Observatory to Operate Meteor-Study Radar Net

The College Observatory will build and operate an extensive radar system to study meteors, Gerald S. Hawkins of the Observatory announced yesterday in Columbus, Ohio.

A million-watt transmitter will bounce radar waves off meteors to a series of six radar receivers spaced seven miles apart, and will record data concerning even meteors 500 times too small for the human eye to see.

Hawkins will be in charge of the $400-500,000 installation, to be built in conjunction with M.I.T.'s Lincoln Laboratory. The project will gain important information concerning the heights, velocities, orbts and origins of the meteors. Because the meteors' speed will be measured at six points, the effect of the atmosphere in decreasing velocity will be uniquely determined.

The study will be made by radar astronomy, closely allied to the radio astronomy so prominent in the Observatory's recent work. The distincton between this project and radio astronomy lies in the fact that the radio waves are sent up from the ground first, and not emitted by the subjects--in this case, the meteors.

Effects on Humans

Hawkins and Fred L. Whipple, chairman of the Department of Astronomy, outlined the project before the convention of the American Astronomical Association. They explained that they hope to determine in what ways meteors affect humans and to check the accuracy of some of the current contentions concerning them. One Australian scientist maintains that meteors or meteor dust cause the aurora borealis and torrential rains.

It is expected that work on this meteor project will have importance in the International Geophysical Year, the coordinated program of scientific studies which begins next year.