A story from the
"If they got rid of all that light pollution maybe they wouldn't need this department"
Miwa Suzuki reports yesterday at phys.org that a micro-satellite developed
by a Tokyo startup, which is designed to deploy an artificial meteor
shower light-show, was launched as part of the payload of a Epsilon-4 rocket
from the Uchinoura space centre by the Japan Aerospace
Exploration Agency (JAXA) on Friday morning.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Miwa Suzuki
The satellite launched Friday carries 400 tiny balls whose chemical formula is a closely-guarded secret.
That should be enough for 20-30 events, as one shower will involve up to 20 stars, according to the company.
ALE's satellite, released 500 kilometres (310 miles) above the Earth, will gradually descend to 400 kilometres over the coming year as it orbits the Earth.
Worldwide meteor shower shows
The company plans to launch a second satellite on a private-sector rocket in mid-2019.
ALE says it is targeting "the whole world" with its products and plans to build a stockpile of shooting stars in space that can be delivered across the world.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Miwa Suzuki
Each star is expected to shine for several seconds before being completely burned up—well before they fall low enough to pose any danger to anything on Earth.
They would glow brightly enough to be seen even over the light-polluted metropolis of Tokyo, ALE says.
If all goes well, and the skies are clear, the 2020 event could be visible to millions of people, it says.
Okajima has said her company chose Hiroshima for its first display because of its good weather, landscape and cultural assets.
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Story here :-
https://phys.org/news/2019-01-japan-...rtificial.html