The Japanese research team used radar to give telescopes the ability to collect space dust data.

It is estimated that more than 1 metric ton of interstellar dust falls on the earth every day. Astronomers are very interested in these meteors because the spectroscope of the light they emit when burning can provide valuable insights into the nature of the solar system. This is because these particles are the remains of asteroids and comets, and they are either disintegrated due to collision and thermal stress, or they are fragments formed as a result.

The problem is that the field of vision of the telescope is very narrow, and only when the instrument points in the right direction at the right time can we study meteors. Although radar can scan a large area of the sky, which makes it easy to detect meteors before they burn, unfortunately, radar can only reveal meteors passing by, but can't know their mass and composition.

But by analyzing the observation results of these two methods, the research team of the University of Tokyo found the best part of these two methods. In 2009, 20 10 and 20 18, they completed this task by using the middle and upper atmosphere (MU) radar facility located in Shiga city, Shiga prefecture and the Muzeng observatory located on the Yuenagano side.

According to the research team, the distance between the two sites is 107 miles (173 kilometers). MU points directly above, and the telescope can be set at an angle, so that it can aim 62 miles (100km) above the radar. During the research, the wide-field Tomo-e Gozen camera installed on Kiso Schmidt telescope takes more than 6.5438+0 million images every night, and researchers can analyze them with special software to identify faint meteors. This combination enables scientists to observe 228 meteors through radar and optical observation.

The team believes that this method will give the radar a wider field of vision, which was previously only observed with optical telescopes.