Meteor Scatter Workshop

The opportunities from meteor scatter

The presentation will cover the areas of meteor science where radio observations are producing valuable data, what can be done using amateur-level equipment, and the scope for pro-am collaborations using the French FRIPON programme (see www.fripon.org) as an example.

Building a meteor scatter observing station for GRAVES

A summary of meteor antenna construction based on recent college project experience with the design published in Sky at Night Magazine.  Discussing the bill of materials required and cost of the system, construction steps, mounting and location options.  Additional system options under investigation by RAG will also be covered, including signal amplification, filtering and use of the budget RTL2832 SDR Dongle.

Observing with Spectrum Lab.

Spectrum Lab is a versatile application that can be used for detecting meteor events and capturing information about them.  However this same versatility can make Spectrum Lab difficult to set up.  This talk will provide a brief summary of the application’s capabilities and limitations and show how the new user can quickly configure the system to capture screen shots, audio and data files from the day’s meteor activity.

LUNCH

Lunch is not included in the entrance charge but there are several options within a few minutes’ walk of the venue.  Bring your own lunch if you wish.  The lunch interval will provide an opportunity to browse hardware and poster displays and, if there is interest, we will include a practical demonstration of using Spectrum Lab.

Improving the quality of meteor data – Scatterthon

Current meteor detection algorithms are imperfect and can result in poor quality data.  Scatterthon is an application currently being developed to help review and categorise meteor events to increase the accuracy, and hence the value, of radio observations.

Correlating video meteors with GRAVES radio detections

There are many video cameras and radio scatter stations operating in the UK but not much sign of the two being matched up. This talk will be about early attempts to tie the video captures from a single station to particular meteor scatter events. This could be very useful as it gives more specific information about the individual meteors that cause the radar echoes.

Proposed Observing Campaign

One of the objectives for the day will be to kick off a coordinated observing campaign using meteor scatter

15:30 – 16:00

BREAK

Plus an opportunity for potential observers to register their details

Actual Observation Experiences

Observing the Quadrantids using the BRAMS meteor beacon (49.97 MHz) and measurements on the Lyrids using the GRAVES space radar system (143.05 MHz)

Using backscatter radar for determining meteor properties

The modern technique is purely geometrical and measures the position in the sky for a meteor, its track and its velocity. Statistical studies then allow for radiant determination. There is sufficient information available for many events to calculate orbital parameters. The instrumentation consists of a single transmitter, co-located with five receiver/antennae, and assisted by a pair of outstation receivers a few kilometres away.