A group of amateur radio enthusiasts have set up a beacon in the UK that allows anyone to observe meteors as they burn through the Earth’s atmosphere. The UK Meteor Beacon project uses radio signals to identify meteorites as they pass through a 400 km-wide section of sky over England and Wales. The data is then displayed on a live online feed, with meteors appearing as blue streaks that emit a ping followed by a trailing pitch. The system captures more than 100 meteors every hour, even during times of relatively low activity. For the upcoming Perseid meteor shower, which peaks on 12 August, the frequency could be in the region of thousands per hour as Earth passes through the tail of the Swift-Tuttle comet. Unlike optical astronomy, the use of radio signals mean that meteors can be observed in nearly any weather conditions at all hours of the day and night. It also means that the system can pick up smaller meteors that may not appear as ‘shooting stars’ to the naked eye. This method of observation could potentially lead to the discovery of new meteor showers, which could then be tracked to uncover previously unknown comets. The radio transmitter is based at the Sherwood Observatory near Mansfield in Nottinghamshire, however receivers can be placed anywhere in the country. “The transmitter is illuminating the sky above Mansfield with radio signals that can be reflected by meteors and their trails,” Brian Coleman, who designed the system’s hardware and has a receiver in his back garden, told The Independent. “Even outside the Perseids and other meteor showers we’re seeing them at a rate of two a minute – and we can observe them day and night no matter what the weather. Only thunderstorms and lightning can interfere with it.” It is the first meteor beacon system run by amateur radio and astronomy volunteers in the UK, and has already received funding from the Radio Society of Great Britain and the British Astronomical Association. It has also gained the attention of academic and citizen scientists keen on studying meteors. Setting up the beacon transmitter is only the first part of the project, with the four-person team now planning to design and deploy echo receivers that can be distributed throughout the country at distances of up to 1,200 km from the Sherwood Observatory. The receivers can be built for as little as £10, according to Mr Coleman, using plastic pipes and other materials found in DIY stores. His hope is that the low cost will encourage schools to set up their own receivers to develop STEM-related projects that will encourage students to explore radio engineering and astronomy. Observations of the meteors from different directions can also be used to calculate the location and trajectory of meteors, with the team currently trying to establish whether it is possible to triangulate the meteors by studying the horizontal lines and blue smudges that appear on the waterfall display. Such measurements are currently possible with military-grade pulse radar systems, but it has never been done before on this scale. If it is possible, then knowing the speed and direction of the meteors will allow them to calculate the landing spot of any meteors that make it through the Earth’s ionosphere without burning up completely. These samples can then be studied to offer a better understanding of the universe. “The ultimate ambition is to have a system like Blitzortung, which uses a network of ground-based detectors to track live lightning strikes around the planet,” Mr Coleman said. “If successful, we could observe meteors entering Earth’s atmosphere in real-time throughout the world – but there’s still a lot of work to do before we achieve that.” Read More Amateur astronomers make ‘major breakthrough’ in saving Earth from asteroids ‘It’s becoming like an airport’: How SpaceX normalised rocket launches Perseid meteor shower offers best chance to see a ‘shooting star’ in 2023 Watch live: Russian cosmonauts step out of ISS to perform spacewalk Earth hit by powerful ‘X-1’ solar flare, after fears of ‘cannibal’ blast

