The first artificial meteor shower is about to be tested in space
A Japanese company is about to launch a satellite that's the first step toward creating the world's first artificial meteor shower.
The news: The satellite is hitching a ride on the Japanese space agency’s Epsilon Rocket, due to launch at 9:50 a.m. Japan time on Thursday (7:50 p.m. tonight EST), along with six others. Tokyo-based firm Astro Live Experiences (ALE) has been developing it for seven years and will use this launch as an experiment to gather data to help develop the product further.
How it works: The satellite releases centimeter-sized pellets designed to create an array of bright colors as they heat up and disintegrate when they reenter our atmosphere, over 37 miles above the ground. ALE claims the display will last longer than a natural meteor shower and will be bright enough to be visible even over areas with heavy light pollution.
Spectacular view: Ultimately, ALE hopes to create an artificial meteor shower over Hiroshima next year, where it will be visible for up to six million people within a 124-mile (200-kilometer) radius.
Deep Dive
Space
The search for extraterrestrial life is targeting Jupiter’s icy moon Europa
NASA’s Europa Clipper mission will travel to one of Jupiter's largest moons to look for evidence of conditions that could support life.
How scientists are using quantum squeezing to push the limits of their sensors
Fuzziness may rule the quantum realm, but it can be manipulated to our advantage.
The first-ever mission to pull a dead rocket out of space has just begun
Astroscale’s ADRAS-J spacecraft will inspect a dead Japanese rocket in orbit—a major moment in space-junk removal.
Stay connected
Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review
Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.