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(meteorobs) "Sensing" meteors & VLF radio
Lew Gramer asked: >>>...Hi, Tom. Did you ever manage to mount the VLF
radio experiment you mentioned?...<<<
Hello Lew.
Thanks to those (Marco L of DMS, Pete G, Kevin...) who responded to my
request for info on VLF (very low frequency) radio information as it
relates to meteors.
August 11, 20:00 UT (2pm local time), I did make a one hour attempt to
receive direct emissions from large meteors but this experiment will
require much more effort to set up properly. Working VLF frequencies at
around 1 to 10 kHz requires that you get a great distance (miles) away from
any electrical lines. It's a task to find an area that is
electro-magnetically clear as one must get away from the power grid, which
means driving, and you find that electrical lines follow roads, so that
hiking is usually required a few miles into some wilderness area for
buzz-free radio reception.
This year I did at least find a good new listening spot at a 9,000ft.
altitude mountain overlook north of Santa Fe. I scouted the place out in
the daytime and listened to VLF for an hour but could not detect anything
discernable as a meteor though I knew the Perseid radiant was radio
accessible then.
I will continue to research and think on this subject for future
experimentation. It may be that a direct VLF meteor reception (if
possible) may require an extraordinarily large fireball that may be beyond
the size range of the regular meteor shower fireballs.
But how can one predict when an *extraordinary* fireball will occur?
More later,
Tom Ashcraft
Santa Fe, New Mexico, U S A