Meteor

Space Systems

Sky Canvas satellites shoot for on demand "artificial meteor showers"

Meteor showers are beautiful astronomical phenomena, but they can be fickle. Now a Japanese company is planning to put on artificial shooting star shows on demand with the Sky Canvas project. And there might be some scientific benefits to it as well.

The incredibly-rare mineral reidite has been found in an impact crater in Western Australia

Materials

Ultra-rare mineral points to huge impact crater in Australia

Woodleigh Crater in Western Australia is one of the largest on Earth. But now, researchers from Curtin University have discovered new evidence that the crater could be bigger than previously thought – thanks to the presence of one of the rarest minerals ever found.

Canon's 20 cm square ultrahigh-sensitivity CMOS image sensor next to its Rebel T3i DSLR

Photography

Canon's monstrous CMOS sensor goes meteor watching

Canon first revealed its ultrahigh-sensitivity CMOS image sensor back in 2010, where its gargantuan proportions were given as 202 x 205 mm. Now the sensor has been used to record video of meteors at a level "so dark that image capture had not been possible until now."

Sky Canvas creates made to order meteor showers

Space Systems

Artificial meteor shower planned for Japan in 2019

Meteors are nature's fireworks, but mankind is catching up as the artificial shooting star project Sky Canvas attempts to recreate colorful cosmic showers. Using miniature satellites that shoot special alloy ball bearings, the showers can be created to order over any spot on Earth.