintain your GMN station ==

=== Overview ===

: '''NOTE:''' GMS is a nascent operation, so you may share some of our growing pains if you choose to be involved. We are constantly solving bugs and making improvements, which is an opportunity for you to help if you have programming skills! The workload of day-to-day operation can be non-zero, and may require some of your time.

Ideally, you should monitor your RMS Pi systems daily to identify freezes, glitches, or other problems. For example, you may see birds nesting or soiling the camera window, someone may unintentionally unplug the power cord, or animals (mice, cats, or dogs) may chew on the camera Ethernet cable. Although we make constant progress, the GMS network is not yet a 'power up and forget about it' system.

By its nature, the GMS network is staffed by lots of people who are willing to help newcomers get started. Here are some suggestions for daily operation of your RMS camera.

=== What does the meteor camera do over the course of 24 hours? ===

The RMS python-based system calculates the sundown to sunrise interval, and schedules video camera capture all night. Based on the video camera and capabilities of the Pi, the camera captures at least 25 frames per second between evening and morning twilight. During each nightly continuous image capture, the station processes captured image data and identifies frames that contain a minimum number of stars (usually around 20) that are worth reviewing for meteor detections. When data capture is complete, the station begins processing all frames it flagged with possible detections, then refines the astrometric accuracy of every positive detection. Using the station plate parameters (platepar) calibration file, processing iterates to find the best astrometry and photometry solution for each detected meteor. After this process analyzes each detection, summary files are created.

The summary files include many types of information.
* Text file data presentation in several widely accepted formats (such as ''CAMS'' and ''UFOorbit'').
* Graphic plots of detection frequencies throughout the night.
* Plot of all detections, showing any identified radiants.
* Plots of photometry, astrometry, and camera pointing drift in arc minutes throughout the course of the night as the mount or building flexes.
* Thumbnail images of detections.
* Thumbnail images of data captured throughout the night.
* Single image with all detections stacked together.
* Single image with all captured images stacked together.
* Flat file for correcting images.
* An ''.mp4'' movie time lapse of the night's captured images.
* Meteor shower flux charts, if specific showers are detected.
* Observation summary data of hardware and data recording characteristics.

'''Detailed information about plots is available [[ Plots Explained | here ]]'''

When you click a meteor track, its data displays in the lower data window. Ultimately, all results are combined into a single compressed archive that automatically uploads each morning to the central server.

Each morning, you can review the result files on the RPi and copy anything you want to your computer or tablet.

===Archive data ===

Your primary scientific data is automatically uploaded to the central server every morning after data processing is complete.
: '''NOTE:''' When the night's results are uploaded, RMS purges the oldest data to free up space for the next night's run. As a result, you may want to copy some of the data to a PC, NAS, or the cloud for further analysis.
: You should consider backing up the content of '''~/RMS_data/ArchivedFiles''', which holds individual files and data that RMS determined were probably meteors.

Details about backing up data is beyond the scope of the GMN Wiki. Tools such as Robocopy for Windows and rsync for Linux/MacOS are ideal, and they can 'mirror' data across a network. Help to configure these tools is available in the '''Globalmeteornetwork''' group on '''groups.io'''.

In addition, we added some automated tools that can help you back up data to a thumb drive inserted into the RPi. Assistance about these tools also is available in the '''Globalmeteornetwork''' group on '''groups.io'''.

===Backup and restore the configuration and RSA keys===

:'''NOTE:''' If you are on an older Buster image, you must replace username ''rms'' with username ''pi''. For example, enter ''/home/pi'' instead of ''/home/rms''.

To determine which username to use, run
::''ls /home/rms home/pi''
to display the username that is your home directory.

'''Back up the configuration'''

1. Open a terminal and run the command ''Scripts/RMS_Backup.sh''.

: A compressed ''.zip'' file, with all important configuration files and keys, is created in your user home directory with the prefix ''RMS_Backup'' and the ''.zip'' extension.
: For example, ''/home/rms/RMS_Backup_XX0001_2023-01-28.zip''.

2. Copy the ''.zip'' file to a safe place outside RPi.

: Later, it will be useful to restore the system in case of failure. The ''.zip'' file contains the RSA public and private keys used to contact GMN servers, so keep it secret.

'''Restore the configuration'''

1. Unzip the backup file in any folder on the RPi.

2. Copy the files ''.config'', ''platepar_cmn2010.cal'', and ''mask.bmp'' to the folder ''/home/rms/source/RMS/''.

3. Copy the files ''id_rsa'' and ''id_rsa.pub'' to the folder ''/home/rms/.ssh/'', as shown in this example:

: ''cp .config platepar_cmn2010.cal mask.bmp /home/rms/source/RMS/''
: ''cp id_rsa id_rsa.pub /home/rms/.ssh/''

4. To make sure that permission bits in the RSA key files are correct, enter:

: ''chmod 400 ~/.ssh/id_rsa*''

=== View the data ===

To view data, you can use '''CMN_binViewer''' software [https://github.com/CroatianMeteorNetwork/cmn_binviewer], which is included in the RMS SD image.
: '''NOTE:''' There also is a Windows version [https://github.com/CroatianMeteorNetwork/cmn_binviewer/releases] you can install.

: '''IMPORTANT:''' You can open images in astronomical FITS viewers, such as '''FITS Liberator''' or '''Pixinsight''', but what you see may be surprising. For example, in '''FITS Liberator''', the image is upside down, which is an artefact of how the software reads the image.

In space, there is no 'up' or 'down', so the FITS specification does not dictate if pixel (0,0) is at a specific corner. Some software, notably '''FITS Liberator''', specifies the top left corner as the origin location, which causes terrestrial images to display vertically mirrored.

=== GMN Plots and Images Explained ===

'''[https://IstraStream.com IstraStream.com]''' was an independent hosting site primarily intended for cameras sold by IstraStream. In mid-2023, Istrastream stopped listing camera image output and the IstraStream data display was replaced with the '''[https://globalmeteornetwork.org/weblog/ GMN weblog]'''.

The GMN weblog is a quick way to review the status of cameras in your area. The section '''[[ Plots Explained | GMN Plots and Images ]]''' was originally written as a guide to understanding the IstraStream data display.

=== Tools and utilities ===

There are many tools available.

* '''[https://www.realvnc.com/en/connect/download/viewer/ RealVNC]''', '''[https://www.nomachine.com/ NoMachine]''', '''[https://anydesk.com/en AnyDesk]''', or '''[https://rustdesk.com/ RustDesk]''' remote connect tools provide station access from anywhere. Access to your station from outside your network is enabled by an OpenVPN connection address that is available to meteor stations.
: With '''VNC''' and '''Teamviewer''', you can create an account and team on their websites, and then remotely access your station.
* '''Samba''' data directory access allows you to copy data results directly from your RPi to your computer or tablet.
* '''[https://github.com/CroatianMeteorNetwork/cmn_binviewer CMN_binViewer]''' allows you to view standard FITS image files that contain meteor detections. It runs on the RPi, and it can run under Windows.
* '''[https://sonotaco.com/soft/e_index.html UFO Orbit]''' allows you to process data from multiple stations, and generate unified radiants of two or more stations that see the same meteor. '''[https://sonotaco.com/soft/e_index.html UFO Orbit]''' can plot the shared object ground path and orbital characteristics, and it can output a summary file of all objects seen by more than one station.
* RMS software can be installed under Windows to allow much of the RMS python-based code to run on your computer. This means you can run RMS against meteor station data that was transferred to your computer from the RPi.

You also can run RMS python jobs on the RPi to sample captured image files, and then condense them into an ''.mp4'' video. Sometimes, these videos are mesmerizing summaries that can run for more than two minutes of winter time data.

== What can I do with my GMN station? ==

=== Use SkyFit2 for astrometric and photometric calibration + Manually reduce observations of fireballs and compute their trajectories ===
* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ao3J9Jf0iLQ Updated 2023 video tutorial]'''
* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOjb3qxDlX4 Old 2021 video tutorial]'''

=== [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/fov3d/ Generate a Google Earth KML file to show your station's field of view] ===

=== [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/?p=253 Use the UFO Orbit program to estimate meteor trajectories] ===

=== [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/?p=221 Urban meteor observing] ===

== Data analysis with SkyFit2 ==

'''SkyFit2''', a program in the RMS library, allows you to analyze optical meteor data in most of the optical formats in current use. The program supports popular video formats (''.mp4'', ''.avi'', and ''.mkv''), sequences of static images, and single images with shutter breaks.

A '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ao3J9Jf0iLQ video tutorial]''' explains how to useg '''SkyFit2''' to run astrometric and photometric calibrations on GMN data, and it can manually reduce observations of fireballs and compute their trajectories.

A more detailed description of '''SkyFit2''' is available on the '''[[SkyFit2|SkyFit2]]''' page.

== FAQ ==

=== What should I back up when I re-flash an SD card or a USB disk? ===

You should backup the ''.config'', platepar, and mask files that are in the RMS source directory, plus the entire content of the hidden directory ''/home/pi/.ssh''. Refer to the section titled, '''Back up the configuration'''.

If your SD card or USB disk fails or becomes corrupted, you can fetch the config files from the server because they are uploaded every day, together with the data.
: '''NOTE:''' The content of ''.ssh'' is essential for connection to the server, so you also must save these files.

After you set up a new SD card or USB disk, return the files to their original location.

=== What are the values in the ''FTPdetectinfo_*'' file designated as hnr mle bin Pix/fm Rho Phi? ===

Some of these values (hnr mle bin) are not used in RMS but they are used in CAMS, so their presence is to conform to the standard. As a result, these values are all zeros.

There are other values:
* Pix/fm is the average angular speed of the meteor, in pixels, per frame.
* Rho, Phi are parameters that define the line of the meteor in polar coordinates, see this '''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hough_transform#Theory page]''' for more detail.
: ''Rho'' is the distance of the line from the center of the image.
: ''Phi'' is the angle of the line, as measured from the positive direction of the Y axis. (Basically, this is a line from the center of the image to the top of the image.) The positive angles are measured clockwise, although the CAMS standard may define these parameters a bit differently, with the Y axis flipped.
The ''intensity'' is the sum of all pixel intensities of the meteor on a given frame.

For example, you could represent an area around the meteor on a given frame, as shown in the figure, where the numbers are pixel intensities on an 8-bit image (so they can range from 0 to 255) and the pixel values inside the red boundary represent the meteor blob on the frame. The result? The intensity is the sum of all numbers inside the red boundary.
: '''NOTE:''' Later, this value is used to compute the magnitude.

[[File:Intensity_sum.png |Intensity_sum.png ]]

The magnitude is computed as
: ''mag = -2.5*log10(intensity sum) + photometric_offset''

To estimate the photometric offset in '''SkyFit''', fit the line with slope -2.5 through pairs of known magnitudes of stars and logartihms of their pixel intensity sum. Fundamentally, the photometric offset is the intercept of that line.
: '''NOTE:''' The constant slope of -2.5 comes from the '''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apparent_magnitude#Calculations Definition of stellar magnitudes]'''.

== GMN data policy ==

The Global Meteor Network produces three levels of data products.
* Level 1 - The lowest level data (as close to 'raw' as possible) are the FF image and FR video files saved to the RPi by the capture code and the fireball detector.
* Level 2 - Data is used in three ways:
:* The meteor detector extracts positional and brightness information of individual meteors (''FTPdetectinfo'' file).
:* Images are used for astrometric and photometric calibration (platepar file).
:* Meteor and star detections are used to generate a range of plots, such as the single-station shower association graph and the camera drift graph. The calibrated meteor measurements are uploaded to the GMN server, together with the raw images of individual meteors.
* Level 3 - Software on the server correlates individual observations and computes multi-station meteor trajectories, which are published daily on the '''GMN [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/data/ Data website]'''. This data is made public under the '''[https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ CC BY 4.0 license]'''.

Operators of individual GMN stations exclusively own the Level 1 and Level 2 data their stations produce. In practice, this means they are free to share this data with other meteor networks if they wish. The data that is uploaded to the GMN server is not shared publicly or with other parties without the operator's consent. However, the data may be used internally by the GMN coordinators to manually produce other data products, such as the trajectory of a meteorite dropping fireball or an analysis of a meteor shower.
: '''IMPORTANT:''' All station operators are credited for their data in all GMN publications.

== For more information ==

=== [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/?page_id=43 Contact the Global Meteor Network] ===

=== [https://groups.io/g/globalmeteornetwork Join the Global Meteor Network Forum] ===

=== [https://github.com/markmac99/ukmon-pitools/wiki UK Meteor Network Wiki]===
This wiki has numerous FAQs and tips on maintaining, monitoring and managing your system, and several explainers such as how to calibrate and create a mask, how to copy data and so forth.

=== Important GMN resources ===

There are two additional web pages you should know about.

* The '''[https://globalmeteornetwork.org/status GMN status page]''' provides access to the '''[https://globalmeteornetwork.org/weblog/ GMN weblog]'''.
* A mapping utility website that is directly derived from GMN data: '''[https://tammojan.github.io/meteormap Meteor map]'''.
: '''NOTE:''' This map takes quite a while to load. When you review the map, you must scroll down to see the full power of the data display.

=== GMN talks ===

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tV7WBo0RrQ 2025 GMN Meeting Session 1 (February 2025)]

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z23aJeIg7wo 2025 GMN Meeting Session 2 (February 2025)]

: [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmQ5Bvz4ACYJLYfswIeAipapoeGeI6QWy GMN talk for Society for Astronomical Sciences workshop 2024 (The first 3 videos)]

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juOvRTtoqhs 2024 GMN Meeting Session 1 (February 2024)]

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXhVIxrz2ks 2024 GMN Meeting Session 2 (February 2024)]

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfUyCHjMATc 2023 GMN Meeting Session 1 (February 2023)]

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I78KwF5-1GE 2023 GMN Meeting Session 2 (February 2023)]

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDdrG_FCyGk 2022 GMN Meeting Session 1 (February 2022)]

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_75CDPzjI4 2022 GMN Meeting Session 2 (February 2022)]

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6x9_WCVphY GMN talk at the European Space Agency's Fireball Workshop (June 2021)]

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXBTLPnPDWs 2021 GMN Meeting] - [https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ia9vagug5lxm8k9/AAB_i_1jcWThUdAHO_2gF_Ksa?dl=0 Link to slides]

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAGq-XqD5Po Overview of the GMN - IMC2020 (September 2020)]

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oM7lfQ4nmyw Overview of the GMN, Astro Imaging Channel presentation (May 2020)]

=== GMN-related publications ===

: [https://arxiv.org/abs/2206.11365 Vida, D., Blaauw Erskine, R. C., Brown, P. G., Kambulow, J., Campbell-Brown, M., & Mazur, M. J. (2022). Computing optical meteor flux using global meteor network data. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 515(2), 2322-2339.]

: [https://academic.oup.com/mnras/advance-article/doi/10.1093/mnras/stab2557/6368869 Moorhead, A. V., Clements, T., & Vida, D. (2021). Meteor shower radiant dispersions in Global Meteor Network data. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 508(1), 326-339.]

