Anomaly in the If Propagation Characteristics during Meteor Shower Activities

Abstract

An anomalous behaviour of the If signal strength in the form of a gradual decrease followed by a sudden increase has been observed frequently during major meteor showers. The anomaly occurred both during day and night. Some of the interesting results obtained from an analysis of the observations made in Calculta (lat., 22°34'N; long., 88°24' E) for a major meteor shower of the year 1972-73 are reported in this paper. The anomaly is interpreted in terms of the ionization produced by a gradual diffusion of an ablazed meteor at the ionospheric heights involved.