May's possible meteor outburst offers chance to listen to 'shooting stars' on the radio
Even if you can't get a good view of the show because of clouds or light pollution, you can"observe" theMeteor shower guide 2022: Dates and viewing advice
Under certain conditions, meteors can reflect radio waves in the same way the ionosphere propagates transmissions between widely separated ham-radio operators. The ionosphere usually reflects frequencies below 30 megahertz , but it's transparent to higher frequencies, such as the FM broadcast band .
Such high-frequency radio signals generally pass unimpeded through the atmosphere in straight lines; they cannot follow the curvature of the Earth to reach a listener beyond the horizon. Yet when certain layers of the upper atmosphere become ionized, they can reflect the signals back to the ground far away. The lowest such layer, 60 to 70 miles up, is called the E layer of the ionosphere, and that's the altitude where most meteors are seen. , it briefly ionizes air molecules along its path.
Tiny particles tend to vaporize at the bottom of the E layer. Large particles, in contrast, begin to flame higher up. And predictions for the particles shed from comet SW 3 suggest that a majority of these will be large. Such meteors produce longer-lasting ionization, and because they start to"flame on" higher up, they can reflect signals from more distant transmitters.
On the ground, the meteor's presence is signaled by the momentary enhancement of FM reception from a distant station.For this radio method to work, find a frequency where no nearby FM station is broadcasting. You will have a better chance of success by scanning the low-frequency end of the FM band, below 91.1 MHz.
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