Detecting missile launches with ionospheric disturbances

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56 points·mzs··7 comments

This really is a fantastic podcast series if you want to learn about missiles, deterrence, and arms control related topics. Simultaneously very technical and geopolitical.

This technique for detecting launches and explosions with distributed magnetometers is pretty amazing.

I have to think the phenomenon was extensively researched in the post-WWII era. But I first heard about it when I saw @rrichcord tweeting detected events a year ago.

https://twitter.com/rrichcord

Interesting that that guy didn't bother to check the magnetic disturbances around Damascus, Syria, where just recently the Israeli airforce bombarded the airport. Ten days after one of the most devastating earthquakes in Syria's history, so they might actually need that airport in order to save civilians' lives.

[1] https://twitter.com/301military/status/1627068808367325185

Previous tangentially related passive radar thread: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33581696

todays H15 launch: https://twitter.com/ArmsControlWonk/status/16270017653664686...

I wonder what the expansion rate is for these disturbances.

The link shows a GIF with UTC time codes to the second of the expanding disturbance across the Korean peninsula region.

That's your spatial change per second right there . . .

There's also a direct link to the 37 minute podcast here:

https://armscontrolwonk.libsyn.com/detecting-missile-launche...

Does anyone know what those dots represent?

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