HAARP Asteroid Bounce Experiment

[IK0ZCW]

Dec 28, 2022 - HF, News - Tom, DF5JL



As announced, the signals of the “HAARP Asteroid Bounce Experiment” from Gakona/Alaska could also be received in DL and other parts of Europe at 9600 kHz today (27.12.) around 11 am UTC. This is shown by some reports which reached the DARC HF department on Tuesday morning. Those interested can listen to the 30 kHz wide sweep signal as a short recording at t1p.de/orcll

“Today’s experiment by means of the HAARP facility in Gakona/Alaska is only the first preliminary stage of an attempt to investigate the interior of asteroids by means of shortwave signals from Earth,” says Tom Kamp, DF5JL, HF officer of the DARC and IARU Region 1. However, only the next few days will show whether echoes of asteroid 2010 XC15 were received at all. Until then, numerous data from the HAARP facility as well as reception reports from radio amateurs and hobby radio astronomers will be evaluated.

After all, the diameter of asteroid 2010 XC15 is only about 150 meters.

It is also twice as far away from the Earth as the Moon. In addition, radio astronomy in the short-wave range is still in its infancy.

Although Karl Jansky, a US physicist, and radio engineer, was already able to assign signals around 20 MHz to a radio source outside our solar system in 1930. In 1932, Jansky was able to determine the direction more

precisely: The signals came from the constellation Sagittarius in the center of the Milky Way. A detailed article on this and on shortwave radio astronomy, in general, is planned for the February issue of CQDL, the monthly members’ magazine of DARC.

An exciting topic not only for professionals: “The ‘Radio JOVE’ project of the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, which observes so-called Jupiter bursts on 20.1 MHz, has proven to be particularly suitable for those interested in radio astronomy”, says Tom DF5JL. Due to their frequency and high signal strength, the signals are easy to receive even with modest means: “An eventful and usually worthwhile attempt to check one’s HF reception equipment as well as to get a taste of radio astronomy in general.”