: [https://arxiv.org/abs/2107.12335 Vida, D., Šegon, D., Gural, P. S., Brown, P. G., McIntyre, M. J., Dijkema, T. J., Pavletić, L., Kukić, P., Mazur, M.J., Eschman, P., Roggemans, P., Merlak, A., & Zubović, D. (2021). The Global Meteor Network–Methodology and first results. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 506(4), 5046-5074.]

: [https://arxiv.org/abs/2003.05458/ Moorhead, A. V., Clements, T. D., & Vida, D. (2020). Realistic gravitational focusing of meteoroid streams. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 494(2), 2982-2994.]

: [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Kukic-et-al-2018-Rolling-shutter.pdf Kukić, P., Gural, P., Vida, D., Šegon, D. & Merlak, A. (2018) Correction for meteor centroids observed using rolling shutter cameras. WGN, Journal of the International Meteor Organization, 46:5, 154-118.]

: [https://gmn.duckdns.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/2018_WGN___RMS_sun_skirter_final.pdf Vida, D., Mazur, M. J., Šegon, D., Kukić, P., & Merlak, A. (2018). Compressive strength of a skirting Daytime Arietid-first science results from low-cost Raspberry Pi-based meteor stations. WGN, Journal of the International Meteor Organization, 46, 113-118.]

: [https://arxiv.org/pdf/1911.02979.pdf Vida, D., Gural, P., Brown, P., Campbell-Brown, M., Wiegert, P. (2019) Estimating trajectories of meteors: an observational Monte Carlo approach - I. Theory. arXiv:1911.02979v4 [astro-ph.EP] 21 Apr 2020]

: [https://arxiv.org/pdf/1911.11734.pdf Vida, D., Gural, P., Brown, P., Campbell-Brown, M., Wiegert, P. (2019) Estimating trajectories of meteors: an observational Monte Carlo approach - II. Results. arXiv:1911.11734v1 [astro-ph.EP] 26 Novr 2019]

: [https://gmn.duckdns.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/2018_WGN___RMS_first_results-final.pdf Vida, D., Mazur, M. J., Šegon, D., Zubović, D., Kukić, P., Parag, F., & Macan, A. (2018). First results of a Raspberry Pi based meteor camera system. WGN, Journal of the International Meteor Organization, 46, 71-78.]

: [https://gmn.duckdns.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Vida_IMC2016_proceedings_final.pdf Vida, D., Zubović, D., Šegon, D., Gural, P., & Cupec, R. (2016). Open-source meteor detection software for low-cost single-board computers. In Proceedings of the International Meteor Conference (IMC2016), Egmond, The Netherlands (pp. 2-5).]

: [https://gmn.duckdns.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Zubovic_IMC2015_priceedings_final.pdf Zubović, D., Vida, D., Gural, P., & Šegon, D. (2015). Advances in the development of a low-cost video meteor station. In Proceedings of the International Meteor Conference, Mistelbach, Austria (pp. 27-30).]

Main Page

2026-01-27T19:17:17Z

MetorsABQ9: /* GMN Plots and Images Explained */

Welcome to the Global Meteor Network wiki page!

The Global Meteor Network (GMN) is a world-wide organization of amateur and professional astronomers. The goal is to observe the night sky using low-light video cameras and produce meteor trajectories in a coordinated network of recording stations. Here, you can find information about the purpose and structure of the GMN, and how to assemble and operate your own meteor camera. You also will discover how to contribute to the development of RMS (the GMN software) and how your observations as a citizen scientist contribute to the ongoing understanding of our solar system's formation and evolution.

'''If you are here to find out how to build and set up a camera from scratch, jump ahead to [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/wiki/index.php?title=Build_%26_Install_%26_Setup_your_camera_-_The_complete_how-to this] section!'''

'''For German speakers, there is "Build camera from scratch" documentation written by students of [https://fsg-preetz.de/ Friedrich-Schiller-Gymnasium in Preetz] available [http://wiki.linux-astronomie.de/doku.php?id=ceres here]. This version is maintained by Friedrich-Schiller-Gymnasium in Preetz. '''

== Global Meteor Network overview ==

=== [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/?page_id=141 Our mission] ===

=== [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/?p=363 A brief history of the Global Meteor Network] ===

=== [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAGq-XqD5Po Video introduction - Overview of the Global Meteor Network (IMC2020)] ===

=== [https://youtu.be/oM7lfQ4nmyw Video overview - Meteor tracking and the GMN from Astro Imaging Channel presentation] ===

=== [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/data/ Some 'live' GMN data products] ===

== Meteor detection station ==

What is an RMS GMN station? An RMS-based GMN station consists of a Raspberry Pi (RPi) single board computer, a low light level security video camera, the RMS software, and a connection to the Internet via Wifi. The camera is securely mounted in a weatherproof housing, pointed at the sky, and connected to the RPi with a Power Over Ethernet (POE) cable. To be a part of the GMN network, you need a fairly powerful Raspberry Pi (Pi 4, 5, or better) and a reasonably fast Internet connection. The internet connection is required only for data upload to a central server each morning and to provide automatic updates for the RMS software.

Nightly, the RPi records video from the camera shortly after local sunset, then continuously compressing and storing the video data on a local SSD drive. Each morning before sunrise, when capture is complete, the RPi analyzes the video and extracts meteor observations from the previous night. These extracted video clips of detected meteors are archived and then uploaded to a server. On a 'busy' night, the clips can total hundreds of megabytes as a result of a heavy meteor shower or a night with a lot of false detections.
: '''NOTE:''' Continuous progress is being made on the detection software to filter out false detections.

The server finds meteors that were observed from more than one station, which allows the server to triangulate meteor trails in 3D and calculate the orbits of the meteors.

=== What do I need? ===

You need a Raspberry Pi computer, RMS software, and a camera kit.
: '''NOTE:''' We strongly recommend the Pi 4 or 5 model.
The software can run on a Pi3, but it is much slower and it is no longer supported. A list with everything you need is available here: [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/wiki/index.php?title=Shopping_list_and_tools_needed page].

You can run multiple cameras on a Linux PC, and details are available '''[https://docs.google.com/document/d/16PSFi8RAqbenPdluhulCRaIenOkEzgs5piUhkX3yaOc/edit here]'''.

=== How do I obtain a camera? ===
There are two options - buy a camera or build a camera.

==== Buy a Camera ====
You can buy a camera and prebuilt Pi, and ready to install. Cameras are available from several suppliers, as well as the Croatian Meteor Network, as explained here: [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/?page_id=136 this page].
If you are in the UK, you can contact the UK Meteor network for advice. [https://ukmeteornetwork.org/ UK Meteor Network].
: '''NOTE:''' As of 2024, UK Meteor network can no longer sell cameras directly.

==== Build your own from scratch ====
This option requires an intermediate level of DIY skills and familiarity with the Raspberry Pi, but do not be put off. The instructions are comprehensive and, if you get stuck, you can ask for advice in the forum here: '''[https://groups.io/g/globalmeteornetwork groups.io]''' forum.

You can find out more about this option here: '''[[Build & Install & Setup your camera - The complete how-to]]'''.

=== Advanced RMS installations and multi-camera support ===
If you would like to explore advanced RMS installation options for various platforms or run multiple cameras on a single Linux computer, complete information is available on '''[https://globalmeteornetwork.org/wiki/index.php?title=Advanced_RMS_installations_and_Multi-camera_support this page]'''.

If you plan to run RMS software on the Raspberry Pi 4 or 5, the best supported and easiest solution is our prepared image. Complete information is available in an '''[https://globalmeteornetwork.org/wiki/index.php?title=Build_%26_Install_%26_Setup_your_camera_-_The_complete_how-to extensive guide]'''.

If you want to run single or multiple cameras on the Raspberry Pi 5, please see
'''[https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/lkq0731w8ba8oomux32m2/Read_Me_Pi5.pdf?rlkey=6k3plpgco8v1lodrkov5l5nf9&st=gvap3tyq&dl=1 Read_Me_Pi5.pdf]''',
and for more detailed documentation
'''[https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/wg0uhvyhtqidbvq3ieusv/MultiCam-on-Pi5.pdf?rlkey=g04zxck1c97wgrjcnra3lumos&dl=1 MultiCam on Pi5.pdf]'''.

=== Can I use a commercial all-sky camera? ===

Generally, this is not a good idea because these cameras lack sufficient sensitivity. More information is available here: '''[https://globalmeteornetwork.org/?p=163 See this recent experiment]'''.

== Operate and maintain your GMN station ==

=== Overview ===

: '''NOTE:''' GMS is a nascent operation, so you may share some of our growing pains if you choose to be involved. We are constantly solving bugs and making improvements, which is an opportunity for you to help if you have programming skills! The workload of day-to-day operation can be non-zero, and may require some of your time.

Ideally, you should monitor your RMS Pi systems daily to identify freezes, glitches, or other problems. For example, you may see birds nesting or soiling the camera window, someone may unintentionally unplug the power cord, or animals (mice, cats, or dogs) may chew on the camera Ethernet cable. Although we make constant progress, the GMS network is not yet a 'power up and forget about it' system.

By its nature, the GMS network is staffed by lots of people who are willing to help newcomers get started. Here are some suggestions for daily operation of your RMS camera.

=== What does the meteor camera do over the course of 24 hours? ===

The RMS python-based system calculates the sundown to sunrise interval, and schedules video camera capture all night. Based on the video camera and capabilities of the Pi, the camera captures at least 25 frames per second between evening and morning twilight. During each nightly continuous image capture, the station processes captured image data and identifies frames that contain a minimum number of stars (usually around 20) that are worth reviewing for meteor detections. When data capture is complete, the station begins processing all frames it flagged with possible detections, then refines the astrometric accuracy of every positive detection. Using the station plate parameters (platepar) calibration file, processing iterates to find the best astrometry and photometry solution for each detected meteor. After this process analyzes each detection, summary files are created.

The summary files include many types of information.
* Text file data presentation in several widely accepted formats (such as ''CAMS'' and ''UFOorbit'').
* Graphic plots of detection frequencies throughout the night.
* Plot of all detections, showing any identified radiants.
* Plots of photometry, astrometry, and camera pointing drift in arc minutes throughout the course of the night as the mount or building flexes.
* Thumbnail images of detections.
* Thumbnail images of data captured throughout the night.
* Single image with all detections stacked together.
* Single image with all captured images stacked together.
* Flat file for correcting images.
* An ''.mp4'' movie time lapse of the night's captured images.
* Meteor shower flux charts, if specific showers are detected.
* Observation summary data of hardware and data recording characteristics.

'''Detailed information about plots is available [[ Plots Explained | here ]]'''

When you click a meteor track, its data displays in the lower data window. Ultimately, all results are combined into a single compressed archive that automatically uploads each morning to the central server.

Each morning, you can review the result files on the RPi and copy anything you want to your computer or tablet.

===Archive data ===

Your primary scientific data is automatically uploaded to the central server every morning after data processing is complete.
: '''NOTE:''' When the night's results are uploaded, RMS purges the oldest data to free up space for the next night's run. As a result, you may want to copy some of the data to a PC, NAS, or the cloud for further analysis.
: You should consider backing up the content of '''~/RMS_data/ArchivedFiles''', which holds individual files and data that RMS determined were probably meteors.

Details about backing up data is beyond the scope of the GMN Wiki. Tools such as Robocopy for Windows and rsync for Linux/MacOS are ideal, and they can 'mirror' data across a network. Help to configure these tools is available in the '''Globalmeteornetwork''' group on '''groups.io'''.

In addition, we added some automated tools that can help you back up data to a thumb drive inserted into the RPi. Assistance about these tools also is available in the '''Globalmeteornetwork''' group on '''groups.io'''.

===Backup and restore the configuration and RSA keys===

:'''NOTE:''' If you are on an older Buster image, you must replace username ''rms'' with username ''pi''. For example, enter ''/home/pi'' instead of ''/home/rms''.

To determine which username to use, run
::''ls /home/rms home/pi''
to display the username that is your home directory.

'''Back up the configuration'''

1. Open a terminal and run the command ''Scripts/RMS_Backup.sh''.

: A compressed ''.zip'' file, with all important configuration files and keys, is created in your user home directory with the prefix ''RMS_Backup'' and the ''.zip'' extension.
: For example, ''/home/rms/RMS_Backup_XX0001_2023-01-28.zip''.

2. Copy the ''.zip'' file to a safe place outside RPi.

: Later, it will be useful to restore the system in case of failure. The ''.zip'' file contains the RSA public and private keys used to contact GMN servers, so keep it secret.

'''Restore the configuration'''

1. Unzip the backup file in any folder on the RPi.

2. Copy the files ''.config'', ''platepar_cmn2010.cal'', and ''mask.bmp'' to the folder ''/home/rms/source/RMS/''.

3. Copy the files ''id_rsa'' and ''id_rsa.pub'' to the folder ''/home/rms/.ssh/'', as shown in this example:

: ''cp .config platepar_cmn2010.cal mask.bmp /home/rms/source/RMS/''
: ''cp id_rsa id_rsa.pub /home/rms/.ssh/''

4. To make sure that permission bits in the RSA key files are correct, enter:

: ''chmod 400 ~/.ssh/id_rsa*''

=== View the data ===

To view data, you can use '''CMN_binViewer''' software [https://github.com/CroatianMeteorNetwork/cmn_binviewer], which is included in the RMS SD image.
: '''NOTE:''' There also is a Windows version [https://github.com/CroatianMeteorNetwork/cmn_binviewer/releases] you can install.

: '''IMPORTANT:''' You can open images in astronomical FITS viewers, such as '''FITS Liberator''' or '''Pixinsight''', but what you see may be surprising. For example, in '''FITS Liberator''', the image is upside down, which is an artefact of how the software reads the image.

In space, there is no 'up' or 'down', so the FITS specification does not dictate if pixel (0,0) is at a specific corner. Some software, notably '''FITS Liberator''', specifies the top left corner as the origin location, which causes terrestrial images to display vertically mirrored.

=== GMN Plots and Images Explained ===

'''[https://IstraStream.com IstraStream.com]''' was an independent hosting site primarily intended for cameras sold by IstraStream. In mid-2023, Istrastream stopped listing camera image output and the IstraStream data display was replaced with the '''[https://globalmeteornetwork.org/weblog/ GMN weblog]'''.

The GMN weblog is a quick way to review the status of cameras in your area. The section '''[[ Plots Explained | GMN Plots and Images ]]''' was originally written as a guide to understanding the IstraStream data display.

=== Tools and utilities ===

There are many tools available.

