Radar observations of meteors using automatic systems

An automatic system for processing radar observations of meteors is described which includes a statistical meteor-reflection frequency analyzer ('SACHMO') and a system for automatically processing individual meteor radiants and orbits ('SAORO'). Information processing with this system entails separating a signal from background noise, determining its parameters, and representing it in a form suitable for calculating the physical characteristics of the meteor and its trajectory in space. The operation of SACHMO and SAORO is outlined, emphasizing problems in processing the huge amounts of data obtained by radar observations, system resolution, and memory capacity. It is noted that SAORO operates on a real-time scale and that the complete system requires about 3 man-days to process a full day's worth of information rather than the 45 to 55 man-days required by other methods.