Pūkaki Observatory joins global network tracking space debris for Nasa

Thursday, 25 June 2026

A new fireball tracking system at Pūkaki, in the Mackenzie District, has joined a nationwide network helping Nasa protect the International Space Station from meteors and space debris.

The installation at Pūkaki Observatory & Wine Cellar, at Mt Cook Lakeside Retreat, is part of Fireballs Aotearoa, a citizen-led initiative that operates numerous meteor cameras across New Zealand.

Observatory manager Brian Bezalel said he wanted the observatory to offer more than just a standard stargazing experience.

Looking for ways to integrate real science into their operations, he reached out to the Fireballs Aotearoa team.

“I remember the Tekapo meteorite in 2024 and I thought it would be really cool for us to be part of that national camera network,” he said.

While most people hosted a single camera, the observatory’s location prompted Fireballs Aotearoa to loan them a more advanced five-camera “Fireballs 360” system.

“We now have a central location in the South Island to capture and locate fireballs from all directions,” Bezalel said.

The cameras also added a new element to stargazing tours at the observatory, helping visitors to understand what happened in the night skies and help accurately track any fireballs that fell to earth.

The value of the network was proven in 2024 when a fireball racing across the skies over North Otago and South Canterbury was tracked to Lake Tekapo, which eventually led to the discovery of New Zealand’s 10th meteorite.

Wellington resident Jack Weterings discovered the unusual rock before he had even arrived at his designated search zone. The meteorite, officially named Takapō, is now housed at the Tūhura Otago Museum in Dunedin.

Bezalel said the new camera system played a much bigger role than just capturing and tracking fireballs.

The Fireballs Aotearoa network fed data directly into the Global Meteor Network, managed by the University of Western Ontario in Canada.

The data flowing into the University’s servers was used by Nasa to track meteors and space debris and protect the International Space Station.

The specialised camera system at Pūkaki was designed and constructed by Canterbury Astronomical Society president Terry Richardson as one of 11 camera arrays throughout the country.

Richardson said he was grateful to the observatory for hosting the cameras as it filled a gap in the central South Island and was located in the dark sky reserve.

“New Zealand has one of the most dense meteor camera networks in the world,” Richardson said.

“The single cameras capture meteors, or what we call shooting stars, but these arrays capture the bigger and brighter fireballs that shoot across the skies.

“A lux meter on the array also helps us identify the size of the fireball.”

Other camera arrays were located in Rotorua, Hawke’s Bay, Central Otago, Dunedin, Stewart Island, Whangārei and Southland.