* '''[https://www.realvnc.com/en/connect/download/viewer/ RealVNC]''', '''[https://www.nomachine.com/ NoMachine]''', '''[https://anydesk.com/en AnyDesk]''', or '''[https://rustdesk.com/ RustDesk]''' remote connect tools provide station access from anywhere. Access to your station from outside your network is enabled by an OpenVPN connection address that is available to meteor stations.
: With '''VNC''' and '''Teamviewer''', you can create an account and team on their websites, and then remotely access your station.
* '''Samba''' data directory access allows you to copy data results directly from your RPi to your computer or tablet.
* '''[https://github.com/CroatianMeteorNetwork/cmn_binviewer CMN_binViewer]''' allows you to view standard FITS image files that contain meteor detections. It runs on the RPi, and it can run under Windows.
* '''[https://sonotaco.com/soft/e_index.html UFO Orbit]''' allows you to process data from multiple stations, and generate unified radiants of two or more stations that see the same meteor. '''[https://sonotaco.com/soft/e_index.html UFO Orbit]''' can plot the shared object ground path and orbital characteristics, and it can output a summary file of all objects seen by more than one station.
* RMS software can be installed under Windows to allow much of the RMS python-based code to run on your computer. This means you can run RMS against meteor station data that was transferred to your computer from the RPi.

You also can run RMS python jobs on the RPi to sample captured image files, and then condense them into an ''.mp4'' video. Sometimes, these videos are mesmerizing summaries that can run for more than two minutes of winter time data.

== What can I do with my GMN station? ==

=== Use SkyFit2 for astrometric and photometric calibration + Manually reduce observations of fireballs and compute their trajectories ===
* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ao3J9Jf0iLQ Updated 2023 video tutorial]'''
* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOjb3qxDlX4 Old 2021 video tutorial]'''

=== [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/fov3d/ Generate a Google Earth KML file to show your station's field of view] ===

=== [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/?p=253 Use the UFO Orbit program to estimate meteor trajectories] ===

=== [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/?p=221 Urban meteor observing] ===

== Data analysis with SkyFit2 ==

'''SkyFit2''', a program in the RMS library, allows you to analyze optical meteor data in most of the optical formats in current use. The program supports popular video formats (''.mp4'', ''.avi'', and ''.mkv''), sequences of static images, and single images with shutter breaks.

A '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ao3J9Jf0iLQ video tutorial]''' explains how to useg '''SkyFit2''' to run astrometric and photometric calibrations on GMN data, and it can manually reduce observations of fireballs and compute their trajectories.

A more detailed description of '''SkyFit2''' is available on the '''[[SkyFit2|SkyFit2]]''' page.

== FAQ ==

=== What should I back up when I re-flash an SD card or a USB disk? ===

You should backup the ''.config'', platepar, and mask files that are in the RMS source directory, plus the entire content of the hidden directory ''/home/pi/.ssh''. Refer to the section titled, '''Back up the configuration'''.

If your SD card or USB disk fails or becomes corrupted, you can fetch the config files from the server because they are uploaded every day, together with the data.
: '''NOTE:''' The content of ''.ssh'' is essential for connection to the server, so you also must save these files.

After you set up a new SD card or USB disk, return the files to their original location.

=== What are the values in the ''FTPdetectinfo_*'' file designated as hnr mle bin Pix/fm Rho Phi? ===

Some of these values (hnr mle bin) are not used in RMS but they are used in CAMS, so their presence is to conform to the standard. As a result, these values are all zeros.

There are other values:
* Pix/fm is the average angular speed of the meteor, in pixels, per frame.
* Rho, Phi are parameters that define the line of the meteor in polar coordinates, see this '''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hough_transform#Theory page]''' for more detail.
: ''Rho'' is the distance of the line from the center of the image.
: ''Phi'' is the angle of the line, as measured from the positive direction of the Y axis. (Basically, this is a line from the center of the image to the top of the image.) The positive angles are measured clockwise, although the CAMS standard may define these parameters a bit differently, with the Y axis flipped.
The ''intensity'' is the sum of all pixel intensities of the meteor on a given frame.

For example, you could represent an area around the meteor on a given frame, as shown in the figure, where the numbers are pixel intensities on an 8-bit image (so they can range from 0 to 255) and the pixel values inside the red boundary represent the meteor blob on the frame. The result? The intensity is the sum of all numbers inside the red boundary.
: '''NOTE:''' Later, this value is used to compute the magnitude.

[[File:Intensity_sum.png |Intensity_sum.png ]]

The magnitude is computed as
: ''mag = -2.5*log10(intensity sum) + photometric_offset''

To estimate the photometric offset in '''SkyFit''', fit the line with slope -2.5 through pairs of known magnitudes of stars and logartihms of their pixel intensity sum. Fundamentally, the photometric offset is the intercept of that line.
: '''NOTE:''' The constant slope of -2.5 comes from the '''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apparent_magnitude#Calculations Definition of stellar magnitudes]'''.

== GMN data policy ==

The Global Meteor Network produces three levels of data products.
* Level 1 - The lowest level data (as close to 'raw' as possible) are the FF image and FR video files saved to the RPi by the capture code and the fireball detector.
* Level 2 - Data is used in three ways:
:* The meteor detector extracts positional and brightness information of individual meteors (''FTPdetectinfo'' file).
:* Images are used for astrometric and photometric calibration (platepar file).
:* Meteor and star detections are used to generate a range of plots, such as the single-station shower association graph and the camera drift graph. The calibrated meteor measurements are uploaded to the GMN server, together with the raw images of individual meteors.
* Level 3 - Software on the server correlates individual observations and computes multi-station meteor trajectories, which are published daily on the '''GMN [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/data/ Data website]'''. This data is made public under the '''[https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ CC BY 4.0 license]'''.

Operators of individual GMN stations exclusively own the Level 1 and Level 2 data their stations produce. In practice, this means they are free to share this data with other meteor networks if they wish. The data that is uploaded to the GMN server is not shared publicly or with other parties without the operator's consent. However, the data may be used internally by the GMN coordinators to manually produce other data products, such as the trajectory of a meteorite dropping fireball or an analysis of a meteor shower.
: '''IMPORTANT:''' All station operators are credited for their data in all GMN publications.

== For more information ==

=== [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/?page_id=43 Contact the Global Meteor Network] ===

=== [https://groups.io/g/globalmeteornetwork Join the Global Meteor Network Forum] ===

=== [https://github.com/markmac99/ukmon-pitools/wiki UK Meteor Network Wiki]===
This wiki has numerous FAQs and tips on maintaining, monitoring and managing your system, and several explainers such as how to calibrate and create a mask, how to copy data and so forth.

=== Important GMN resources ===

There are two additional web pages you should know about.

* The '''[https://globalmeteornetwork.org/status GMN status page]''' provides access to the '''[https://globalmeteornetwork.org/weblog/ GMN weblog]'''.
* A mapping utility website that is directly derived from GMN data: '''[https://tammojan.github.io/meteormap Meteor map]'''.
: '''NOTE:''' This map takes quite a while to load. When you review the map, you must scroll down to see the full power of the data display.

=== GMN talks ===

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tV7WBo0RrQ 2025 GMN Meeting Session 1 (February 2025)]

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z23aJeIg7wo 2025 GMN Meeting Session 2 (February 2025)]

: [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmQ5Bvz4ACYJLYfswIeAipapoeGeI6QWy GMN talk for Society for Astronomical Sciences workshop 2024 (The first 3 videos)]

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juOvRTtoqhs 2024 GMN Meeting Session 1 (February 2024)]

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXhVIxrz2ks 2024 GMN Meeting Session 2 (February 2024)]

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfUyCHjMATc 2023 GMN Meeting Session 1 (February 2023)]

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I78KwF5-1GE 2023 GMN Meeting Session 2 (February 2023)]

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDdrG_FCyGk 2022 GMN Meeting Session 1 (February 2022)]

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_75CDPzjI4 2022 GMN Meeting Session 2 (February 2022)]

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6x9_WCVphY GMN talk at the European Space Agency's Fireball Workshop (June 2021)]

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXBTLPnPDWs 2021 GMN Meeting] - [https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ia9vagug5lxm8k9/AAB_i_1jcWThUdAHO_2gF_Ksa?dl=0 Link to slides]

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAGq-XqD5Po Overview of the GMN - IMC2020 (September 2020)]

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oM7lfQ4nmyw Overview of the GMN, Astro Imaging Channel presentation (May 2020)]

=== GMN-related publications ===

: [https://arxiv.org/abs/2206.11365 Vida, D., Blaauw Erskine, R. C., Brown, P. G., Kambulow, J., Campbell-Brown, M., & Mazur, M. J. (2022). Computing optical meteor flux using global meteor network data. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 515(2), 2322-2339.]

: [https://academic.oup.com/mnras/advance-article/doi/10.1093/mnras/stab2557/6368869 Moorhead, A. V., Clements, T., & Vida, D. (2021). Meteor shower radiant dispersions in Global Meteor Network data. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 508(1), 326-339.]

: [https://arxiv.org/abs/2107.12335 Vida, D., Šegon, D., Gural, P. S., Brown, P. G., McIntyre, M. J., Dijkema, T. J., Pavletić, L., Kukić, P., Mazur, M.J., Eschman, P., Roggemans, P., Merlak, A., & Zubović, D. (2021). The Global Meteor Network–Methodology and first results. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 506(4), 5046-5074.]

: [https://arxiv.org/abs/2003.05458/ Moorhead, A. V., Clements, T. D., & Vida, D. (2020). Realistic gravitational focusing of meteoroid streams. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 494(2), 2982-2994.]

: [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Kukic-et-al-2018-Rolling-shutter.pdf Kukić, P., Gural, P., Vida, D., Šegon, D. & Merlak, A. (2018) Correction for meteor centroids observed using rolling shutter cameras. WGN, Journal of the International Meteor Organization, 46:5, 154-118.]

: [https://gmn.duckdns.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/2018_WGN___RMS_sun_skirter_final.pdf Vida, D., Mazur, M. J., Šegon, D., Kukić, P., & Merlak, A. (2018). Compressive strength of a skirting Daytime Arietid-first science results from low-cost Raspberry Pi-based meteor stations. WGN, Journal of the International Meteor Organization, 46, 113-118.]

: [https://arxiv.org/pdf/1911.02979.pdf Vida, D., Gural, P., Brown, P., Campbell-Brown, M., Wiegert, P. (2019) Estimating trajectories of meteors: an observational Monte Carlo approach - I. Theory. arXiv:1911.02979v4 [astro-ph.EP] 21 Apr 2020]

: [https://arxiv.org/pdf/1911.11734.pdf Vida, D., Gural, P., Brown, P., Campbell-Brown, M., Wiegert, P. (2019) Estimating trajectories of meteors: an observational Monte Carlo approach - II. Results. arXiv:1911.11734v1 [astro-ph.EP] 26 Novr 2019]

: [https://gmn.duckdns.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/2018_WGN___RMS_first_results-final.pdf Vida, D., Mazur, M. J., Šegon, D., Zubović, D., Kukić, P., Parag, F., & Macan, A. (2018). First results of a Raspberry Pi based meteor camera system. WGN, Journal of the International Meteor Organization, 46, 71-78.]

: [https://gmn.duckdns.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Vida_IMC2016_proceedings_final.pdf Vida, D., Zubović, D., Šegon, D., Gural, P., & Cupec, R. (2016). Open-source meteor detection software for low-cost single-board computers. In Proceedings of the International Meteor Conference (IMC2016), Egmond, The Netherlands (pp. 2-5).]

: [https://gmn.duckdns.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Zubovic_IMC2015_priceedings_final.pdf Zubović, D., Vida, D., Gural, P., & Šegon, D. (2015). Advances in the development of a low-cost video meteor station. In Proceedings of the International Meteor Conference, Mistelbach, Austria (pp. 27-30).]

Main Page

2026-01-27T19:08:17Z

MetorsABQ9: /* What does the meteor camera do over the course of 24 hours? */

Welcome to the Global Meteor Network wiki page!

The Global Meteor Network (GMN) is a world-wide organization of amateur and professional astronomers. The goal is to observe the night sky using low-light video cameras and produce meteor trajectories in a coordinated network of recording stations. Here, you can find information about the purpose and structure of the GMN, and how to assemble and operate your own meteor camera. You also will discover how to contribute to the development of RMS (the GMN software) and how your observations as a citizen scientist contribute to the ongoing understanding of our solar system's formation and evolution.

'''If you are here to find out how to build and set up a camera from scratch, jump ahead to [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/wiki/index.php?title=Build_%26_Install_%26_Setup_your_camera_-_The_complete_how-to this] section!'''

'''For German speakers, there is "Build camera from scratch" documentation written by students of [https://fsg-preetz.de/ Friedrich-Schiller-Gymnasium in Preetz] available [http://wiki.linux-astronomie.de/doku.php?id=ceres here]. This version is maintained by Friedrich-Schiller-Gymnasium in Preetz. '''

== Global Meteor Network overview ==

=== [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/?page_id=141 Our mission] ===

=== [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/?p=363 A brief history of the Global Meteor Network] ===

=== [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAGq-XqD5Po Video introduction - Overview of the Global Meteor Network (IMC2020)] ===

=== [https://youtu.be/oM7lfQ4nmyw Video overview - Meteor tracking and the GMN from Astro Imaging Channel presentation] ===

=== [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/data/ Some 'live' GMN data products] ===

== Meteor detection station ==

What is an RMS GMN station? An RMS-based GMN station consists of a Raspberry Pi (RPi) single board computer, a low light level security video camera, the RMS software, and a connection to the Internet via Wifi. The camera is securely mounted in a weatherproof housing, pointed at the sky, and connected to the RPi with a Power Over Ethernet (POE) cable. To be a part of the GMN network, you need a fairly powerful Raspberry Pi (Pi 4, 5, or better) and a reasonably fast Internet connection. The internet connection is required only for data upload to a central server each morning and to provide automatic updates for the RMS software.

Nightly, the RPi records video from the camera shortly after local sunset, then continuously compressing and storing the video data on a local SSD drive. Each morning before sunrise, when capture is complete, the RPi analyzes the video and extracts meteor observations from the previous night. These extracted video clips of detected meteors are archived and then uploaded to a server. On a 'busy' night, the clips can total hundreds of megabytes as a result of a heavy meteor shower or a night with a lot of false detections.
: '''NOTE:''' Continuous progress is being made on the detection software to filter out false detections.

The server finds meteors that were observed from more than one station, which allows the server to triangulate meteor trails in 3D and calculate the orbits of the meteors.

=== What do I need? ===

You need a Raspberry Pi computer, RMS software, and a camera kit.
: '''NOTE:''' We strongly recommend the Pi 4 or 5 model.
The software can run on a Pi3, but it is much slower and it is no longer supported. A list with everything you need is available here: [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/wiki/index.php?title=Shopping_list_and_tools_needed page].

You can run multiple cameras on a Linux PC, and details are available '''[https://docs.google.com/document/d/16PSFi8RAqbenPdluhulCRaIenOkEzgs5piUhkX3yaOc/edit here]'''.

=== How do I obtain a camera? ===
There are two options - buy a camera or build a camera.

==== Buy a Camera ====
You can buy a camera and prebuilt Pi, and ready to install. Cameras are available from several suppliers, as well as the Croatian Meteor Network, as explained here: [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/?page_id=136 this page].
If you are in the UK, you can contact the UK Meteor network for advice. [https://ukmeteornetwork.org/ UK Meteor Network].
: '''NOTE:''' As of 2024, UK Meteor network can no longer sell cameras directly.

