Japan to create artificial meteor shower for ‘shooting stars on demand’

Japan is set to turn the natural sky event meteor shower into an artificial one to develop ‘shooting stars on demand’.

Tokyo-based Japanese startup ALE Co. is developing the world’s first artificial meteor shower for shooting stars on demand and put a magnificent show over Hiroshima by early 2020.

The company is in the final stages of developing two microsatellites that will release tiny balls which will glow brightly just as they enter the atmosphere, thus imitating a meteor shower, wrote Japan Times.

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The first satellite will be launched by March 2019, whereas the second will be launched in mid-2019. Each satellite can carry 400 tiny balls that will illuminate as they force through the atmosphere after being ejected by the satellite.

“We are targeting the whole world, as our stockpile of shooting stars will be in space and can be delivered across the world,” ALE chief executive Lena Okajima said.

According to the firm, the balls will be enough for 20-30 events and the satellites will be able to stay in space for about two years. Additionally, the company is even exploring the possibility of using satellites already in space that are no longer operation for creating ‘giant’ shooting stars.

“We are planning to push a used satellite into the atmosphere on a targeted orbit to create a giant artificial shooting star,” ALE chief engineer Ko Kamachi said, adding that the idea was still in the basic research phase.

The two satellites will start orbiting the Earth by February 2020 and will shoot artificial meteor shower in spring 2020 over the city of Hiroshima. The city has been selected for its good weather, landscape and cultural assets.

Each star is expected to shine for several seconds before being entirely burned up before falling to ground and not posing any danger to anything on Earth. The balls, whose chemical formula is a closely guarded secret, will glow brightly enough to be seen even over the lightened Tokyo. There are also possibilities that the balls can change colors, wrote Sky News.

The company has not revealed the price for the artificial meteor shower yet, but it may not be cheap, with the company spending about $20 million for the development, production, launch and operation of the two satellites only.