IMC 2025 is over… Thanks to all!

This year, the IMC took place from September 18^th to 21^st at the StayOkay Hotel in Soest, the Netherlands. As always, many participants joined both on-site and online, determined to share their research and celebrate the spirit of the IMO. In addition to the lectures, two workshops were held: one on radio observation and one on spectroscopy.

The radio workshop, on Wednesday 17^th, focused on head echoes. Discussions covered data processing methods, differences due to transmitters, and the physical processes a meteor undergoes over timescales from picoseconds to minutes.

The spectroscopy workshop, held Thursday morning, explored theoretical aspects with homemade spectroscopes using various cameras, gratings, and light sources. Participants compared spectra, spectroscopes components, and tested their knowledge with simple experiments like looking for some spectroscopic features of a lighter.

After this, the first official session opened this year IMC with talks on transit events by dust disks and the DART mission, which could lead to the first meteor shower created by humans.

The second day was dedicated to annual meteor showers, their dynamics, origins, and the importance of precise orbital data. Software and hardware sessions presented advances in machine learning for meteor identification, an app for shower observations, a light curve database, and even artificial meteoroids. Updates on radio data analysis followed. After this day full of lectures and the IMO General Assembly Meeting, participants still had to keep their brains active, as a special meteor-themed pub quiz was organized in the evening.

On the third morning, several projects were presented: an in-depth study on the collection and analysis of micrometeorites, the case of 2024 YR4, which triggered alarms at the Planetary Defense Office due to its potential risk of impacting Earth, the link between the study of space debris and meteors, and an update on the activities of ESA’s Planetary Defense Office. Optical researchers also discussed their observation systems and the methods currently being explored to improve them. In the afternoon, the traditional IMC excursion took place. Under typically Dutch weather (rain and sunshine), participants visited the nearby city of Utrecht, which quickly became a scientific hub in the country’s history. The first stop was a guided tour of the Speelklok Museum, where participants enjoyed hearing Dolly Parton tunes played by a 19^th– or 20^th-century mechanical organ. Afterwards, the group headed to the Utrecht Observatory, where this year’s organizing team presented the site and its instruments. The day concluded with a friendly barbecue and an evening around the campfire.

The final day focused on spectroscopy and its role in refining ablation models.

Above all, this IMC once again highlighted the value of a community where professionals and amateurs come together to share their passion in a welcoming and inclusive atmosphere. As tradition demands, the meeting closed with the IMC song.

The next edition will take place from September 24^th to 27^th 2026 in Barcelonette, France. See you there!