When a statement announcing the sudden death of Lil Tay, a 15-year-old viral rapper who rose to fame as a nine-year-old on Instagram, was posted to her account earlier this week, it led to an outpouring of grief and sorrow. But that has given way to confusion and relief in equal measure, after TMZ reported that she is now very much alive. In a statement from Tay’s family, she said: “I want to make it clear that my brother and I are safe and alive, but I’m completely heartbroken, and struggling to even find the right words to say. “It’s been a very traumatizing 24 hours. All day yesterday, I was bombarded with endless heartbreaking and tearful phone calls from loved ones all while trying to sort out this mess.” Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Lil Tay rose to fame as the “World’s Youngest Flexer” who rapped and showed off a lavish lifestyle across social media aged just nine, garnering 3.2m followers on Instagram. However, the account went dormant in 2018 after a video was posted online in which she appeared to be coached by someone off-camera, whom many suspected was her brother Jason. Tay was also reportedly caught in the middle of a custody battle between her parents, Angela Tian and Christopher Hope, which had been going on in court since about 2018, around the same time the influencer’s account went dormant. The account resumed briefly that October with bizarre and concerning activity, including a video of the girl crying that was posted and then taken down. The posts were later scrubbed, but led to allegations of abuse by her father, amid the custody dispute. In 2021, activity briefly restarted on the account, with several posts accusing Christopher Hope of physical and mental abuse and of stealing all of Lil Tay’s money. Hope denied the allegations and sent a cease and desist letter to Instagram. An unsigned statement posted to the account on Wednesday said the star’s death at 15 was “sudden and tragic” and “entirely unexpected”. It also said her older brother, Jason Tian, who had at one point been in control of her account, had also died, and that both deaths were under investigation. Both Lil Tay’s father and former manager had refused to confirm or deny her death, with the latter calling for “cautious consideration” in handling the news. Speaking to Insider, her father, Christopher Hope, declined to comment on the Instagram post and declined to answer whether his daughter was alive. Her former manager, Harry Tsang, also declined to confirm or deny her death. “Given the complexities of the current circumstances, I am at a point where I cannot definitively confirm or dismiss the legitimacy of the statement issued by the family,” Tsang told Insider on Wednesday. In a follow-up 24 hours later, Tay was thanking Meta for helping to get her Instagram account back, and had removed the fake death statement. She said: “My Instagram account was compromised by a 3rd party and used to spread jarring misinformation and rumors regarding me, to the point that even my name was wrong. My legal name is Tay Tian, not 'Claire Hope'.” Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

The controversial 1964 children's book about a codependent tree was adapted into a 1972 animated short.

Tom Jones, the lyricist, director and writer of “The Fantasticks,” the longest-running musical in history, has died

'I always had a crush on Mick Jagger. I loved when we toured with the Rolling Stones,' Tina Turner said in an interview

The 18-year-old posted on social media on Tuesday, May 23, about her new gig, saying she was exploited by the media and "forced into portraying myself as something I wasn't."

In the penultimate episode of ‘The Marvelous Mrs Maisel’ Season 5, we witness Susie putting her ego aside and asking Hedy Ford a favor

Quentin Tarantino said his treatment of Uma Thurman on 'Kill Bill' set was the 'biggest regret' of his life

Taylor Swift has hilariously responded to witchcraft jokes after footage from her Argentina gig shows a perfectly timed plane flying over the stadium while she was singing a lyric about a plane. The last several weeks saw fans jokingly accuse the star of sorcery after a performance of her track 'Willow' looked as though she was performing a spell. Now, Swift has turned to X/Twitter writing: "Never beating the sorcery allegations." The clip shows the 33-year-old singing the lyrics from her 2022 track 'Labyrinth': "I thought the plane was going down/How'd you turn it right around." The footage then shows a plane flying over the stadium. Swifties flocked to the post, with one writing: "When you masterminded a little too hard……" "You somehow planned this," another joked, while a third added: "TAYLOR SWIFT WITCH CONFIRMED". "The plane watching you sing a sing about planes," one X user said. One person humoured that the plane was a "paid actor". It comes after Swift shared her first public kiss with NFL player Travis Kelce, which sent fans into a whirlwind. The clip surfaced on social media and showed Swift waving at fans after her Argentina show before spotting her boyfriend in the crowd. She runs over to Kelce, before hugging and kissing him. The crowd then erupts into cheers. Swift has also been present at Kelce's games too, with stats that go to show she is his "good luck charm". Broadcaster CBS shared a graphic titled 'You Belong with TE,' referencing Swift's song 'You Belong With Me'. It suggested that Kelce averaged 99 receiving yards per game, with it bumping up to 108 following Sunday's game. It then showed a separate post when Swift isn't in attendance at Kelce's game when he's "left to his own devices" – a reference to 'Anti-Hero' – with just 46.5 yards per game. How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Britain’s National Portrait Gallery is offering a fresh perspective on The Beatles with an exhibition of band’s-eye-view images taken by Paul McCartney as the group shot to global fame

According to the court documents, Jean Muggli wanted ex-husband Michael Strahan to pay 100% for their children's extracurricular activities

Ludwig Ahgren is best known for his live streams on Twitch and YouTube