What is "Meteor Scatter"?

[johnbasalla]

I just read a post where it was mentioned.

 

[KR4BD]

Meteor Scatter or Meteor Burst Propagation takes place when radio signals bounce (or reflect) off meteors in the upper atmosphere. At certain times of the year, many meteors are present creating "interesting" conditions. Frequencies USUALLY Affected are VHF and UHF (above 30 MHZ). In the ham bands, it is fairly common on the 6 Meter Band (50-54 MHZ); Two Meter Band (144-148 MHZ) and higher. Signals will sound distorted or "watery" and are usually only present for a few seconds. Sometimes, hams can only exchange their callsigns in CW (morse code) very quickly before the condition drops out. The favorite modes are CW and SSB although AM or FM sometimes are used with less success.

Here is a more detailed explanation:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meteor_burst_communications

 

[w9wi]

I just read a post where it was mentioned.

A VERY short "skip" opening. When tuned to a FM frequency not used in your area, you'll hear something between a tiny fraction of a second (a "ping") through a few seconds of signal from a distant station. Generally somewhere between 400 and 1,000 miles.

It's caused by the ionized trails left in the upper atmosphere by burning meteorites.

It also affects TV, though it's pretty hard to notice on digital reception.

 

[fangio28]

The alternate definition of Meteor Scatter is:
if you see a Meteor coming.....scatter!