Ring, the video doorbell company, wants your meteor shower videos

May 2, 2024 Vaseline stjohnson 0

The Eta Aquariid meteor shower peaks this weekend, and one technology company is asking owners of its video doorbells to check their footage to see if they’ve captured a meteor on camera.

Video doorbell company Ring has announced that it is teaming up with the UK’s Fireball Alliance to ask those who have a Ring device to check their footage for meteors and, potentially, fireballs.

The campaign follows the capture of a bright shooting star by a Warwick couple via their Ring device.

Eta Aquarid meteor shower

Eta Aquariid is one of many annual meteor showers that occur throughout the year.

These occur when the Earth orbits the Sun and passes through streams of debris left by comets and sometimes asteroids.

Small grains of debris enter the Earth’s atmosphere and burn up, causing meteorites or “shooting stars” to appear in the sky.

A named meteor shower always occurs at the same time and in the same part of the sky each year.

Each meteor shower is named after the region of the sky from which the meteors appear to emanate, known as the “radiant.”

A diagram from NASA showing the orbit of a comet around the Sun. When Earth passes through the remains of a comet, we see meteors in our night sky. Credit: NASA
A diagram from NASA showing the orbit of a comet around the Sun. When Earth passes through the remains of a comet, we see meteors in our night sky. Credit: NASA

The Eta Aquariid meteor shower is so named because the meteors appear to originate in a region of the sky near the star Eta Aquari.

The Eta Aquarids are by no means the most active or spectacular meteor shower, but this year the full Moon will be out of the way during peak activity, meaning there’s a better chance of seeing a meteor.

Or, in fact, capture it on your video doorbell device.

Learn more through our guide to the Eta Aquarid meteor shower and use our star map below to locate the shower’s radiant.

Read our guide to meteor showers to find out when the next one will occur and how to watch it.

Graphic showing the location of the Eta Aquarid meteor shower in 2024. Credit: Pete Lawrence
Graphic showing the location of the Eta Aquarid meteor shower in 2024. Click to enlarge. Credit: Pete Lawrence

The bell campaign

The UK Fireball Alliance and Ring say they are providing 50 devices across the UK in the hope that users will capture meteors in the sky.

Devices to view a meteor shower have been made available to those in the best areas.

“Meteors, which travel at speeds of up to 70 km per second, travel faster than any other object in the sky,” says Charlotte Bays, secretary of UKFAII.

“As a result, shooting stars often disappear within a few seconds. That’s why meteor showers like Eta Aquarid are so special and offer lucky stargazers a rare opportunity to see an astonishing astronomical spectacle.”

From 9 April, those living in the main shooting star viewing areas in the UK can apply at www.ukfall.org.uk/get-involved/ring.

The best areas in the UK to see meteors according to the UK Fireball Alliance:

  • exmoor
  • Northumberland
  • Scottish Highlands
  • Southern Plains
  • North York Moors
  • Yorkshire Dales
  • Cranborne Pursuit
  • Bodmin Moor and West Penwith in Cornwall

If you have captured video of a meteor, please send it to us at [email protected]