==== Build your own from scratch ====
This option requires an intermediate level of DIY skills and familiarity with the Raspberry Pi, but do not be put off. The instructions are comprehensive and, if you get stuck, you can ask for advice in the forum here: '''[https://groups.io/g/globalmeteornetwork groups.io]''' forum.

You can find out more about this option here: '''[[Build & Install & Setup your camera - The complete how-to]]'''.

=== Advanced RMS installations and multi-camera support ===
If you would like to explore advanced RMS installation options for various platforms or run multiple cameras on a single Linux computer, complete information is available on '''[https://globalmeteornetwork.org/wiki/index.php?title=Advanced_RMS_installations_and_Multi-camera_support this page]'''.

If you plan to run RMS software on the Raspberry Pi 4 or 5, the best supported and easiest solution is our prepared image. Complete information is available in an '''[https://globalmeteornetwork.org/wiki/index.php?title=Build_%26_Install_%26_Setup_your_camera_-_The_complete_how-to extensive guide]'''.

If you want to run single or multiple cameras on the Raspberry Pi 5, please see
'''[https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/lkq0731w8ba8oomux32m2/Read_Me_Pi5.pdf?rlkey=6k3plpgco8v1lodrkov5l5nf9&st=gvap3tyq&dl=1 Read_Me_Pi5.pdf]''',
and for more detailed documentation
'''[https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/wg0uhvyhtqidbvq3ieusv/MultiCam-on-Pi5.pdf?rlkey=g04zxck1c97wgrjcnra3lumos&dl=1 MultiCam on Pi5.pdf]'''.

=== Can I use a commercial all-sky camera? ===

Generally, this is not a good idea because these cameras lack sufficient sensitivity. More information is available here: '''[https://globalmeteornetwork.org/?p=163 See this recent experiment]'''.

== Operate and maintain your GMN station ==

=== Overview ===

: '''NOTE:''' GMS is a nascent operation, so you may share some of our growing pains if you choose to be involved. We are constantly solving bugs and making improvements, which is an opportunity for you to help if you have programming skills! The workload of day-to-day operation can be non-zero, and may require some of your time.

Ideally, you should monitor your RMS Pi systems daily to identify freezes, glitches, or other problems. For example, you may see birds nesting or soiling the camera window, someone may unintentionally unplug the power cord, or animals (mice, cats, or dogs) may chew on the camera Ethernet cable. Although we make constant progress, the GMS network is not yet a 'power up and forget about it' system.

By its nature, the GMS network is staffed by lots of people who are willing to help newcomers get started. Here are some suggestions for daily operation of your RMS camera.

=== What does the meteor camera do over the course of 24 hours? ===

The RMS python-based system calculates the sundown to sunrise interval, and schedules video camera capture all night. Based on the video camera and capabilities of the Pi, the camera captures at least 25 frames per second between evening and morning twilight. During each nightly continuous image capture, the station processes captured image data and identifies frames that contain a minimum number of stars (usually around 20) that are worth reviewing for meteor detections. When data capture is complete, the station begins processing all frames it flagged with possible detections, then refines the astrometric accuracy of every positive detection. Using the station plate parameters (platepar) calibration file, processing iterates to find the best astrometry and photometry solution for each detected meteor. After this process analyzes each detection, summary files are created.

The summary files include many types of information.
* Text file data presentation in several widely accepted formats (such as ''CAMS'' and ''UFOorbit'').
* Graphic plots of detection frequencies throughout the night.
* Plot of all detections, showing any identified radiants.
* Plots of photometry, astrometry, and camera pointing drift in arc minutes throughout the course of the night as the mount or building flexes.
* Thumbnail images of detections.
* Thumbnail images of data captured throughout the night.
* Single image with all detections stacked together.
* Single image with all captured images stacked together.
* Flat file for correcting images.
* An ''.mp4'' movie time lapse of the night's captured images.
* Meteor shower flux charts, if specific showers are detected.
* Observation summary data of hardware and data recording characteristics.

'''Detailed information about plots is available [[ Plots Explained | here ]]'''

When you click a meteor track, its data displays in the lower data window. Ultimately, all results are combined into a single compressed archive that automatically uploads each morning to the central server.

Each morning, you can review the result files on the RPi and copy anything you want to your computer or tablet.

===Archive data ===

Your primary scientific data is automatically uploaded to the central server every morning after data processing is complete.
: '''NOTE:''' When the night's results are uploaded, RMS purges the oldest data to free up space for the next night's run. As a result, you may want to copy some of the data to a PC, NAS, or the cloud for further analysis.
: You should consider backing up the content of '''~/RMS_data/ArchivedFiles''', which holds individual files and data that RMS determined were probably meteors.

Details about backing up data is beyond the scope of the GMN Wiki. Tools such as Robocopy for Windows and rsync for Linux/MacOS are ideal, and they can 'mirror' data across a network. Help to configure these tools is available in the '''Globalmeteornetwork''' group on '''groups.io'''.

In addition, we added some automated tools that can help you back up data to a thumb drive inserted into the RPi. Assistance about these tools also is available in the '''Globalmeteornetwork''' group on '''groups.io'''.

===Backup and restore the configuration and RSA keys===

:'''NOTE:''' If you are on an older Buster image, you must replace username ''rms'' with username ''pi''. For example, enter ''/home/pi'' instead of ''/home/rms''.

To determine which username to use, run
::''ls /home/rms home/pi''
to display the username that is your home directory.

'''Back up the configuration'''

1. Open a terminal and run the command ''Scripts/RMS_Backup.sh''.

: A compressed ''.zip'' file, with all important configuration files and keys, is created in your user home directory with the prefix ''RMS_Backup'' and the ''.zip'' extension.
: For example, ''/home/rms/RMS_Backup_XX0001_2023-01-28.zip''.

2. Copy the ''.zip'' file to a safe place outside RPi.

: Later, it will be useful to restore the system in case of failure. The ''.zip'' file contains the RSA public and private keys used to contact GMN servers, so keep it secret.

'''Restore the configuration'''

1. Unzip the backup file in any folder on the RPi.

2. Copy the files ''.config'', ''platepar_cmn2010.cal'', and ''mask.bmp'' to the folder ''/home/rms/source/RMS/''.

3. Copy the files ''id_rsa'' and ''id_rsa.pub'' to the folder ''/home/rms/.ssh/'', as shown in this example:

: ''cp .config platepar_cmn2010.cal mask.bmp /home/rms/source/RMS/''
: ''cp id_rsa id_rsa.pub /home/rms/.ssh/''

4. To make sure that permission bits in the RSA key files are correct, enter:

: ''chmod 400 ~/.ssh/id_rsa*''

=== View the data ===

To view data, you can use '''CMN_binViewer''' software [https://github.com/CroatianMeteorNetwork/cmn_binviewer], which is included in the RMS SD image.
: '''NOTE:''' There also is a Windows version [https://github.com/CroatianMeteorNetwork/cmn_binviewer/releases] you can install.

: '''IMPORTANT:''' You can open images in astronomical FITS viewers, such as '''FITS Liberator''' or '''Pixinsight''', but what you see may be surprising. For example, in '''FITS Liberator''', the image is upside down, which is an artefact of how the software reads the image.

In space, there is no 'up' or 'down', so the FITS specification does not dictate if pixel (0,0) is at a specific corner. Some software, notably '''FITS Liberator''', specifies the top left corner as the origin location, which causes terrestrial images to display vertically mirrored.

=== GMN Plots and Images Explained ===

'''[https://IstraStream.com IstraStream.com]''' was an independent hosting site primarily intended for cameras sold by IstraStream. In mid-2023, Istrastream stopped listing camera image output and the IstraStream data display was replaced with the '''[https://globalmeteornetwork.org/weblog/ GMN weblog]'''.

The GMN weblog is a quick way to review the status of cameras in your area. The following section was originally written as a guide to understanding the IstraStream data display.

GMN Plots and Images explained: [[ Plots Explained ]]

=== Tools and utilities ===

There are many tools available.

* '''[https://www.realvnc.com/en/connect/download/viewer/ RealVNC]''', '''[https://www.nomachine.com/ NoMachine]''', '''[https://anydesk.com/en AnyDesk]''', or '''[https://rustdesk.com/ RustDesk]''' remote connect tools provide station access from anywhere. Access to your station from outside your network is enabled by an OpenVPN connection address that is available to meteor stations.
: With '''VNC''' and '''Teamviewer''', you can create an account and team on their websites, and then remotely access your station.
* '''Samba''' data directory access allows you to copy data results directly from your RPi to your computer or tablet.
* '''[https://github.com/CroatianMeteorNetwork/cmn_binviewer CMN_binViewer]''' allows you to view standard FITS image files that contain meteor detections. It runs on the RPi, and it can run under Windows.
* '''[https://sonotaco.com/soft/e_index.html UFO Orbit]''' allows you to process data from multiple stations, and generate unified radiants of two or more stations that see the same meteor. '''[https://sonotaco.com/soft/e_index.html UFO Orbit]''' can plot the shared object ground path and orbital characteristics, and it can output a summary file of all objects seen by more than one station.
* RMS software can be installed under Windows to allow much of the RMS python-based code to run on your computer. This means you can run RMS against meteor station data that was transferred to your computer from the RPi.

You also can run RMS python jobs on the RPi to sample captured image files, and then condense them into an ''.mp4'' video. Sometimes, these videos are mesmerizing summaries that can run for more than two minutes of winter time data.

== What can I do with my GMN station? ==

=== Use SkyFit2 for astrometric and photometric calibration + Manually reduce observations of fireballs and compute their trajectories ===
* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ao3J9Jf0iLQ Updated 2023 video tutorial]'''
* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOjb3qxDlX4 Old 2021 video tutorial]'''

=== [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/fov3d/ Generate a Google Earth KML file to show your station's field of view] ===

=== [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/?p=253 Use the UFO Orbit program to estimate meteor trajectories] ===

=== [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/?p=221 Urban meteor observing] ===

== Data analysis with SkyFit2 ==

'''SkyFit2''', a program in the RMS library, allows you to analyze optical meteor data in most of the optical formats in current use. The program supports popular video formats (''.mp4'', ''.avi'', and ''.mkv''), sequences of static images, and single images with shutter breaks.

A '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ao3J9Jf0iLQ video tutorial]''' explains how to useg '''SkyFit2''' to run astrometric and photometric calibrations on GMN data, and it can manually reduce observations of fireballs and compute their trajectories.

A more detailed description of '''SkyFit2''' is available on the '''[[SkyFit2|SkyFit2]]''' page.

== FAQ ==

=== What should I back up when I re-flash an SD card or a USB disk? ===

You should backup the ''.config'', platepar, and mask files that are in the RMS source directory, plus the entire content of the hidden directory ''/home/pi/.ssh''. Refer to the section titled, '''Back up the configuration'''.

If your SD card or USB disk fails or becomes corrupted, you can fetch the config files from the server because they are uploaded every day, together with the data.
: '''NOTE:''' The content of ''.ssh'' is essential for connection to the server, so you also must save these files.

After you set up a new SD card or USB disk, return the files to their original location.

=== What are the values in the ''FTPdetectinfo_*'' file designated as hnr mle bin Pix/fm Rho Phi? ===

Some of these values (hnr mle bin) are not used in RMS but they are used in CAMS, so their presence is to conform to the standard. As a result, these values are all zeros.

There are other values:
* Pix/fm is the average angular speed of the meteor, in pixels, per frame.
* Rho, Phi are parameters that define the line of the meteor in polar coordinates, see this '''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hough_transform#Theory page]''' for more detail.
: ''Rho'' is the distance of the line from the center of the image.
: ''Phi'' is the angle of the line, as measured from the positive direction of the Y axis. (Basically, this is a line from the center of the image to the top of the image.) The positive angles are measured clockwise, although the CAMS standard may define these parameters a bit differently, with the Y axis flipped.
The ''intensity'' is the sum of all pixel intensities of the meteor on a given frame.

For example, you could represent an area around the meteor on a given frame, as shown in the figure, where the numbers are pixel intensities on an 8-bit image (so they can range from 0 to 255) and the pixel values inside the red boundary represent the meteor blob on the frame. The result? The intensity is the sum of all numbers inside the red boundary.
: '''NOTE:''' Later, this value is used to compute the magnitude.

[[File:Intensity_sum.png |Intensity_sum.png ]]

The magnitude is computed as
: ''mag = -2.5*log10(intensity sum) + photometric_offset''

To estimate the photometric offset in '''SkyFit''', fit the line with slope -2.5 through pairs of known magnitudes of stars and logartihms of their pixel intensity sum. Fundamentally, the photometric offset is the intercept of that line.
: '''NOTE:''' The constant slope of -2.5 comes from the '''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apparent_magnitude#Calculations Definition of stellar magnitudes]'''.

== GMN data policy ==

The Global Meteor Network produces three levels of data products.
* Level 1 - The lowest level data (as close to 'raw' as possible) are the FF image and FR video files saved to the RPi by the capture code and the fireball detector.
* Level 2 - Data is used in three ways:
:* The meteor detector extracts positional and brightness information of individual meteors (''FTPdetectinfo'' file).
:* Images are used for astrometric and photometric calibration (platepar file).
:* Meteor and star detections are used to generate a range of plots, such as the single-station shower association graph and the camera drift graph. The calibrated meteor measurements are uploaded to the GMN server, together with the raw images of individual meteors.
* Level 3 - Software on the server correlates individual observations and computes multi-station meteor trajectories, which are published daily on the '''GMN [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/data/ Data website]'''. This data is made public under the '''[https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ CC BY 4.0 license]'''.

Operators of individual GMN stations exclusively own the Level 1 and Level 2 data their stations produce. In practice, this means they are free to share this data with other meteor networks if they wish. The data that is uploaded to the GMN server is not shared publicly or with other parties without the operator's consent. However, the data may be used internally by the GMN coordinators to manually produce other data products, such as the trajectory of a meteorite dropping fireball or an analysis of a meteor shower.
: '''IMPORTANT:''' All station operators are credited for their data in all GMN publications.

== For more information ==

=== [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/?page_id=43 Contact the Global Meteor Network] ===

=== [https://groups.io/g/globalmeteornetwork Join the Global Meteor Network Forum] ===

=== [https://github.com/markmac99/ukmon-pitools/wiki UK Meteor Network Wiki]===
This wiki has numerous FAQs and tips on maintaining, monitoring and managing your system, and several explainers such as how to calibrate and create a mask, how to copy data and so forth.

=== Important GMN resources ===

There are two additional web pages you should know about.

* The '''[https://globalmeteornetwork.org/status GMN status page]''' provides access to the '''[https://globalmeteornetwork.org/weblog/ GMN weblog]'''.
* A mapping utility website that is directly derived from GMN data: '''[https://tammojan.github.io/meteormap Meteor map]'''.
: '''NOTE:''' This map takes quite a while to load. When you review the map, you must scroll down to see the full power of the data display.

