Tokyo plans a spectacular artificial meteor shower to open the Olympics
- 8 years ago
TOKYO — A Japan-based startup hopes to open the 2020 Olympics with a bang by making hundreds of colored fireballs rain over Tokyo in the world's first man-made meteor shower.
Star-ALE's "Sky Canvas" project would see the launch of a microsatellite carrying 500 to 1,000 pellets into space. A single pellet costs $8,100 and measures a couple centimeters in diameter.
Once the satellite has stabilized its orbit around the Earth, it will then eject the pellets using a special device that has not been disclosed by Star-ALE.
The pellets will travel about a third of the way around the Earth before entering the atmosphere and catching fire once they are 40 to 50 miles from the ground. Each are coated in different chemicals so that the pellets' flames will emit different colors.
The meteor shower will be visible even in the presence of Tokyo's light pollution. Hurtling through the atmosphere at 7-8 kilometres per hour, the pellets will travel slower than natural shooting stars, Phys.org reported. This will give spectators ample opportunity to view the meteor shower.
The developer of this expensive light show hopes that their artificial shooting stars will support future astronomical projects in Japan by igniting public interest in astronomy, the Christian Science Monitor reported.
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Star-ALE's "Sky Canvas" project would see the launch of a microsatellite carrying 500 to 1,000 pellets into space. A single pellet costs $8,100 and measures a couple centimeters in diameter.
Once the satellite has stabilized its orbit around the Earth, it will then eject the pellets using a special device that has not been disclosed by Star-ALE.
The pellets will travel about a third of the way around the Earth before entering the atmosphere and catching fire once they are 40 to 50 miles from the ground. Each are coated in different chemicals so that the pellets' flames will emit different colors.
The meteor shower will be visible even in the presence of Tokyo's light pollution. Hurtling through the atmosphere at 7-8 kilometres per hour, the pellets will travel slower than natural shooting stars, Phys.org reported. This will give spectators ample opportunity to view the meteor shower.
The developer of this expensive light show hopes that their artificial shooting stars will support future astronomical projects in Japan by igniting public interest in astronomy, the Christian Science Monitor reported.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Welcome to TomoNews, where we animate the most entertaining news on the internets. Come here for an animated look at viral headlines, US news, celebrity gossip, salacious scandals, dumb criminals and much more! Subscribe now for daily news animations that will knock your socks off.
Visit our official website for all the latest, uncensored videos: http://us.tomonews.net
Check out our Android app: http://bit.ly/1rddhCj
Check out our iOS app: http://bit.ly/1gO3z1f
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