Japan produces artificial meteor shower

ALE, Japan will produce colorful meteor stars and be 70 times more luminous than natural meteor.

ALE, a Japanese startup, is developing technology to create artificial meteor shower on demand, CNN reported on October 24. This technology can be demonstrated in the 2020 Olympic opening event held in Tokyo, Japan.

"Imagine in the future, you can use our meteor to perform international fireworks, propose or for special celebrations. We want people to raise their heads, instead of bending down. "Japanese people are busy every day. We need more cultural and scientific products in life to help them relax and get close to nature," said Shinsuke Abe, professor of aeronautical engineering. Head, Nihon University, Japan, ALE research director, shared.

ALE Company is developing the technology of producing supernovae.(Artwork: Sergey Balay).

To produce artificial meteor shower, the team launched a satellite into orbit. It will take several months to enter the correct position at an altitude of about 500km in the upper atmosphere, under the highest layer of the atmosphere.

Each satellite will contain about 300-500 ALE artificial meteorites and be able to orbit around the Earth for four years. They will often travel through major cities at night, ready to create a meteor shower upon request.

The first performances will feature about 12 artificial meteorites that pass through the sky. These stars will be different and prettier than real meteors.

"If you see our meteor, it will not be confused with natural meteor," said Rie Yamamoto, global strategy director for ALE, answering CNN.

At a speed of about 8 km / s, ALE's meteor will move slower than a natural meteor with a speed of 72km / s, so the audience will have plenty of time to watch the show.

True meteors, essentially small stones and dust particles only a few millimeters in diameter, will ignite as they pass through the Earth's atmosphere and disappear completely before touching the ground. ALE said artificial meteorites will go through the same process.

Artificial meteors will have different colors and are brighter than natural meteor 70 times.(Artwork: Hendrik Schmidt).

A special feature of ALE's meteor is that it glows in different colors. The team made orange, blue and green meteors. They expected to create more colors. In addition, artificial meteor will be 70 times more luminous than natural meteor.

ALE said their potential customers are organizers of sports matches, outdoor festivals and other large-scale events.

"Everyone likes meteors and meteor shower. Admiring artificial meteors will be their first experience," Yamamoto said.