=== GMN talks ===

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tV7WBo0RrQ 2025 GMN Meeting Session 1 (February 2025)]

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z23aJeIg7wo 2025 GMN Meeting Session 2 (February 2025)]

: [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmQ5Bvz4ACYJLYfswIeAipapoeGeI6QWy GMN talk for Society for Astronomical Sciences workshop 2024 (The first 3 videos)]

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juOvRTtoqhs 2024 GMN Meeting Session 1 (February 2024)]

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXhVIxrz2ks 2024 GMN Meeting Session 2 (February 2024)]

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfUyCHjMATc 2023 GMN Meeting Session 1 (February 2023)]

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I78KwF5-1GE 2023 GMN Meeting Session 2 (February 2023)]

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDdrG_FCyGk 2022 GMN Meeting Session 1 (February 2022)]

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_75CDPzjI4 2022 GMN Meeting Session 2 (February 2022)]

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6x9_WCVphY GMN talk at the European Space Agency's Fireball Workshop (June 2021)]

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXBTLPnPDWs 2021 GMN Meeting] - [https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ia9vagug5lxm8k9/AAB_i_1jcWThUdAHO_2gF_Ksa?dl=0 Link to slides]

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAGq-XqD5Po Overview of the GMN - IMC2020 (September 2020)]

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oM7lfQ4nmyw Overview of the GMN, Astro Imaging Channel presentation (May 2020)]

=== GMN-related publications ===

: [https://arxiv.org/abs/2206.11365 Vida, D., Blaauw Erskine, R. C., Brown, P. G., Kambulow, J., Campbell-Brown, M., & Mazur, M. J. (2022). Computing optical meteor flux using global meteor network data. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 515(2), 2322-2339.]

: [https://academic.oup.com/mnras/advance-article/doi/10.1093/mnras/stab2557/6368869 Moorhead, A. V., Clements, T., & Vida, D. (2021). Meteor shower radiant dispersions in Global Meteor Network data. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 508(1), 326-339.]

: [https://arxiv.org/abs/2107.12335 Vida, D., Šegon, D., Gural, P. S., Brown, P. G., McIntyre, M. J., Dijkema, T. J., Pavletić, L., Kukić, P., Mazur, M.J., Eschman, P., Roggemans, P., Merlak, A., & Zubović, D. (2021). The Global Meteor Network–Methodology and first results. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 506(4), 5046-5074.]

: [https://arxiv.org/abs/2003.05458/ Moorhead, A. V., Clements, T. D., & Vida, D. (2020). Realistic gravitational focusing of meteoroid streams. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 494(2), 2982-2994.]

: [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Kukic-et-al-2018-Rolling-shutter.pdf Kukić, P., Gural, P., Vida, D., Šegon, D. & Merlak, A. (2018) Correction for meteor centroids observed using rolling shutter cameras. WGN, Journal of the International Meteor Organization, 46:5, 154-118.]

: [https://gmn.duckdns.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/2018_WGN___RMS_sun_skirter_final.pdf Vida, D., Mazur, M. J., Šegon, D., Kukić, P., & Merlak, A. (2018). Compressive strength of a skirting Daytime Arietid-first science results from low-cost Raspberry Pi-based meteor stations. WGN, Journal of the International Meteor Organization, 46, 113-118.]

: [https://arxiv.org/pdf/1911.02979.pdf Vida, D., Gural, P., Brown, P., Campbell-Brown, M., Wiegert, P. (2019) Estimating trajectories of meteors: an observational Monte Carlo approach - I. Theory. arXiv:1911.02979v4 [astro-ph.EP] 21 Apr 2020]

: [https://arxiv.org/pdf/1911.11734.pdf Vida, D., Gural, P., Brown, P., Campbell-Brown, M., Wiegert, P. (2019) Estimating trajectories of meteors: an observational Monte Carlo approach - II. Results. arXiv:1911.11734v1 [astro-ph.EP] 26 Novr 2019]

: [https://gmn.duckdns.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/2018_WGN___RMS_first_results-final.pdf Vida, D., Mazur, M. J., Šegon, D., Zubović, D., Kukić, P., Parag, F., & Macan, A. (2018). First results of a Raspberry Pi based meteor camera system. WGN, Journal of the International Meteor Organization, 46, 71-78.]

: [https://gmn.duckdns.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Vida_IMC2016_proceedings_final.pdf Vida, D., Zubović, D., Šegon, D., Gural, P., & Cupec, R. (2016). Open-source meteor detection software for low-cost single-board computers. In Proceedings of the International Meteor Conference (IMC2016), Egmond, The Netherlands (pp. 2-5).]

: [https://gmn.duckdns.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Zubovic_IMC2015_priceedings_final.pdf Zubović, D., Vida, D., Gural, P., & Šegon, D. (2015). Advances in the development of a low-cost video meteor station. In Proceedings of the International Meteor Conference, Mistelbach, Austria (pp. 27-30).]

Main Page

2026-01-27T19:03:55Z

MetorsABQ9: /* GMN Plots and Images Explained */

Welcome to the Global Meteor Network wiki page!

The Global Meteor Network (GMN) is a world-wide organization of amateur and professional astronomers. The goal is to observe the night sky using low-light video cameras and produce meteor trajectories in a coordinated network of recording stations. Here, you can find information about the purpose and structure of the GMN, and how to assemble and operate your own meteor camera. You also will discover how to contribute to the development of RMS (the GMN software) and how your observations as a citizen scientist contribute to the ongoing understanding of our solar system's formation and evolution.

'''If you are here to find out how to build and set up a camera from scratch, jump ahead to [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/wiki/index.php?title=Build_%26_Install_%26_Setup_your_camera_-_The_complete_how-to this] section!'''

'''For German speakers, there is "Build camera from scratch" documentation written by students of [https://fsg-preetz.de/ Friedrich-Schiller-Gymnasium in Preetz] available [http://wiki.linux-astronomie.de/doku.php?id=ceres here]. This version is maintained by Friedrich-Schiller-Gymnasium in Preetz. '''

== Global Meteor Network overview ==

=== [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/?page_id=141 Our mission] ===

=== [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/?p=363 A brief history of the Global Meteor Network] ===

=== [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAGq-XqD5Po Video introduction - Overview of the Global Meteor Network (IMC2020)] ===

=== [https://youtu.be/oM7lfQ4nmyw Video overview - Meteor tracking and the GMN from Astro Imaging Channel presentation] ===

=== [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/data/ Some 'live' GMN data products] ===

== Meteor detection station ==

What is an RMS GMN station? An RMS-based GMN station consists of a Raspberry Pi (RPi) single board computer, a low light level security video camera, the RMS software, and a connection to the Internet via Wifi. The camera is securely mounted in a weatherproof housing, pointed at the sky, and connected to the RPi with a Power Over Ethernet (POE) cable. To be a part of the GMN network, you need a fairly powerful Raspberry Pi (Pi 4, 5, or better) and a reasonably fast Internet connection. The internet connection is required only for data upload to a central server each morning and to provide automatic updates for the RMS software.

Nightly, the RPi records video from the camera shortly after local sunset, then continuously compressing and storing the video data on a local SSD drive. Each morning before sunrise, when capture is complete, the RPi analyzes the video and extracts meteor observations from the previous night. These extracted video clips of detected meteors are archived and then uploaded to a server. On a 'busy' night, the clips can total hundreds of megabytes as a result of a heavy meteor shower or a night with a lot of false detections.
: '''NOTE:''' Continuous progress is being made on the detection software to filter out false detections.

The server finds meteors that were observed from more than one station, which allows the server to triangulate meteor trails in 3D and calculate the orbits of the meteors.

=== What do I need? ===

You need a Raspberry Pi computer, RMS software, and a camera kit.
: '''NOTE:''' We strongly recommend the Pi 4 or 5 model.
The software can run on a Pi3, but it is much slower and it is no longer supported. A list with everything you need is available here: [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/wiki/index.php?title=Shopping_list_and_tools_needed page].

You can run multiple cameras on a Linux PC, and details are available '''[https://docs.google.com/document/d/16PSFi8RAqbenPdluhulCRaIenOkEzgs5piUhkX3yaOc/edit here]'''.

=== How do I obtain a camera? ===
There are two options - buy a camera or build a camera.

==== Buy a Camera ====
You can buy a camera and prebuilt Pi, and ready to install. Cameras are available from several suppliers, as well as the Croatian Meteor Network, as explained here: [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/?page_id=136 this page].
If you are in the UK, you can contact the UK Meteor network for advice. [https://ukmeteornetwork.org/ UK Meteor Network].
: '''NOTE:''' As of 2024, UK Meteor network can no longer sell cameras directly.

==== Build your own from scratch ====
This option requires an intermediate level of DIY skills and familiarity with the Raspberry Pi, but do not be put off. The instructions are comprehensive and, if you get stuck, you can ask for advice in the forum here: '''[https://groups.io/g/globalmeteornetwork groups.io]''' forum.

You can find out more about this option here: '''[[Build & Install & Setup your camera - The complete how-to]]'''.

=== Advanced RMS installations and multi-camera support ===
If you would like to explore advanced RMS installation options for various platforms or run multiple cameras on a single Linux computer, complete information is available on '''[https://globalmeteornetwork.org/wiki/index.php?title=Advanced_RMS_installations_and_Multi-camera_support this page]'''.

If you plan to run RMS software on the Raspberry Pi 4 or 5, the best supported and easiest solution is our prepared image. Complete information is available in an '''[https://globalmeteornetwork.org/wiki/index.php?title=Build_%26_Install_%26_Setup_your_camera_-_The_complete_how-to extensive guide]'''.

If you want to run single or multiple cameras on the Raspberry Pi 5, please see
'''[https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/lkq0731w8ba8oomux32m2/Read_Me_Pi5.pdf?rlkey=6k3plpgco8v1lodrkov5l5nf9&st=gvap3tyq&dl=1 Read_Me_Pi5.pdf]''',
and for more detailed documentation
'''[https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/wg0uhvyhtqidbvq3ieusv/MultiCam-on-Pi5.pdf?rlkey=g04zxck1c97wgrjcnra3lumos&dl=1 MultiCam on Pi5.pdf]'''.

=== Can I use a commercial all-sky camera? ===

Generally, this is not a good idea because these cameras lack sufficient sensitivity. More information is available here: '''[https://globalmeteornetwork.org/?p=163 See this recent experiment]'''.

== Operate and maintain your GMN station ==

=== Overview ===

: '''NOTE:''' GMS is a nascent operation, so you may share some of our growing pains if you choose to be involved. We are constantly solving bugs and making improvements, which is an opportunity for you to help if you have programming skills! The workload of day-to-day operation can be non-zero, and may require some of your time.

Ideally, you should monitor your RMS Pi systems daily to identify freezes, glitches, or other problems. For example, you may see birds nesting or soiling the camera window, someone may unintentionally unplug the power cord, or animals (mice, cats, or dogs) may chew on the camera Ethernet cable. Although we make constant progress, the GMS network is not yet a 'power up and forget about it' system.

By its nature, the GMS network is staffed by lots of people who are willing to help newcomers get started. Here are some suggestions for daily operation of your RMS camera.

=== What does the meteor camera do over the course of 24 hours? ===

The RMS python-based system calculates the sundown to sunrise interval, and schedules video camera capture all night. Based on the video camera and capabilities of the Pi, the camera captures at least 25 frames per second between evening and morning twilight. During each nightly continuous image capture, the station processes captured image data and idenitfies frames that contain a minimum number of stars (usually around 20) that are worth reviewing for meteor detections. When data capture is complete, the station begins processing all frames it flagged with possible detections, then refines the astrometric accuracy of every positive detection. Using the station plate parameters (platepar) calibration file, processing iterates to find the best astrometry and photometry solution for each detected meteor. After this process analyzes each detection, summary files are created.

The summary files include many types of information.
* Text file data presentation in several widely accepted formats (such as ''CAMS'' and ''UFOorbit'').
* Graphic plots of detection frequencies throughout the night.
* Plot of all detections, showing any identified radiants.
* Plots of photometry, astrometry, and camera pointing drift in arc minutes throughout the course of the night as the mount or building flexes.
: '''NOTE:''' Detailed information about plots is available in the section below '''GMN Plots and Images Explained'''
* Thumbnail images of detections.
* Thumbnail images of data captured throughout the night.
* Single image with all detections stacked together.
* Single image with all captured images stacked together.
* Flat file for correcting images.
* An ''.mp4'' movie time lapse of the night's captured images.
* Meteor shower flux charts, if specific showers are detected.
* Observation summary data of hardware and data recording characteristics.

When you click a meteor track, its data displays in the lower data window. Ultimately, all results are combined into a single compressed archive that automatically uploads each morning to the central server.

Each morning, you can review the result files on the RPi and copy anything you want to your computer or tablet.

===Archive data ===

Your primary scientific data is automatically uploaded to the central server every morning after data processing is complete.
: '''NOTE:''' When the night's results are uploaded, RMS purges the oldest data to free up space for the next night's run. As a result, you may want to copy some of the data to a PC, NAS, or the cloud for further analysis.
: You should consider backing up the content of '''~/RMS_data/ArchivedFiles''', which holds individual files and data that RMS determined were probably meteors.

Details about backing up data is beyond the scope of the GMN Wiki. Tools such as Robocopy for Windows and rsync for Linux/MacOS are ideal, and they can 'mirror' data across a network. Help to configure these tools is available in the '''Globalmeteornetwork''' group on '''groups.io'''.

In addition, we added some automated tools that can help you back up data to a thumb drive inserted into the RPi. Assistance about these tools also is available in the '''Globalmeteornetwork''' group on '''groups.io'''.

===Backup and restore the configuration and RSA keys===

:'''NOTE:''' If you are on an older Buster image, you must replace username ''rms'' with username ''pi''. For example, enter ''/home/pi'' instead of ''/home/rms''.

To determine which username to use, run
::''ls /home/rms home/pi''
to display the username that is your home directory.

'''Back up the configuration'''

1. Open a terminal and run the command ''Scripts/RMS_Backup.sh''.

: A compressed ''.zip'' file, with all important configuration files and keys, is created in your user home directory with the prefix ''RMS_Backup'' and the ''.zip'' extension.
: For example, ''/home/rms/RMS_Backup_XX0001_2023-01-28.zip''.

2. Copy the ''.zip'' file to a safe place outside RPi.

: Later, it will be useful to restore the system in case of failure. The ''.zip'' file contains the RSA public and private keys used to contact GMN servers, so keep it secret.

'''Restore the configuration'''

1. Unzip the backup file in any folder on the RPi.

2. Copy the files ''.config'', ''platepar_cmn2010.cal'', and ''mask.bmp'' to the folder ''/home/rms/source/RMS/''.

3. Copy the files ''id_rsa'' and ''id_rsa.pub'' to the folder ''/home/rms/.ssh/'', as shown in this example:

: ''cp .config platepar_cmn2010.cal mask.bmp /home/rms/source/RMS/''
: ''cp id_rsa id_rsa.pub /home/rms/.ssh/''

4. To make sure that permission bits in the RSA key files are correct, enter:

: ''chmod 400 ~/.ssh/id_rsa*''

=== View the data ===

To view data, you can use '''CMN_binViewer''' software [https://github.com/CroatianMeteorNetwork/cmn_binviewer], which is included in the RMS SD image.
: '''NOTE:''' There also is a Windows version [https://github.com/CroatianMeteorNetwork/cmn_binviewer/releases] you can install.

