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

'He [Johnny Depp] is proud of her and not lending anything to the extra chatter and drama that the role brings,' an insider said

Olivia Rodrigo and British heartthrob, Louis Partridge, both 20, were seen together at a Halloween party in London

Robert Downey Jr. needs to work on his British accent, according to Kate Winslet.

Christine Baumgartner testified that the man she was spotted in Hawaii with last month was not her boyfriend

'America's Got Talent' Season 18 contestant Virginia Anne Stone frequently hosts fundraisers for animal rescue organizations in her home state of Iowa

'90 Day: The Last Resort' star Angela Deem get close with Big Ed in a hot tub

Could the Chiefs still get a Chris Jones deal done this year? Adam Schefter provides the latest.

Charity Lawson is called out as 'The Bachelorette' admits to falling in love with both Dotun Olubeko and Joey Graziadei

Cardi B and her husband Offset went above and beyond for their daughter's fifth birthday by gifting her a Hermes Birkin bag. Birkins are the holy grail of the fashion world. Not just anyone can walk in and purchase one, they must have a purchase history with Hermes. They're so exclusive that people are sharing tips online on how to be offered the chance to buy a bag, costing anywhere from $11,000 to $2 million. It's safe to say it's come a long way since its $2,000 price tag in 1984 when it was first released. Now, Cardi's daughter Kulture is now a proud owner of a pink Birkin. In a string of wholesome birthday photos, the rapper wrote: "My baby is five….Happy birthday to my pretty princess," she wrote as the Instagram caption. "It’s beautiful seeing my girl grow yet makes me a lil sad that my baby is not my little baby no more... light lil turn up today till the weekend???. [sic]" One photo saw Kulture sitting at a grand hot pink piano with the Birkin in shot. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter On the auction site Sotheby's, the bag was described as "Bubblegum Pink epsom leather with palladium hardware and has contrast stitching, front toggle closure, clochette with lock and two keys, and double rolled handles". It retails at a staggering $20,000 (£15,500). Cardi has recently arrived home from Paris Couture Fashion Couture Week. In a video, she hilariously told Vogue: "Everybody thinks I came here for Couture Week, but I really came here to buy a Birkin bag. I cannot find it nowhere in the States." "Let me tell you something," she continued. "I’ve been looking for this Birkin for two months, and then my Hermès plug said that it was coming to New York, and I think she sold it to somebody else." "It’s ok because I came here to get it myself." 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.

Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick have three children: 20-year-old James and 13-year-old twin daughters Tabitha and Marion

Rogan repeated a series of debunked claims about the integrity of Arizona's elections system