Meteor Radar

an astronomical instrument used for radar observations of meteors in the earth’s atmosphere; a radio engineering complex including transmitting, receiving, and recording equipment. Most meteor radars operate at frequencies of 15 to 500 MHz in either pulse or continuous mode, with automatic isolation of the useful signal against the random-noise background. Meteor radar makes it possible to register the coordinates of the reflecting points of meteor trails with an accuracy of up to ± 0.3°, the drift velocity of the trails under the action of winds in the upper atmosphere, the length of reflection, the velocities (with an accuracy of up to ± 5 percent) and radiants (with an accuracy of up to ± 5°) of meteors, and other data.

The principal advantage of radar, in comparison with other methods of observing meteors, is that it can register faint meteors inaccessible to other methods of observation (down to a magnitude of +15). Moreover, observations can be made at any time of day and in any weather. Results of radar observations are used to study meteors, the properties of the atmosphere at altitudes of 80 to 120 km, and meteoric material in the region of space near the earth.