: '''IMPORTANT:''' You can open images in astronomical FITS viewers, such as '''FITS Liberator''' or '''Pixinsight''', but what you see may be surprising. For example, in '''FITS Liberator''', the image is upside down, which is an artefact of how the software reads the image.

In space, there is no 'up' or 'down', so the FITS specification does not dictate if pixel (0,0) is at a specific corner. Some software, notably '''FITS Liberator''', specifies the top left corner as the origin location, which causes terrestrial images to display vertically mirrored.

=== GMN Plots and Images Explained ===

'''[https://IstraStream.com IstraStream.com]''' was an independent hosting site primarily intended for cameras sold by IstraStream. In mid-2023, Istrastream stopped listing camera image output and the IstraStream data display was replaced with the '''[https://globalmeteornetwork.org/weblog/ GMN weblog]'''.

The GMN weblog is a quick way to review the status of cameras in your area. The following section was originally written as a guide to understanding the IstraStream data display.

GMN Plots and Images explained: [[ Plots Explained ]]

=== Tools and utilities ===

There are many tools available.

* '''[https://www.realvnc.com/en/connect/download/viewer/ RealVNC]''', '''[https://www.nomachine.com/ NoMachine]''', '''[https://anydesk.com/en AnyDesk]''', or '''[https://rustdesk.com/ RustDesk]''' remote connect tools provide station access from anywhere. Access to your station from outside your network is enabled by an OpenVPN connection address that is available to meteor stations.
: With '''VNC''' and '''Teamviewer''', you can create an account and team on their websites, and then remotely access your station.
* '''Samba''' data directory access allows you to copy data results directly from your RPi to your computer or tablet.
* '''[https://github.com/CroatianMeteorNetwork/cmn_binviewer CMN_binViewer]''' allows you to view standard FITS image files that contain meteor detections. It runs on the RPi, and it can run under Windows.
* '''[https://sonotaco.com/soft/e_index.html UFO Orbit]''' allows you to process data from multiple stations, and generate unified radiants of two or more stations that see the same meteor. '''[https://sonotaco.com/soft/e_index.html UFO Orbit]''' can plot the shared object ground path and orbital characteristics, and it can output a summary file of all objects seen by more than one station.
* RMS software can be installed under Windows to allow much of the RMS python-based code to run on your computer. This means you can run RMS against meteor station data that was transferred to your computer from the RPi.

You also can run RMS python jobs on the RPi to sample captured image files, and then condense them into an ''.mp4'' video. Sometimes, these videos are mesmerizing summaries that can run for more than two minutes of winter time data.

== What can I do with my GMN station? ==

=== Use SkyFit2 for astrometric and photometric calibration + Manually reduce observations of fireballs and compute their trajectories ===
* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ao3J9Jf0iLQ Updated 2023 video tutorial]'''
* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOjb3qxDlX4 Old 2021 video tutorial]'''

=== [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/fov3d/ Generate a Google Earth KML file to show your station's field of view] ===

=== [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/?p=253 Use the UFO Orbit program to estimate meteor trajectories] ===

=== [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/?p=221 Urban meteor observing] ===

== Data analysis with SkyFit2 ==

'''SkyFit2''', a program in the RMS library, allows you to analyze optical meteor data in most of the optical formats in current use. The program supports popular video formats (''.mp4'', ''.avi'', and ''.mkv''), sequences of static images, and single images with shutter breaks.

A '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ao3J9Jf0iLQ video tutorial]''' explains how to useg '''SkyFit2''' to run astrometric and photometric calibrations on GMN data, and it can manually reduce observations of fireballs and compute their trajectories.

A more detailed description of '''SkyFit2''' is available on the '''[[SkyFit2|SkyFit2]]''' page.

== FAQ ==

=== What should I back up when I re-flash an SD card or a USB disk? ===

You should backup the ''.config'', platepar, and mask files that are in the RMS source directory, plus the entire content of the hidden directory ''/home/pi/.ssh''. Refer to the section titled, '''Back up the configuration'''.

If your SD card or USB disk fails or becomes corrupted, you can fetch the config files from the server because they are uploaded every day, together with the data.
: '''NOTE:''' The content of ''.ssh'' is essential for connection to the server, so you also must save these files.

After you set up a new SD card or USB disk, return the files to their original location.

=== What are the values in the ''FTPdetectinfo_*'' file designated as hnr mle bin Pix/fm Rho Phi? ===

Some of these values (hnr mle bin) are not used in RMS but they are used in CAMS, so their presence is to conform to the standard. As a result, these values are all zeros.

There are other values:
* Pix/fm is the average angular speed of the meteor, in pixels, per frame.
* Rho, Phi are parameters that define the line of the meteor in polar coordinates, see this '''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hough_transform#Theory page]''' for more detail.
: ''Rho'' is the distance of the line from the center of the image.
: ''Phi'' is the angle of the line, as measured from the positive direction of the Y axis. (Basically, this is a line from the center of the image to the top of the image.) The positive angles are measured clockwise, although the CAMS standard may define these parameters a bit differently, with the Y axis flipped.
The ''intensity'' is the sum of all pixel intensities of the meteor on a given frame.

For example, you could represent an area around the meteor on a given frame, as shown in the figure, where the numbers are pixel intensities on an 8-bit image (so they can range from 0 to 255) and the pixel values inside the red boundary represent the meteor blob on the frame. The result? The intensity is the sum of all numbers inside the red boundary.
: '''NOTE:''' Later, this value is used to compute the magnitude.

[[File:Intensity_sum.png |Intensity_sum.png ]]

The magnitude is computed as
: ''mag = -2.5*log10(intensity sum) + photometric_offset''

To estimate the photometric offset in '''SkyFit''', fit the line with slope -2.5 through pairs of known magnitudes of stars and logartihms of their pixel intensity sum. Fundamentally, the photometric offset is the intercept of that line.
: '''NOTE:''' The constant slope of -2.5 comes from the '''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apparent_magnitude#Calculations Definition of stellar magnitudes]'''.

== GMN data policy ==

The Global Meteor Network produces three levels of data products.
* Level 1 - The lowest level data (as close to 'raw' as possible) are the FF image and FR video files saved to the RPi by the capture code and the fireball detector.
* Level 2 - Data is used in three ways:
:* The meteor detector extracts positional and brightness information of individual meteors (''FTPdetectinfo'' file).
:* Images are used for astrometric and photometric calibration (platepar file).
:* Meteor and star detections are used to generate a range of plots, such as the single-station shower association graph and the camera drift graph. The calibrated meteor measurements are uploaded to the GMN server, together with the raw images of individual meteors.
* Level 3 - Software on the server correlates individual observations and computes multi-station meteor trajectories, which are published daily on the '''GMN [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/data/ Data website]'''. This data is made public under the '''[https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ CC BY 4.0 license]'''.

Operators of individual GMN stations exclusively own the Level 1 and Level 2 data their stations produce. In practice, this means they are free to share this data with other meteor networks if they wish. The data that is uploaded to the GMN server is not shared publicly or with other parties without the operator's consent. However, the data may be used internally by the GMN coordinators to manually produce other data products, such as the trajectory of a meteorite dropping fireball or an analysis of a meteor shower.
: '''IMPORTANT:''' All station operators are credited for their data in all GMN publications.

== For more information ==

=== [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/?page_id=43 Contact the Global Meteor Network] ===

=== [https://groups.io/g/globalmeteornetwork Join the Global Meteor Network Forum] ===

=== [https://github.com/markmac99/ukmon-pitools/wiki UK Meteor Network Wiki]===
This wiki has numerous FAQs and tips on maintaining, monitoring and managing your system, and several explainers such as how to calibrate and create a mask, how to copy data and so forth.

=== Important GMN resources ===

There are two additional web pages you should know about.

* The '''[https://globalmeteornetwork.org/status GMN status page]''' provides access to the '''[https://globalmeteornetwork.org/weblog/ GMN weblog]'''.
* A mapping utility website that is directly derived from GMN data: '''[https://tammojan.github.io/meteormap Meteor map]'''.
: '''NOTE:''' This map takes quite a while to load. When you review the map, you must scroll down to see the full power of the data display.

=== GMN talks ===

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tV7WBo0RrQ 2025 GMN Meeting Session 1 (February 2025)]

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z23aJeIg7wo 2025 GMN Meeting Session 2 (February 2025)]

: [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmQ5Bvz4ACYJLYfswIeAipapoeGeI6QWy GMN talk for Society for Astronomical Sciences workshop 2024 (The first 3 videos)]

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juOvRTtoqhs 2024 GMN Meeting Session 1 (February 2024)]

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXhVIxrz2ks 2024 GMN Meeting Session 2 (February 2024)]

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfUyCHjMATc 2023 GMN Meeting Session 1 (February 2023)]

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I78KwF5-1GE 2023 GMN Meeting Session 2 (February 2023)]

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDdrG_FCyGk 2022 GMN Meeting Session 1 (February 2022)]

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_75CDPzjI4 2022 GMN Meeting Session 2 (February 2022)]

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6x9_WCVphY GMN talk at the European Space Agency's Fireball Workshop (June 2021)]

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXBTLPnPDWs 2021 GMN Meeting] - [https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ia9vagug5lxm8k9/AAB_i_1jcWThUdAHO_2gF_Ksa?dl=0 Link to slides]

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAGq-XqD5Po Overview of the GMN - IMC2020 (September 2020)]

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oM7lfQ4nmyw Overview of the GMN, Astro Imaging Channel presentation (May 2020)]

=== GMN-related publications ===

: [https://arxiv.org/abs/2206.11365 Vida, D., Blaauw Erskine, R. C., Brown, P. G., Kambulow, J., Campbell-Brown, M., & Mazur, M. J. (2022). Computing optical meteor flux using global meteor network data. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 515(2), 2322-2339.]

: [https://academic.oup.com/mnras/advance-article/doi/10.1093/mnras/stab2557/6368869 Moorhead, A. V., Clements, T., & Vida, D. (2021). Meteor shower radiant dispersions in Global Meteor Network data. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 508(1), 326-339.]

: [https://arxiv.org/abs/2107.12335 Vida, D., Šegon, D., Gural, P. S., Brown, P. G., McIntyre, M. J., Dijkema, T. J., Pavletić, L., Kukić, P., Mazur, M.J., Eschman, P., Roggemans, P., Merlak, A., & Zubović, D. (2021). The Global Meteor Network–Methodology and first results. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 506(4), 5046-5074.]

: [https://arxiv.org/abs/2003.05458/ Moorhead, A. V., Clements, T. D., & Vida, D. (2020). Realistic gravitational focusing of meteoroid streams. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 494(2), 2982-2994.]

: [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Kukic-et-al-2018-Rolling-shutter.pdf Kukić, P., Gural, P., Vida, D., Šegon, D. & Merlak, A. (2018) Correction for meteor centroids observed using rolling shutter cameras. WGN, Journal of the International Meteor Organization, 46:5, 154-118.]

: [https://gmn.duckdns.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/2018_WGN___RMS_sun_skirter_final.pdf Vida, D., Mazur, M. J., Šegon, D., Kukić, P., & Merlak, A. (2018). Compressive strength of a skirting Daytime Arietid-first science results from low-cost Raspberry Pi-based meteor stations. WGN, Journal of the International Meteor Organization, 46, 113-118.]

: [https://arxiv.org/pdf/1911.02979.pdf Vida, D., Gural, P., Brown, P., Campbell-Brown, M., Wiegert, P. (2019) Estimating trajectories of meteors: an observational Monte Carlo approach - I. Theory. arXiv:1911.02979v4 [astro-ph.EP] 21 Apr 2020]

: [https://arxiv.org/pdf/1911.11734.pdf Vida, D., Gural, P., Brown, P., Campbell-Brown, M., Wiegert, P. (2019) Estimating trajectories of meteors: an observational Monte Carlo approach - II. Results. arXiv:1911.11734v1 [astro-ph.EP] 26 Novr 2019]

: [https://gmn.duckdns.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/2018_WGN___RMS_first_results-final.pdf Vida, D., Mazur, M. J., Šegon, D., Zubović, D., Kukić, P., Parag, F., & Macan, A. (2018). First results of a Raspberry Pi based meteor camera system. WGN, Journal of the International Meteor Organization, 46, 71-78.]

: [https://gmn.duckdns.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Vida_IMC2016_proceedings_final.pdf Vida, D., Zubović, D., Šegon, D., Gural, P., & Cupec, R. (2016). Open-source meteor detection software for low-cost single-board computers. In Proceedings of the International Meteor Conference (IMC2016), Egmond, The Netherlands (pp. 2-5).]

: [https://gmn.duckdns.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Zubovic_IMC2015_priceedings_final.pdf Zubović, D., Vida, D., Gural, P., & Šegon, D. (2015). Advances in the development of a low-cost video meteor station. In Proceedings of the International Meteor Conference, Mistelbach, Austria (pp. 27-30).]

Plots Explained

2026-01-27T19:00:00Z

MetorsABQ9: Created page with "GMN plots and images explained by Damir Šegon There are more than 1,000 Global Meteor Network (GMN) cameras sharing the web pages, powered by GMN. The GMN Weblog features their image stacks and plots, and summarizes the previous night's Raspberry Meteor System (RMS) camera results. The GMN weblog page is here: https://globalmeteornetwork.org/weblog/. Results also are available on the GMN status page: https://globalmeteornetwork.org/status. This document is a guide for..."

GMN plots and images explained
by Damir Šegon
There are more than 1,000 Global Meteor Network (GMN) cameras sharing the web pages, powered by GMN. The GMN Weblog features their image stacks and plots, and summarizes the previous night's Raspberry Meteor System (RMS) camera results.

The GMN weblog page is here: https://globalmeteornetwork.org/weblog/. Results also are available on the GMN status page: https://globalmeteornetwork.org/status. This document is a guide for typical RMS processing.

Some of these stacks/plots are easy to understand at a glance, while others require more explanation. For image stacks, CMNbinViewer software is a valuable tool that you can run on the Pi or PC. These papers about RMS can help you understand how best to capture and detect events.

== Detected stack ==

A stack of detected images is an event that was recognized as a meteor. A detected image is the difference between MaxPixel and AveragePixel images, which is calculated in a procedure that helps suppress slow-moving clouds and most static noise. Fast moving clouds may show up on the detected stack as a set of ‘waves’ that form what appears to be an abstract art painting.

After the real-time analysis of images, several machine learning algorithms have been trained to reduce false detections from clouds flying creatures, such as bugs, bats, seagulls, and owls, or other flying entities, such as airplanes, drones, and satellites.

In spite of false event rejection filters some false positives may remain. Also note that if a plane or other false event occurs while a meteor is detected, both the meteor and the false detection will be captured in the same image. As a result, the note in the bottom right corner, Detected meteors, should be understood as an estimate. For stations with good astronomical viewing conditions, this number will be very close to the number of detected meteors.

