Is it possible to predict meteorite impacts on Earth? A group of international scientists wants to try to do just that. Together with the European Space Agency ESA, radiation physicist Björn Poppe will set up a corresponding facility at the university.
Researchers there will record, evaluate and model the entry of meteoroids into the Earth's atmosphere. In this way, they hope to be able to make predictions about the potential risk of impact on Earth.
The team of physicists led by Prof. Dr Björn Poppe is investigating so-called near-Earth objects such as asteroids, which have a diameter of more than one metre, and smaller meteoroids. These can cross the Earth's orbit as they orbit the sun and therefore harbour a risk of collision. When a meteoroid or asteroid enters the Earth's atmosphere, it begins to glow. This luminous phenomenon is called a meteor or shooting star. Some meteors - so-called fireballs - glow particularly brightly, significantly brighter than all the planets visible to us. If the meteors do not burn up completely, the remnants can fall to the ground. Physicists then refer to these remnants as meteorites.
The most famous fireball in recent years exploded over the Russian city of Chelyabinsk in February 2013. More than 1,500 people were injured and considerable property damage was caused. In order to learn more about such events and possibly even predict them one day, experts from various research institutions in Germany, France and the Netherlands want to work more closely together in future. The facility, which is to be set up at the University of Oldenburg in co-operation with ESA, will analyse impacts throughout Europe. Two doctoral positions have already been created as part of this endeavour; two more are planned.
The international researchers recently met for a two-day kick-off workshop in Oldenburg. This was organised by long-time ESA employee and internationally renowned asteroid researcher Dr Gerhard Drolshagen. Poppe and Drolshagen have already been working together successfully for some time. As a result, several Oldenburg researchers have been awarded recognised prizes for their outstanding work in astrophysics in recent years. Poppe has now been able to recruit Drolshagen to join the working group following his retirement, thus significantly increasing the expertise and international visibility of the Oldenburg researchers in this discipline. As one of the first steps, the scientists are aiming for co-operation with a global network of infrasound stations that record fireball impacts worldwide.
"The Earth is hit several times a year by objects that are larger than one metre in diameter," says Drolshagen. As these mostly affect bodies of water, the public usually doesn't notice. However, when an object collides with land - as happened in Russia in 2013 - the damage is often immense. The problem is that telescopes are usually unable to recognise the objects in time due to their comparatively small size. "The best way to find out more about the frequency and the associated risks is therefore to collect, analyse and model the occurrence of these visible events in the atmosphere," adds Poppe.