About Us

The AxonMet is a consortium of scientists and organizations which operates SKiYMET meteor radars in the America longitudinal sector. AxonMet stands for Cross (X) Americas Observing Network for METeor Studies and the X (for “cross”) and A (in Americas) are interchanged in order. The title also borrows from the concept of a nerve Axon, since all the radars are interconnected to a central service center.

SKiYMET radars are the most common types of meteor radar for studies of atmospheric conditions at 80 to 100 km altitude, and are also used for astronomical studies of meteor flux, shower radiant, orbit calculations and atmospheric meteor entrance speeds. The website concentrates on atmospheric parameter, especially upper atmosphere winds and temperatures. Count rates seen by the radars are also shown. SKiYMET radars are used exclusively because they are all of similar design, making comparisons between sites more reliable. The reliability of SKiYMET radars has been established in several publications (e.g. Jones et al., Geophys. Res. Letts., 30, No. 14, 1743-1746, 2003; Franke et al., J. Geophys. Res., 110, D09S02, doi:10.1029/2003JD004486, 2005.)

Winds are shown as meridional (Northwards) and zonal (Eastwards), and generally are given for the current and previous days. Normally we try to update the data every 4 hours but some sites have limited connectivity and are updated less frequently (e.g. daily). Not all radars will be operative at all times. Some days lag by one day compared to the normal situation.

Please note that these data are provided for general information only. If you wish to use the data in a scientific sense, or for publication, please contact the relevant system mentors, as described for each site. Data provided from the website may not be used without permission of the relevant authority.

The following personnel currently operate SKiYMET radars within AxonMet:

- Wayne Hocking
- Alan Manson
- Chris Meek
- Nick Mitchell
- Mike Taylor
- Ricardo Buriti
- Paulo Batista
- Neslon J. Schuch
- Diego Janches
- Dave Fritts