[[File: Plots_Detected.png | Detected.png ]]

== Captured stack ==

In contrast to the Detected stack, a captured stack contains images from the entire night, some of which also are represented in the Detected stack.

[[File: Plots_Captured.png | Captured.png ]]

==Captured thumbnails ==

This image is built from a matrix of MaxPixel images from the entire night, and it includes time stamps in the upper left row. Each image is actually a MaxPixel stack of MaxPixel images, which are the result of combining 5 FF*.fits files.

The time difference between two neighboring time stamps should be 10.24 x 5 = 51.2 seconds. If this difference is higher than 51.2 seconds, your RMS system dropped frames and you should check for problems.

Because MaxPixel values are stacked, the sky sometimes is too bright, which causes images to become saturated (completely white). This result can be is a combination of moonlight and high humidity or lightning that flashed in your field of view (FOV), illuminating the clouds.

[[File: Plots_CapturedThumbnails.png | CapturedThumbnails.png ]]

== Detected thumbnails ==

Similar to a Captured thumbnail, a ‘’Detected thumbnail’’ represents a matrix of only MaxPixel images that contain detections. Time stamps on these images specify a start point you can use to search for an interesting event. Unlike images in a Captured stack, Detected thumbnails are not stacked, which means that each image represents only one FF file.

[[File: Plots_DetectedThumbnails.png | DetectedThumbnails.png ]]

== Radiants ==

‘’Radiants’’ are plots of meteors and active shower radiant positions. The size of the circle for a radiant depends on the meteor shower, and counts are provided for meteors associated with an active meteor shower.

A radiant association is based on single station observations, which may be wrong when combined with other stations. Usually, counts are highly accurate for a significant event or major shower activity. In the lower part of the plot, the vertical dashed red line represents the current position of the Earth relative to solar longitude and active radiants on the date of observation.

[[File: Plots_RadiantsPlot.png | RadiantsPlot.png ]]

== Calibration variation ==

In early stages of the GMN while checking astrometry, it was discovered that cameras can significantly change their orientation during the course of the night. Why this situation occurs is beyond the scope of this document, but it is important to know that this movement requires you to check the astrometry fit for each FF file that contains a detection.

The results of a recheck are shown in this plot and the time from the first FF file is color-coded. The figure shows the difference between the refitted FOV and the reference FOV center in arcminutes, usually on the X-axis. It also shows the angle of rotation between the refitted FOV and the reference FOV.

[[File: Plots_CalibrationVariation.png | CalibrationVariation.png ]]

If you study this plot for your camera through the night, you may be able to identify and fix problems related to the camera mount. On average, cameras move 5 to 6 arcminutes overnight, but there are documented cases of minor movements of only 2' and much larger movements of 15' or more.

== Deaveraged field sums ==

This plot shows variations between pixel value sums from each FF file throughout the night. Because these values are deaveraged, any significant event peak should be obvious in the plot.

[[File: Plots_DeaveratedFieldSums.png | DeaveratedFieldSums.png ]]

== Peak field sums ==

This plot shows the sum of intensity values from all pixels in each frame, from each FF file throughout the night. Average values from these sums are plotted in black and peak values are plotted in red. As before, each significant event in the camera field of view is shown as a peak.

[[File: Plots_PeakFieldSums.png | PeakFieldSums.png ]]

== Astrometry report ==

This plot shows the results of an image that was refitted during the night, with deviations from original calibration shown as yellow lines. The length of each line is 100x the distance from ideal calibration and the line orientation shows the direction of the deviation.

If there is a systemic error, lines display either as concentrically oriented or deviated in a single direction. Ideally, you want to see a lot of short lines that are oriented in multiple directions.

[[File: Plots_AstrometryReport.png | AstrometryReport.png ]]

== Photometry report ==

This plot shows the photometry fit for stars extracted from an FF file of observations. Two lines represent the fit for the recent night (red) and a reference calibration (gray).

To calculate the limiting magnitude of a camera, subtract about 4 magnitudes from the photometry fit. For most 3.6mm cameras, this number is 10 or a bit more because these cameras have a limiting magnitude of about 6.

[[File: Plots_PhotometryReport.png | PhotometryReport.png ]]

== ff_Intervals ==

This plot shows relative stability of frame recording throughout the course of the night.

[[File: Plots_ff_Intervals.png | ff_Intervals.png ]]

== TimeLapse video ==

This TimeLapse.mp4 video contains many images from the previous night, but not all images. This video is not valuable for scientific applications, but it is useful to check dynamic weather conditions throughout the night.

[[File: Plots_TimeLapseVideo.png | TimeLapseVideo.png ]]

== Acknowledgements ==

Plots and images in this document are courtesy of Danijel Reponj, Observatory Apollo, Croatia, GMN station HR000S. His camera, Cyclops II, is a replacement for the first analog camera, which ran 24/7 for 8 years!

Main Page

2026-01-27T18:57:17Z

MetorsABQ9: /* GMN Plots and Images Explained */

Welcome to the Global Meteor Network wiki page!

The Global Meteor Network (GMN) is a world-wide organization of amateur and professional astronomers. The goal is to observe the night sky using low-light video cameras and produce meteor trajectories in a coordinated network of recording stations. Here, you can find information about the purpose and structure of the GMN, and how to assemble and operate your own meteor camera. You also will discover how to contribute to the development of RMS (the GMN software) and how your observations as a citizen scientist contribute to the ongoing understanding of our solar system's formation and evolution.

'''If you are here to find out how to build and set up a camera from scratch, jump ahead to [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/wiki/index.php?title=Build_%26_Install_%26_Setup_your_camera_-_The_complete_how-to this] section!'''

'''For German speakers, there is "Build camera from scratch" documentation written by students of [https://fsg-preetz.de/ Friedrich-Schiller-Gymnasium in Preetz] available [http://wiki.linux-astronomie.de/doku.php?id=ceres here]. This version is maintained by Friedrich-Schiller-Gymnasium in Preetz. '''

== Global Meteor Network overview ==

=== [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/?page_id=141 Our mission] ===

=== [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/?p=363 A brief history of the Global Meteor Network] ===

=== [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAGq-XqD5Po Video introduction - Overview of the Global Meteor Network (IMC2020)] ===

=== [https://youtu.be/oM7lfQ4nmyw Video overview - Meteor tracking and the GMN from Astro Imaging Channel presentation] ===

=== [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/data/ Some 'live' GMN data products] ===

== Meteor detection station ==

What is an RMS GMN station? An RMS-based GMN station consists of a Raspberry Pi (RPi) single board computer, a low light level security video camera, the RMS software, and a connection to the Internet via Wifi. The camera is securely mounted in a weatherproof housing, pointed at the sky, and connected to the RPi with a Power Over Ethernet (POE) cable. To be a part of the GMN network, you need a fairly powerful Raspberry Pi (Pi 4, 5, or better) and a reasonably fast Internet connection. The internet connection is required only for data upload to a central server each morning and to provide automatic updates for the RMS software.

Nightly, the RPi records video from the camera shortly after local sunset, then continuously compressing and storing the video data on a local SSD drive. Each morning before sunrise, when capture is complete, the RPi analyzes the video and extracts meteor observations from the previous night. These extracted video clips of detected meteors are archived and then uploaded to a server. On a 'busy' night, the clips can total hundreds of megabytes as a result of a heavy meteor shower or a night with a lot of false detections.
: '''NOTE:''' Continuous progress is being made on the detection software to filter out false detections.

The server finds meteors that were observed from more than one station, which allows the server to triangulate meteor trails in 3D and calculate the orbits of the meteors.

=== What do I need? ===

You need a Raspberry Pi computer, RMS software, and a camera kit.
: '''NOTE:''' We strongly recommend the Pi 4 or 5 model.
The software can run on a Pi3, but it is much slower and it is no longer supported. A list with everything you need is available here: [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/wiki/index.php?title=Shopping_list_and_tools_needed page].

You can run multiple cameras on a Linux PC, and details are available '''[https://docs.google.com/document/d/16PSFi8RAqbenPdluhulCRaIenOkEzgs5piUhkX3yaOc/edit here]'''.

=== How do I obtain a camera? ===
There are two options - buy a camera or build a camera.

==== Buy a Camera ====
You can buy a camera and prebuilt Pi, and ready to install. Cameras are available from several suppliers, as well as the Croatian Meteor Network, as explained here: [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/?page_id=136 this page].
If you are in the UK, you can contact the UK Meteor network for advice. [https://ukmeteornetwork.org/ UK Meteor Network].
: '''NOTE:''' As of 2024, UK Meteor network can no longer sell cameras directly.

==== Build your own from scratch ====
This option requires an intermediate level of DIY skills and familiarity with the Raspberry Pi, but do not be put off. The instructions are comprehensive and, if you get stuck, you can ask for advice in the forum here: '''[https://groups.io/g/globalmeteornetwork groups.io]''' forum.

You can find out more about this option here: '''[[Build & Install & Setup your camera - The complete how-to]]'''.

=== Advanced RMS installations and multi-camera support ===
If you would like to explore advanced RMS installation options for various platforms or run multiple cameras on a single Linux computer, complete information is available on '''[https://globalmeteornetwork.org/wiki/index.php?title=Advanced_RMS_installations_and_Multi-camera_support this page]'''.

If you plan to run RMS software on the Raspberry Pi 4 or 5, the best supported and easiest solution is our prepared image. Complete information is available in an '''[https://globalmeteornetwork.org/wiki/index.php?title=Build_%26_Install_%26_Setup_your_camera_-_The_complete_how-to extensive guide]'''.

If you want to run single or multiple cameras on the Raspberry Pi 5, please see
'''[https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/lkq0731w8ba8oomux32m2/Read_Me_Pi5.pdf?rlkey=6k3plpgco8v1lodrkov5l5nf9&st=gvap3tyq&dl=1 Read_Me_Pi5.pdf]''',
and for more detailed documentation
'''[https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/wg0uhvyhtqidbvq3ieusv/MultiCam-on-Pi5.pdf?rlkey=g04zxck1c97wgrjcnra3lumos&dl=1 MultiCam on Pi5.pdf]'''.

=== Can I use a commercial all-sky camera? ===

Generally, this is not a good idea because these cameras lack sufficient sensitivity. More information is available here: '''[https://globalmeteornetwork.org/?p=163 See this recent experiment]'''.

== Operate and maintain your GMN station ==

=== Overview ===

: '''NOTE:''' GMS is a nascent operation, so you may share some of our growing pains if you choose to be involved. We are constantly solving bugs and making improvements, which is an opportunity for you to help if you have programming skills! The workload of day-to-day operation can be non-zero, and may require some of your time.

Ideally, you should monitor your RMS Pi systems daily to identify freezes, glitches, or other problems. For example, you may see birds nesting or soiling the camera window, someone may unintentionally unplug the power cord, or animals (mice, cats, or dogs) may chew on the camera Ethernet cable. Although we make constant progress, the GMS network is not yet a 'power up and forget about it' system.

By its nature, the GMS network is staffed by lots of people who are willing to help newcomers get started. Here are some suggestions for daily operation of your RMS camera.

=== What does the meteor camera do over the course of 24 hours? ===

The RMS python-based system calculates the sundown to sunrise interval, and schedules video camera capture all night. Based on the video camera and capabilities of the Pi, the camera captures at least 25 frames per second between evening and morning twilight. During each nightly continuous image capture, the station processes captured image data and idenitfies frames that contain a minimum number of stars (usually around 20) that are worth reviewing for meteor detections. When data capture is complete, the station begins processing all frames it flagged with possible detections, then refines the astrometric accuracy of every positive detection. Using the station plate parameters (platepar) calibration file, processing iterates to find the best astrometry and photometry solution for each detected meteor. After this process analyzes each detection, summary files are created.

The summary files include many types of information.
* Text file data presentation in several widely accepted formats (such as ''CAMS'' and ''UFOorbit'').
* Graphic plots of detection frequencies throughout the night.
* Plot of all detections, showing any identified radiants.
* Plots of photometry, astrometry, and camera pointing drift in arc minutes throughout the course of the night as the mount or building flexes.
: '''NOTE:''' Detailed information about plots is available in the section below '''GMN Plots and Images Explained'''
* Thumbnail images of detections.
* Thumbnail images of data captured throughout the night.
* Single image with all detections stacked together.
* Single image with all captured images stacked together.
* Flat file for correcting images.
* An ''.mp4'' movie time lapse of the night's captured images.
* Meteor shower flux charts, if specific showers are detected.
* Observation summary data of hardware and data recording characteristics.

When you click a meteor track, its data displays in the lower data window. Ultimately, all results are combined into a single compressed archive that automatically uploads each morning to the central server.

Each morning, you can review the result files on the RPi and copy anything you want to your computer or tablet.

===Archive data ===

Your primary scientific data is automatically uploaded to the central server every morning after data processing is complete.
: '''NOTE:''' When the night's results are uploaded, RMS purges the oldest data to free up space for the next night's run. As a result, you may want to copy some of the data to a PC, NAS, or the cloud for further analysis.
: You should consider backing up the content of '''~/RMS_data/ArchivedFiles''', which holds individual files and data that RMS determined were probably meteors.

Details about backing up data is beyond the scope of the GMN Wiki. Tools such as Robocopy for Windows and rsync for Linux/MacOS are ideal, and they can 'mirror' data across a network. Help to configure these tools is available in the '''Globalmeteornetwork''' group on '''groups.io'''.

In addition, we added some automated tools that can help you back up data to a thumb drive inserted into the RPi. Assistance about these tools also is available in the '''Globalmeteornetwork''' group on '''groups.io'''.

===Backup and restore the configuration and RSA keys===

:'''NOTE:''' If you are on an older Buster image, you must replace username ''rms'' with username ''pi''. For example, enter ''/home/pi'' instead of ''/home/rms''.

To determine which username to use, run
::''ls /home/rms home/pi''
to display the username that is your home directory.

'''Back up the configuration'''

1. Open a terminal and run the command ''Scripts/RMS_Backup.sh''.

: A compressed ''.zip'' file, with all important configuration files and keys, is created in your user home directory with the prefix ''RMS_Backup'' and the ''.zip'' extension.
: For example, ''/home/rms/RMS_Backup_XX0001_2023-01-28.zip''.

2. Copy the ''.zip'' file to a safe place outside RPi.

: Later, it will be useful to restore the system in case of failure. The ''.zip'' file contains the RSA public and private keys used to contact GMN servers, so keep it secret.

'''Restore the configuration'''

1. Unzip the backup file in any folder on the RPi.

2. Copy the files ''.config'', ''platepar_cmn2010.cal'', and ''mask.bmp'' to the folder ''/home/rms/source/RMS/''.

3. Copy the files ''id_rsa'' and ''id_rsa.pub'' to the folder ''/home/rms/.ssh/'', as shown in this example:

: ''cp .config platepar_cmn2010.cal mask.bmp /home/rms/source/RMS/''
: ''cp id_rsa id_rsa.pub /home/rms/.ssh/''

4. To make sure that permission bits in the RSA key files are correct, enter:

: ''chmod 400 ~/.ssh/id_rsa*''

=== View the data ===

To view data, you can use '''CMN_binViewer''' software [https://github.com/CroatianMeteorNetwork/cmn_binviewer], which is included in the RMS SD image.
: '''NOTE:''' There also is a Windows version [https://github.com/CroatianMeteorNetwork/cmn_binviewer/releases] you can install.

