Meteor explodes over the English Channel (20th of March 2021) - Were there any unusual radio signals??

On Saturday the 20th of March 2021 at approximately 14:53 UTC, a large meteor entered the earths atmosphere and burnt up over the English Channel.

According to a news report on the BBC website, this resulted in a large sonic boom as the meteor exploded.

Massive bang over #Dorchester around 20 minutes ago. Any sound nerds know what it is? #Dorset. pic.twitter.com/tHnHEifhhF

— Ollie Peart (@Ollieep) March 20, 2021

The meteor probably burnt up at a height of about 100kms which meant it would have been visible over quite a large area.

The photo above is from a dashcam on the island of Jersey.

This image from a weather satellite shows a flash over the Bristol Channel. 

Note however how much the photo is distorted which suggests that perhaps the photo was taken from a geostationary satellite over the equator and it is looking at the UK from a low elevation. That 'white dot' may not be actually over the Bristol Channel but it could be maybe 200kms further south. Note that while the clouds in this picture might be say 5kms above the ground level, the flash is about 100kms up.

There are other reports of a meteor burning up over the English Channel.... see HERE

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Any unusual radio signals???

As this large meteor burnt up at a height of about 100kms above the earths surface, it would have left a trail of ionised gas in its wake.

I know it's a long shot but I wonder if anyone noticed any unusual signals at about 14:53 UTC on the 20th of March 2021?

Example. Were you on a digital mode like FT8 on 28 MHz, 50 MHz or 70 MHz? If your WST-X programme is still running from Saturday then you can go back and have a look. Your logbook of received signals is up on the PSK Reporter website for 24 hours after the event.

Example. Were you listening on the FM band (88-108MHz)? Were you using an SDR receiver and recording the band?

If you heard anything then get in touch or leave a comment.

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Update 25th March 2021: In the hours after the meteor burnt up, I had a look at the PSK Reporter website and looked at some of the FT8 signals that were heard by stations in the UK, Ireland & France on the 28 MHz & 50 MHz bands.

(FT8 is a digital mode where signals are sent in 15 second bursts)

I have put together maps below for several stations. My own conclusion is that there are signs of some meteor scatter activity over the north coast of Brittany and Normandy but I don't think we can be 100% sure about any individual reception report.

I'd suggest that the results show that something happened in this general area but I'm not sure we can infer anything about the exact direction the meteor was traveling.

I have included the time stamps for each of the paths and you can decide for yourself if they are indeed due to this meteor burning up.

See below...

28 MHz

F6BLP (IN97FE)

These are the signal paths open to F6BLP in France at the time of the meteor. The centre point to EI7GL, EI2FG, GW7KNF, G0HIU & G4HZW is close to where the meteor is supposed to have burnt up. Was the path to the Netherlands side-scatter?

Rcvr Band Mode Distance Time (UTC) Loc
G0HIU 10m FT8 757 km 14:55:59 IO83MW
EI7GL 10m FT8 715 km 14:55:59 IO51TU
PE1IWT 10m FT8 821 km 14:55:59 JO32KF
GW7KNF 10m FT8 662 km 14:55:56 IO72VV
G4HZW 10m FT8 683 km 14:55:56 IO83UH
PA3MZ 10m FT8 699 km 14:55:56 JO21MS
PA3DOL 10m FT8 779 km 14:55:56 JO22MT
EI2FG 10m FT8 705 km 14:55:56 IO61AX

EI2FG (IO61AX)

The map below shows the paths open to EI2FG. It show the band opens to 3 French stations but over a period of several minutes.

F4UJU EI2FG 10m FT8 883 km 15:00:41 JN06IJ

F6BLP EI2FG 10m FT8 705 km 14:55:56 IN97FE
G4RGK EI2FG 10m FT8 495 km 14:54:41 IO91ON
F6KHM EI2FG 10m FT8 466 km 14:53:56 IN78RJ

GW7KNF (IO72VV)

The map below shows the paths from GW7KNF on the west coast of Wales. The path to the 2 French stations is around the time of the meteor. The path to the 2 Spanish stations is about 2-3 minutes later. Are they related?

 

EA1AHY GW7KNF 10m FT8 1061 km 14:59:41 IN73XI
EA1NE GW7KNF 10m FT8 1195 km 14:57:11 IN72PD
F6BLP GW7KNF 10m FT8 662 km 14:55:56 IN97FE
F6KHM GW7KNF 10m FT8 500 km 14:55:26 IN78RJ
G4RGK GW7KNF 10m FT8 275 km 14:54:44 IO91ON

F6KHM (IN78RJ)

The map below shows the paths from F6KHM in Brittany. Note the 4 paths to the north.

G0OPI 10m FT8 322 km 14:55:59 IO90BR
GW7KNF 10m FT8 500 km 14:55:26 IO72VV
G4RGK 10m FT8 442 km 14:54:29 IO91ON
EI2FG 10m FT8 466 km 14:53:56 IO61AX
EA1UR 10m FT8 646 km 14:53:27 IN53TF

G4RGK (IO91ON)

The map below shows the paths from G4GRK. They seem to show something did indeed happen off the north coast of Normandy and Brittany.

EA1NE G4RGK 10m FT8 1087 km 14:57:14 IN72PD

G4RGK G0KTN 10m FT8 112 km 14:56:15 
CT1EWD G4RGK 10m FT8 1576 km 14:55:59 IM58KP
G4RGK G3ZDF 10m FT8 83 km 14:55:41
G4RGK G7OED 10m FT8 86 km 14:55:14
G4RGK DO1RJB 10m FT8 488 km 14:55:14  JO31CD
G4RGK CT2IWW 10m FT8 1277 km 14:55:12 IN51WF
G4RGK F5SRH 10m FT8 440 km 14:55:11 IN97AQ
F6DWO G4RGK 10m FT8 402 km 14:54:59 JN18FO
G4RGK EA1MX 10m FT8 936 km 14:54:44 IN73XK
G4RGK GW7KNF 10m FT8 275 km 14:54:44 IO72VV
G4RGK EA1A 10m FT8 941 km 14:54:44 IN73WJ
G4RGK EA1UR 10m FT8 1087 km 14:54:42 IN53TF
G4RGK G4HZW 10m FT8 220 km 14:54:41 
G4RGK EA1KE 10m FT8 973 km 14:54:41 IN63XN
G4RGK EI2FG 10m FT8 495 km 14:54:41 IO61AW
F6KHM G4RGK 10m FT8 442 km 14:54:29 IN78RJ

50 MHz

Path between F4BKV and Ireland on 50 MHz. See times below...

F4BKV EI4DQ 6m FT8 880 km 14:54:14

F4BKV 6m FT8 880 km 14:53:44