Fireworks of the future? Japan to create fake shooting stars

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(CNN)Ephemeral and poetic, shooting stars are among the world’s most beautiful natural wonders.

But come 2018, these fleeting fireballs will no longer be left to chance.

Japanese space start-up ALE is developing the technology to deliver on-demand man-made meteors, which could turn the night sky into a blank canvas.

“Imagine a future, where you can use our meteors for international fireworks displays, a proposal for marriage, or a special memorial,” says Shinsuke Abe, ALE’s research director and Nihon University aerospace engineering professor.

The grand showcase for this outer space entertainment could be the opening of the 2020 Olympics, in Tokyo, which ALE is rumored to have bid to take part in.

Meanwhile, in 2018, the companyplans to launch its first satellite into orbit, and present its debut show in the sameyear, when that satellite has reached its position.

“We want people to look up, not down at the ground,” says Abe. “People in Japan are so busy everyday and they need more culture and science in their lives to bring them closer to nature, and to relax.”

Watch this space

It was Lena Okajima’s childhood in Tottori, roughly 100 miles (160 kilometers) northwest of Osaka, that sparked the ALE founder’s fascination with space.

But at atmospheric pressure, electric arcs heat matter at extremely high temperatures — to the tune of thousands of kelvins.

With this highly concentrated energy, the wind tunnel essentially replicates the pressure that a particle experiences when it enters the atmosphere.

The team will also conduct a series of zero-gravity tests in the laboratory before launch.

70 times brighter than reality

But perhaps the most challenging concept was the most aesthetic: the luminosity.

In 2014, ALE had a breakthrough. During testing, the team achieved a luminosity they say is 70 times brighter than a natural shooting star, although they will not reveal their methods.

“There’s no doubt that artificial shooting stars by ALE can clearly be seen anywhere, even in the city,” says Abe.

If true, the feat is particularly impressive. Normally velocity determines luminosity, but ALE’s meteors move nearly 10 times slower than the top speed ofnatural shooting stars.

“Luminosity is affected by velocity, so if the meteor is slower, it will be fainter,” says Abe. “Our artificial meteor will be ejected from lower earth’s orbit from satellites, so the entry velocity is slower.”

What it means for science

ALE’s work will also advance the study of natural meteors, the re-entry of satellites and spacecrafts, and the behavior of the atmosphere.

The team of about 20 astronomers and space engineers has published several scientific papers and given academic presentations based on their research. Once launched,the shooting stars could be used as a vehicle from whichto observe the upper atmosphere.

The team is also delvinginto theories about the origin of life, as some hypotheses hold that human life originated from space — possibly starting with amino acids carried to earth by meteors.

“(The astronomy community) is interested in composition, density, and composition of natural meteors,” says Abe.

“They are coming from comets and asteroids so it’s hard to get there by spacecraft.

“This kind of exploration is very rare.”

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