Andrew Thomas makes a welcome return to RadioUser to explain how meteor observations, monitoring solar flares and detecting cosmic rays and muons can intersect with, and complement, the radio hobby.
Andrew Thomas (UKRAA) artwork@silverbirch.me.uk
In January 2021, the Radio Enthusiast website published an article on amateur radio astronomy and the United Kingdom Radio Astronomy Association (UKRAA).
https://tinyurl.com/2vyf8svj My interest is in astronomy, and – as this is a radio magazine – my focus will be on using radio and electronic instruments to record the natural world. There are a surprising number of ways that enthusiasts can make a real contribution to science, and these can be an interesting addition to our hobby.
In my view citizen science projects seem to fall into three broad categories:
• Examining and classifying. This is exemplified by the Zooniverse Project, with Chris Lintott as Principal Investigator.
• Recording and observing. Here the data is gathered by the participants for analysis by scientists. The best-known example in the UK is probably the Big Garden Bird Watch.
• Working as an independent researcher it is possible to participate in science projects. Here, the focus is on collaborating with other amateurs, or professional scientists, and on sharing observations, as part of a larger investigation.
There are a lot of enthusiastic people who would like to participate in ‘doing’ science. Amateurs can provide regular observations that professional science does not get funded to carry out. A good example of this is in meteor observation, where all-sky camera networks have allowed important meteor fragments to be recovered. I would like to expand on three areas, in which independent investigators are now becoming engaged in genuinely valuable research:
• Meteor observations
• Ionospheric research, using Very Low Frequency (VLF) radio, and
• Cosmic Ray detection.
Meteor Observations
A meteor entered Earth’s atmosphere at 09:54 on Sunday 28th February 2021. It was seen by thousands of people and recorded by cameras as it streaked across northwest Europe. On the 8th of March 2021, the news was breaking that fragments of a meteorite had been found in the village of Winchcombe Gloucestershire. In the interim period, there had been frantic activity by a group of amateur observers to identify where the meteor may have landed. Finding the Winchcombe meteorite was not an accident, there was a plan to identify and find fresh meteor fragments falling in the UK. The UK Fireball Alliance is a collaboration between professional scientists and amateur obse
