THE GEMINID METEOR SHOWER IS UNDERWAY: Earth is passing through a stream of debris from "rock comet" 3200 Phaethon, source of the annual Geminid meteor shower. International observers are currently reporting as many as 60 meteors per hour from dark sky sites. If you're reading this at midnight, go outside and look up! [sky map]
DO YOU HAVE METEORITES ON YOUR ROOF? The question is not as crazy as it sounds. Researchers estimate that micrometeorites 0.1 mm wide fall about once a year per square meter. A typical rooftop therefore collects hundreds per year. In the Lofoten Islands of Norway, Rob Stammes thinks he may have recorded the pitter-patter of meteorites on his own roof. Listen to a sample impact, then scroll down for the full story.
Above: The microphone under Rob Stammes' roof. Inset: A sample 0.4 mm micrometeorite collected from a rain gutter in Alabama.
"For years I have been listening with microphones on my roof for potential sounds during the Northern Lights," says Stammes, who is a respected citizen scientist with a space weather lab deep inside the Arctic Circle. "Occasionally, I noticed small stones rolling into the microphone on my roof."
"My roof, like many houses here, is made of thin steel sheeting. Its surface area is approximately 320 square meters. Under the roof, the space is mostly empty. I decided to mount a microphone there. It is an ideal place because there is no snow or wind, and the temperature is around zero. Again, I recorded rolling stones."
"Two weeks ago, I realized it might be coming from space," he says. "Looking in the Store Norske Leksikon, I read that micrometeorites of 0.1 mm fall about once a year per square meter. So, on my large roof, there's a good chance, and yes, I've had three audio observations in the past few nights, two of which were in the early hours of Dec. 12th."
"Perhaps this would be a fun experiment for others as well," says Stammes. "All you need is a condensor microphone, inline amplifier and a pro digital recorder." Just don't forget the metal roof.
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