World's first artificial meteor shower in early 2020

New Delhi : A Japanese start-up working hard to develop “shooting stars on demand” has announced that it would be ready to deliver the world’s first artificial meteor shower in a spectacular show over Hiroshima in early 2020.

ALE start-up located in Tokyo, is in the last stages of developing two micro-satellites that will release tiny balls that glow brightly as they enter the atmosphere, replicating a meteor shower.

By March 2019, Japanese space agency will launch a rocket carrying satellite which will hold up a rise into space. The second will be launched in mid-2019 on a private-sector rocket.

“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 told reporters.

Sources confirmed that each satellite will be able to carry 400 tiny balls whose chemical formula is a top secret.

As the ball eject from the satellite, it will glow as they fall through the atmosphere. The 400 balls will be enough for 20-30 events, according to the company, and the satellites will be able to stay in space for around two years.

The agency is also exploring the possibility of re-using satellites that are hanging ideal in the space so as to create “giant” shooting stars, officials said. “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, adding that the idea was still in the basic research phase.

The two satellites of ALE will start orbiting the earth by February 2020, arranging the world’s first delivery of artificial shooting stars in 2020, over Hiroshima the western Japan city.

Also, the satellites can be used individually to eject the balls at the right location, speed and direction to put on a show for viewers on the ground.

The chemical ingredients in the balls would possibly offer multi-coloured flotilla of shooting stars. Just, wait for spring 2020!