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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

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Matthew Perry’s character from Friends, Chandler Bing, was so beloved by millions that the actor will forever be associated with him and his hilarious one liners. But Perry, who died on 28 October in Los Angeles, wasn’t just a one-trick pony. He was in dozens of films, TV shows and even stage productions that show his legacy is far richer and more varied than just being remembered for the famous sitcom. Here are a couple of his lesser known works, in celebration of Perry's life and career. She’s Out Of Control (1989) Chandler wasn’t even a glint in Perry’s eye when he appeared in Stan Dragoti’s 1989 indie comedy She’s Out Of Control. The coming of age comedy starring Tony Danza and Catherine Hicks is about a father coming to terms with his daughter growing up. A twenty-year-old Perry played Timothy, one of the daughter’s several boyfriends in the film. Unfortunately, it didn’t go down well with the critics. One reviewer wrote: “I became so depressed I actually thought about quitting my job as a film critic.” But 34 years later, the film has a certain charm and certainly carries a few laughs. For diehard fans of Friends it is required viewing. Matthew Perry in She's Out of Control (1989) www.youtube.com The Odd Couple (2015-17) Perry executive produced The Odd Couple, a sitcom based on the 1965 play written by Neil Simon. He also starred in it as the slovenly Oscar Madison, acting opposite Thomas Lennon playing the obsessively tidy Felix Unger. In fact, Perry had been pushing for a version of the show to be made since the late noughties, hoping for a launch in 2010. However, executives passed on it, and Perry was forced to shop it around. Eventually, it got picked up in 2013, and Perry got his show. It ran for 38 episodes across three seasons, marking Perry’s longest-running TV show behind Friends. The Odd Couple Episode 1 01 Pilot Sneak Peek 3 www.youtube.com The End Of Longing (2016) Perry’s stage career wasn’t as extensive as his film and TV appearances, but he still found time to write his own play. The End Of Longing was a dark comedy, starring Perry as an alcoholic named Jack, and was performed both on Broadway and on the West End. Referencing his own struggles with addiction, Perry later wrote that the play was “sort of an exaggerated form of myself” but that it was not an autobiographical part. While it got mixed reviews, one critic said: “The writing is wired, raw, politically incorrect and very funny [...] Perry's a novice playwright, but one of great promise.” Matthew Perry on His Play 'The End of Longing' www.youtube.com The Whole Nine Yards (2000) Being at the peak of his Friends fame didn’t stop Perry from appearing in The Whole Nine Yards, a crime comedy starring Bruce Willis. Perry plays Oz, a mild-mannered dentist who travels to Chicago to inform a mob boss about the whereabouts of his new neighbour, a former hitman with a price on his head. Film critic Roger Ebert wrote: “A subtle but unmistakable aura of jolliness sneaks from the screen during The Whole Nine Yards, and eventually we suspect that the actors are barely suppressing giggles. “This is the kind of standard material everyone could do in lockstep, but you sense inner smiles, and you suspect the actors are enjoying themselves.” It’s a romp, and well worth a watch. The Whole Nine Yards (2000) Official Trailer - Bruce Willis, Matthew Perry Movie HD www.youtube.com Serving Sara (2002) Perry didn’t do quite so well in Serving Sara, the romcom starring him and Elizabeth Hurley. The film follows a server given the assignment to serve a British socialite with divorce papers. However, he is bribed to serve her husband instead so that she can get a big divorce payout – and all manner of chaos ensues. Sadly, the film was thoroughly panned and didn’t do well at the box office, where it grossed only $5.8m on opening weekend. Check out the trailer and judge for yourself. Serving Sara Trailer www.youtube.com Scrubs (2004) And finally, from one era-defining sitcom to another, Perry went from Friends to a guest appearance in Scrubs. The medical comedy, which starred Zach Braff, went on for nine seasons through the noughties, and became one of the best-loved shows of its era. Perry played an air traffic controller, Murray. See a clip of Perry and Braff, the comic duo you didn’t know you needed, here. Scrubs - Matthew Perry In Scrubs - Aeroplane www.youtube.com Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel 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

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