Polish Fireball Network: Video Meteor Astrometry

The Polish Fireball Network (PFN) is a network of meteor-observing stations spread over the territory of Poland. In 2008 the network consisted of 13 stations, where 24 non-intensified video cameras along with 3 digital photo cameras operated each night. Most of PFN observers are amateurs, members of the Comets and Meteors Workshop, who perform observations from their homes. The MetRec software was used for meteor detection. To obtain the highest possible accuracy for meteor astrometry and trajectory estimation, we have invented a method using an automatic identification of background stars, that are then combined from multiple mean images collected through the night, associated to a catalog, and collectively fit to an astrometric model. We developed the software to focus on combining those stars appearing in the mean images associated with detected meteors. An accuracy of 3 arcminutes across nearly the whole image was achieved.