DETECTION OF RADIO EMISSION FROM FIREBALLS

Abstract

We present the findings from the Prototype All-Sky Imager (PASI), a backend\ncorrelator of the first station of the Long Wavelength Array (LWA1), which has\nrecorded over 11,000 hours of all-sky images at frequencies between 25 and 75\nMHz. In a search of this data for radio transients, we have found 49 long (10s\nof seconds) duration transients. Ten of these transients correlate both\nspatially and temporally with large meteors (fireballs), and their signatures\nsuggest that fireballs emit a previously undiscovered low frequency,\nnon-thermal pulse. This emission provides a new probe into the physics of\nmeteors and identifies a new form of naturally occurring radio transient\nforeground.\n