15 years of observation – selected meteorite falls registered in the PFN in 2004–2019

The Polish Fireball Network (PFN) associated in Comets and Meteors Workshop monitors the sky over Poland regularly for 15 years and registers the bright fireballs over the whole country (Olech 2006; Wiśniewski 2017). Every year we observe a few meteorite falls but due to weather conditions some data are not sufficient for proper strewnfield calculations. In the collaboration with the European Fireball Network the whole territory of Poland is monitored almost regardless of the weather. The publication describes the bolide phenomena characterized by distinctive meteorite falls, so the strewnfield indicated here should become the target of further exploration expeditions

Report on meteorite field search within PFN in 2016/2017 season

The Meteorite Section was created in 2010 on demand of Polish Fireball Network (PFN) for the meteorite searching and investigation purposes. The main task of the Section is to find the meteorites dropped from bolides registered by the Polish Fireball Network. Each year, the PFN registers several meteorite falls within our country and meteorite strewnfield inspections must be carried out at least for the masses of above 300 g estimated with the PyFN software. Only last year the PFN organized several search campaigns. Two of them are presented in the publication

History and operation of the Polish Fireball Network

The Polish Fireball Network (PFN) is a project to monitor regularly the sky over Poland in order to detect bright fireballs. In 2016 the 72 PFN cameras recorded 100 389 meteor events. Using these data and the UFOOrbit software 19 087 trajectories and orbits were calculated. In the following years we are planning intensive modernization of the PFN network including installation of dozens of new digital cameras.Polish Fireball Network (PFN) to projekt polegający na regularnym monitorowaniu nieba nad Polską w celu zaobserwowania jasnych meteorów i bolidów. W 2016 roku 72 kamery PFN zarejestrowały 100 389 meteorów. Za pomocą tych danych i oprogramowania UFOOrbit obliczono 19 087 trajektorie i orbity. W kolejnych latach planujemy intensywną modernizację sieci PFN, w tym instalację kilkudziesięciu nowych kamer cyfrowych

Report on the activities of the PKiM and PFN in period 2021–2022

The Polish Fireball Network (PFN), has been undergoing continuous development. Since then, several large grants have been obtained, which were at least partly used for modernization purposes. In recent years, two more grants have been obtained, which allowed for the expansion and modification of the existing PFN infrastructure. In 2021, the PFN76 Kozienice was modernized, but also the PFN14 Zielona Góra station was reactivated and the new PFN77 Suhora station was launched in 2022. Thanks to these improvements, the tracking of meteoroids entering the Earth Atmosphere above Poland became more accurate, which facilitates the search for meteorites and increases the chances of finding new fresh meteorites in Poland. On the night of May 10, 2021, PFN stations registered an exceptionally slow bolide. The phenomenon named PF100521 Wykrot appeared over central Poland in the Mazowieckie Voivodeship at 21:32 UT and calculations showed that some meteorites may have fallen. This phenomenon was used to conduct a series of analyzes to show how observational uncertainties affect the final results. Two variants of the results are presented in this work

Possibility of inclusion of the Sobibór Forests into Importand Birds Areas and Special Protection Areas networks

One of the greatest challenges of nature conservation is to identify and locate networks of protected areas, which will preserve the biodiversity. The paper aims to show the ornithological value of the Sobibór Forests (E Poland) and to emphasize the fact that the network of Important Bird Areas (IBA) and Special Protection Areas within Natura 2000 (SPA) may require additions. The study was conducted in the period of 2008−2016, mainly on forested areas occupying 256 km2. The Sobibór Forests are characterized by a large diversity of habitats, but are mainly covered by Scots pine Pinus sylvestris. High diversity of wetlands and marshlands make the Sobibór Forest unique within the country. Three methodologies were used to estimate population size of chosen species: sampling, census and random observations. 31 species from Annex I of the Birds Directive plus 25 species of SPEC or non−SPECE category were observed which allows to consider this area as one of the most valuable for avifauna in Poland. Six breeding species classify the Sobibór Forests as the IBA and SPA. These species include Black Stork Ciconia nigra (8−13 breeding pairs), Common Crane Grus grus (80−120 breeding pairs), Grey Great Owl Strix nebulosa (0−7 breeding pairs i.e. 50−100% of Polish breeding population), Eagle Owl Bubo bubo (6 breeding pairs), White−backed Woodpecker Dendrocopos leucotos (40−70 breeding pairs) and Grey−headed Woodpecker Picus canus (20−40 breeding pairs). Six other species show potential for qualification, but not enough data has been collected yet. The list of this specie includes: Short−toed Snake Eagle Circaetus gallicus, Common Snipe Gallinago gallinago, Stock Dove Columba oenas, European Nightjar Caprimulgus europaeus, Collared Flycatcher Ficedula albicollis and Bluethroat Luscinia svecica. The Sobibór Forests occupy a small area compared to other IBA forests. However, the number of breeding species classifies the surveyed area as 7th among other IBAs. Moreover all eligible species may be considered as a bioindicators of the natural state of the forest. This is proof of the high natural value of this area