: '''IMPORTANT:''' You can open images in astronomical FITS viewers, such as '''FITS Liberator''' or '''Pixinsight''', but what you see may be surprising. For example, in '''FITS Liberator''', the image is upside down, which is an artefact of how the software reads the image.

In space, there is no 'up' or 'down', so the FITS specification does not dictate if pixel (0,0) is at a specific corner. Some software, notably '''FITS Liberator''', specifies the top left corner as the origin location, which causes terrestrial images to display vertically mirrored.

=== GMN Plots and Images Explained ===

GMN Plots and Images are explained: [[ Plots Explained ]]

'''[https://IstraStream.com IstraStream.com]''' was an independent hosting site primarily intended for cameras sold by IstraStream. In mid-2023, Istrastream stopped listing camera image output and the IstraStream data display was replaced with the '''[https://globalmeteornetwork.org/weblog/ GMN weblog]'''.

This document explains the data summaries produced on your system and displayed on the GMN Weblog every morning '''[https://docs.google.com/document/d/132aHGn0QPzhpVN2s2n6FT6rJn39LAsPkchWJqXQb8Qk/edit?pli=1&tab=t.0 GMN Plots and Images]'''.

=== Tools and utilities ===

There are many tools available.

* '''[https://www.realvnc.com/en/connect/download/viewer/ RealVNC]''', '''[https://www.nomachine.com/ NoMachine]''', '''[https://anydesk.com/en AnyDesk]''', or '''[https://rustdesk.com/ RustDesk]''' remote connect tools provide station access from anywhere. Access to your station from outside your network is enabled by an OpenVPN connection address that is available to meteor stations.
: With '''VNC''' and '''Teamviewer''', you can create an account and team on their websites, and then remotely access your station.
* '''Samba''' data directory access allows you to copy data results directly from your RPi to your computer or tablet.
* '''[https://github.com/CroatianMeteorNetwork/cmn_binviewer CMN_binViewer]''' allows you to view standard FITS image files that contain meteor detections. It runs on the RPi, and it can run under Windows.
* '''[https://sonotaco.com/soft/e_index.html UFO Orbit]''' allows you to process data from multiple stations, and generate unified radiants of two or more stations that see the same meteor. '''[https://sonotaco.com/soft/e_index.html UFO Orbit]''' can plot the shared object ground path and orbital characteristics, and it can output a summary file of all objects seen by more than one station.
* RMS software can be installed under Windows to allow much of the RMS python-based code to run on your computer. This means you can run RMS against meteor station data that was transferred to your computer from the RPi.

You also can run RMS python jobs on the RPi to sample captured image files, and then condense them into an ''.mp4'' video. Sometimes, these videos are mesmerizing summaries that can run for more than two minutes of winter time data.

== What can I do with my GMN station? ==

=== Use SkyFit2 for astrometric and photometric calibration + Manually reduce observations of fireballs and compute their trajectories ===
* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ao3J9Jf0iLQ Updated 2023 video tutorial]'''
* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOjb3qxDlX4 Old 2021 video tutorial]'''

=== [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/fov3d/ Generate a Google Earth KML file to show your station's field of view] ===

=== [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/?p=253 Use the UFO Orbit program to estimate meteor trajectories] ===

=== [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/?p=221 Urban meteor observing] ===

== Data analysis with SkyFit2 ==

'''SkyFit2''', a program in the RMS library, allows you to analyze optical meteor data in most of the optical formats in current use. The program supports popular video formats (''.mp4'', ''.avi'', and ''.mkv''), sequences of static images, and single images with shutter breaks.

A '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ao3J9Jf0iLQ video tutorial]''' explains how to useg '''SkyFit2''' to run astrometric and photometric calibrations on GMN data, and it can manually reduce observations of fireballs and compute their trajectories.

A more detailed description of '''SkyFit2''' is available on the '''[[SkyFit2|SkyFit2]]''' page.

== FAQ ==

=== What should I back up when I re-flash an SD card or a USB disk? ===

You should backup the ''.config'', platepar, and mask files that are in the RMS source directory, plus the entire content of the hidden directory ''/home/pi/.ssh''. Refer to the section titled, '''Back up the configuration'''.

If your SD card or USB disk fails or becomes corrupted, you can fetch the config files from the server because they are uploaded every day, together with the data.
: '''NOTE:''' The content of ''.ssh'' is essential for connection to the server, so you also must save these files.

After you set up a new SD card or USB disk, return the files to their original location.

=== What are the values in the ''FTPdetectinfo_*'' file designated as hnr mle bin Pix/fm Rho Phi? ===

Some of these values (hnr mle bin) are not used in RMS but they are used in CAMS, so their presence is to conform to the standard. As a result, these values are all zeros.

There are other values:
* Pix/fm is the average angular speed of the meteor, in pixels, per frame.
* Rho, Phi are parameters that define the line of the meteor in polar coordinates, see this '''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hough_transform#Theory page]''' for more detail.
: ''Rho'' is the distance of the line from the center of the image.
: ''Phi'' is the angle of the line, as measured from the positive direction of the Y axis. (Basically, this is a line from the center of the image to the top of the image.) The positive angles are measured clockwise, although the CAMS standard may define these parameters a bit differently, with the Y axis flipped.
The ''intensity'' is the sum of all pixel intensities of the meteor on a given frame.

For example, you could represent an area around the meteor on a given frame, as shown in the figure, where the numbers are pixel intensities on an 8-bit image (so they can range from 0 to 255) and the pixel values inside the red boundary represent the meteor blob on the frame. The result? The intensity is the sum of all numbers inside the red boundary.
: '''NOTE:''' Later, this value is used to compute the magnitude.

[[File:Intensity_sum.png |Intensity_sum.png ]]

The magnitude is computed as
: ''mag = -2.5*log10(intensity sum) + photometric_offset''

To estimate the photometric offset in '''SkyFit''', fit the line with slope -2.5 through pairs of known magnitudes of stars and logartihms of their pixel intensity sum. Fundamentally, the photometric offset is the intercept of that line.
: '''NOTE:''' The constant slope of -2.5 comes from the '''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apparent_magnitude#Calculations Definition of stellar magnitudes]'''.

== GMN data policy ==

The Global Meteor Network produces three levels of data products.
* Level 1 - The lowest level data (as close to 'raw' as possible) are the FF image and FR video files saved to the RPi by the capture code and the fireball detector.
* Level 2 - Data is used in three ways:
:* The meteor detector extracts positional and brightness information of individual meteors (''FTPdetectinfo'' file).
:* Images are used for astrometric and photometric calibration (platepar file).
:* Meteor and star detections are used to generate a range of plots, such as the single-station shower association graph and the camera drift graph. The calibrated meteor measurements are uploaded to the GMN server, together with the raw images of individual meteors.
* Level 3 - Software on the server correlates individual observations and computes multi-station meteor trajectories, which are published daily on the '''GMN [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/data/ Data website]'''. This data is made public under the '''[https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ CC BY 4.0 license]'''.

Operators of individual GMN stations exclusively own the Level 1 and Level 2 data their stations produce. In practice, this means they are free to share this data with other meteor networks if they wish. The data that is uploaded to the GMN server is not shared publicly or with other parties without the operator's consent. However, the data may be used internally by the GMN coordinators to manually produce other data products, such as the trajectory of a meteorite dropping fireball or an analysis of a meteor shower.
: '''IMPORTANT:''' All station operators are credited for their data in all GMN publications.

== For more information ==

=== [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/?page_id=43 Contact the Global Meteor Network] ===

=== [https://groups.io/g/globalmeteornetwork Join the Global Meteor Network Forum] ===

=== [https://github.com/markmac99/ukmon-pitools/wiki UK Meteor Network Wiki]===
This wiki has numerous FAQs and tips on maintaining, monitoring and managing your system, and several explainers such as how to calibrate and create a mask, how to copy data and so forth.

=== Important GMN resources ===

There are two additional web pages you should know about.

* The '''[https://globalmeteornetwork.org/status GMN status page]''' provides access to the '''[https://globalmeteornetwork.org/weblog/ GMN weblog]'''.
* A mapping utility website that is directly derived from GMN data: '''[https://tammojan.github.io/meteormap Meteor map]'''.
: '''NOTE:''' This map takes quite a while to load. When you review the map, you must scroll down to see the full power of the data display.

=== GMN talks ===

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tV7WBo0RrQ 2025 GMN Meeting Session 1 (February 2025)]

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z23aJeIg7wo 2025 GMN Meeting Session 2 (February 2025)]

: [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmQ5Bvz4ACYJLYfswIeAipapoeGeI6QWy GMN talk for Society for Astronomical Sciences workshop 2024 (The first 3 videos)]

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juOvRTtoqhs 2024 GMN Meeting Session 1 (February 2024)]

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXhVIxrz2ks 2024 GMN Meeting Session 2 (February 2024)]

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfUyCHjMATc 2023 GMN Meeting Session 1 (February 2023)]

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I78KwF5-1GE 2023 GMN Meeting Session 2 (February 2023)]

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDdrG_FCyGk 2022 GMN Meeting Session 1 (February 2022)]

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_75CDPzjI4 2022 GMN Meeting Session 2 (February 2022)]

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6x9_WCVphY GMN talk at the European Space Agency's Fireball Workshop (June 2021)]

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXBTLPnPDWs 2021 GMN Meeting] - [https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ia9vagug5lxm8k9/AAB_i_1jcWThUdAHO_2gF_Ksa?dl=0 Link to slides]

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAGq-XqD5Po Overview of the GMN - IMC2020 (September 2020)]

: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oM7lfQ4nmyw Overview of the GMN, Astro Imaging Channel presentation (May 2020)]

=== GMN-related publications ===

: [https://arxiv.org/abs/2206.11365 Vida, D., Blaauw Erskine, R. C., Brown, P. G., Kambulow, J., Campbell-Brown, M., & Mazur, M. J. (2022). Computing optical meteor flux using global meteor network data. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 515(2), 2322-2339.]

: [https://academic.oup.com/mnras/advance-article/doi/10.1093/mnras/stab2557/6368869 Moorhead, A. V., Clements, T., & Vida, D. (2021). Meteor shower radiant dispersions in Global Meteor Network data. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 508(1), 326-339.]

: [https://arxiv.org/abs/2107.12335 Vida, D., Šegon, D., Gural, P. S., Brown, P. G., McIntyre, M. J., Dijkema, T. J., Pavletić, L., Kukić, P., Mazur, M.J., Eschman, P., Roggemans, P., Merlak, A., & Zubović, D. (2021). The Global Meteor Network–Methodology and first results. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 506(4), 5046-5074.]

: [https://arxiv.org/abs/2003.05458/ Moorhead, A. V., Clements, T. D., & Vida, D. (2020). Realistic gravitational focusing of meteoroid streams. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 494(2), 2982-2994.]

: [https://globalmeteornetwork.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Kukic-et-al-2018-Rolling-shutter.pdf Kukić, P., Gural, P., Vida, D., Šegon, D. & Merlak, A. (2018) Correction for meteor centroids observed using rolling shutter cameras. WGN, Journal of the International Meteor Organization, 46:5, 154-118.]

: [https://gmn.duckdns.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/2018_WGN___RMS_sun_skirter_final.pdf Vida, D., Mazur, M. J., Šegon, D., Kukić, P., & Merlak, A. (2018). Compressive strength of a skirting Daytime Arietid-first science results from low-cost Raspberry Pi-based meteor stations. WGN, Journal of the International Meteor Organization, 46, 113-118.]

: [https://arxiv.org/pdf/1911.02979.pdf Vida, D., Gural, P., Brown, P., Campbell-Brown, M., Wiegert, P. (2019) Estimating trajectories of meteors: an observational Monte Carlo approach - I. Theory. arXiv:1911.02979v4 [astro-ph.EP] 21 Apr 2020]

: [https://arxiv.org/pdf/1911.11734.pdf Vida, D., Gural, P., Brown, P., Campbell-Brown, M., Wiegert, P. (2019) Estimating trajectories of meteors: an observational Monte Carlo approach - II. Results. arXiv:1911.11734v1 [astro-ph.EP] 26 Novr 2019]

: [https://gmn.duckdns.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/2018_WGN___RMS_first_results-final.pdf Vida, D., Mazur, M. J., Šegon, D., Zubović, D., Kukić, P., Parag, F., & Macan, A. (2018). First results of a Raspberry Pi based meteor camera system. WGN, Journal of the International Meteor Organization, 46, 71-78.]

: [https://gmn.duckdns.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Vida_IMC2016_proceedings_final.pdf Vida, D., Zubović, D., Šegon, D., Gural, P., & Cupec, R. (2016). Open-source meteor detection software for low-cost single-board computers. In Proceedings of the International Meteor Conference (IMC2016), Egmond, The Netherlands (pp. 2-5).]

: [https://gmn.duckdns.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Zubovic_IMC2015_priceedings_final.pdf Zubović, D., Vida, D., Gural, P., & Šegon, D. (2015). Advances in the development of a low-cost video meteor station. In Proceedings of the International Meteor Conference, Mistelbach, Austria (pp. 27-30).]

File:Plots TimeLapseVideo.png

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MetorsABQ9: Referenced in "Plots Explanation"

== Summary ==
Referenced in "Plots Explanation"

File:Plots PhotometryReport.png

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MetorsABQ9: Referenced in "Plots Explanation"

== Summary ==
Referenced in "Plots Explanation"

File:Plots AstrometryReport.png

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MetorsABQ9: Referenced in "Plots Explanation"

== Summary ==
Referenced in "Plots Explanation"

File:Plots PeakFieldSums.png

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MetorsABQ9: Referenced in "Plots Explanation"

== Summary ==
Referenced in "Plots Explanation"

File:Plots DeaveratedFieldSums.png

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MetorsABQ9: Referenced in "Plots Explanation"

== Summary ==
Referenced in "Plots Explanation"

File:Plots CalibrationVariation.png

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MetorsABQ9: Referenced in "Plots Explanation"

== Summary ==
Referenced in "Plots Explanation"

File:Plots RadiantsPlot.png

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MetorsABQ9: Referenced in "Plots Explanation"

== Summary ==
Referenced in "Plots Explanation"

File:Plots DetectedThumbnails.png

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MetorsABQ9: Referenced in "Plots Explanation"

== Summary ==
Referenced in "Plots Explanation"

File:Plots CapturedThumbnails.png

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MetorsABQ9: Referenced in "Plots Explanation"

== Summary ==
Referenced in "Plots Explanation"

File:Plots Captured.png

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MetorsABQ9: Referenced in "Plots Explanation"

== Summary ==
Referenced in "Plots Explanation"