Over on YouTube Curious Droid has uploaded an interesting video that attempts to explain the purpose of the HAARP transmitter project. The High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) is an ionospheric research program based in Alaska. It consists of a high power transmitter and antenna array which is used to excite a portion of the atmosphere in order to study the ionosphere and investigate methods of affecting radio communications. Recently HAARP was also used in an art project called "Ghosts in the Air Glow" which saw HAARP used to transmit several audio art pieces.
HAARP has also been a popular target of conspiracy theorists who believe that the transmitter must have some sort of sinister purpose. Curious Droid's video explains the purpose and science behind HAARP elegantly, hopefully dispelling any conspiracy theories.
He also explains where some of the conspiracy theories may have originated from. The original idea that HAARP was based on was a patent claiming the ability of Ionospheric heating to disrupt communications, take down missiles & satellites, affect weather, scan the earth and even affect brains. However, a project with such abilities would require ridiculous levels of electrical power and land space for the antennas, making it very unrealistic.
The famous HAARP (High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program) antenna array will be transmitting again from March 25 - March 28, 2019. HAARP is an antenna array which is used to perform experiments on the Earth's ionosphere and thermosphere by transmitting HF RF energy into it. With an HF capable receiver like the RTL-SDR V3 it is often possible to receive these transmissions from some distance away. As HAARP only rarely transmits, it is an interesting signal to catch when it is transmitting.
HAARP (High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program)
Ghosts in the Air Glow is an ionospheric transmission art project using the HAARP Ionospheric Research Instrument to play with the liminal boundaries of outer space.
Pairing air glow experiments in the ionosphere—false auroras creating soft, glowing spots in the sky—with SSTV images, audio and image signals articulated by artist Amanda Dawn Christie will be received and decoded via SDR (Software Defined Radio) equipment by amateur radio operators around the world, and streamed live online for audiences who do not have the equipment or expertise for reception.
“The facility, which was used by the military, has an air of mystery about it and has been the subject of many conspiracy theories over the years — that’s something I reflected upon when creating the piece.”
Ghosts in the Air Glow will consist of an hour-long transmission containing eight movements, each created for a specific frequency and intended to explore different concepts related to radio science and the HAARP site itself.
From Arctic wolves meeting the aurora to poetic texts written in Morse code and the NATO phonetic alphabet, the motifs covered by this transmission art work address issues related to military research, surveillance, political territories, ionospheric science, and conspiracy theories.
The first art transmission was sent earlier today, and if you missed it Amanda live streamed the signals being received on YouTube and the recording is available here. Future live streams will be available here. DK8OK has also posted about his reception on his blog.
Further transmissions are scheduled every day until March 28, and the transmissions schedule is available here. Each transmission consists of several 'movements', which consist of differing antenna array arrangements, frequencies being used, and signals being transmitted. If the text formatting of the movements is a bit difficult to read, Reddit user
grink has formatted it into a nice table in his post. To follow the transmissions it would be also wise to follow Amanda on Twitter, where she is posting the most up to date transmission frequencies.
The idea for the project came about when Christie met Christopher Fallen, the chief scientist at HAARP, at a hackers conference earlier this year. Fallen, who is an amateur radio operator, was intrigued by Christie’s proposition to use the IRI to create site-specific transmission art.
He agreed to open the facility to her, and when she gained backing from the Canada Council for the Arts, Ghosts in the Air Glow officially became the first Canadian-funded project to take place at HAARP.
“Art and science are often seen as separate efforts but they actually share many of the same inspirations and techniques. I’m excited to see HAARP, a unique scientific instrument, used for a comparably unique artistic performance,” says Fallen.
“Amanda’s project will be a valuable contribution to the 50-year collection of scientific work in the field of ionosphere radio modification, and also to the brand new collection of artistic work using powerful high-frequency radio transmitters and the upper atmosphere — it’s art directed from the ground but created in space!”
Interdisciplinary artist Amanda Dawn Christie. Photo by Concordia University
If you prefer a video explanation of the project, YouTube user OfficialSWLchannel has prepared a video which is shown below.
HAARP tests and Ghost in the Air Glow from Amanda Dawn Christie
This year at the end of February HAARP (High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program) scientists are planning to run several experiments that involve transmission. HAARP is a high power ionospheric research radio transmitter in Alaska, which typically transmits in the 2.7 – 10 MHz frequency region. The transmissions are powerful enough to create artificial auroras in the sky. Due to a lack of funding HAARP research was shut down in May 2013, and then later given to the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) in 2015.
UAF plans to activate HAARP again at the end of Feburary, so it seems that it would be interesting to receive the waveforms with an HF capable SDR such as the RTL-SDR v3, or with an upconverter like the SpyVerter. Under some conditions the signal could propagate all over the world. It seems that the researchers are also interested in reception reports from listeners and they plan to post updates closer to the dates of transmission. The full press release reads:
The University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute is planning its first research campaign at the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program facility in Gakona.
The High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program facility near Gakona includes a 40-acre grid of towers to conduct research on the ionosphere. The facility was built and operated by the U.S. Air Force until August 2015, when ownership was transferred to UAF’s Geophysical Institute.
At the end of February, scientists will use the HAARP research instrument to conduct multiple experiments, including a study of atmospheric effects on satellite-to-ground communications, optical measurements of artificial airglow and over-the-horizon radar experiments.
Members of the public can follow one of the experiments in real time. Chris Fallen, assistant research professor in space physics, will be conducting National Science Foundation-funded research to create an “artificial aurora” that can be photographed with a sensitive camera. Observers throughout Alaska will have an opportunity to photograph the phenomenon, which is sometimes created over HAARP during certain types of transmissions.
Under the right conditions, people can also listen to HAARP radio transmissions from virtually anywhere in the world using an inexpensive shortwave radio. Exact frequencies of the transmission will not be known until shortly before the experiment begins, so follow @UAFGI on Twitter for an announcement.
Operation of the HAARP research facility, including the world’s most capable high-power, high-frequency transmitter for study of the ionosphere, was transferred from the U.S. Air Force to UAF in August 2015.
Anybody who wants to participate and follow HAARP experiments should follow the official and unofficial announcements linked at the top of this page. There are two main ways to participate in the campaign: by listening to the radio transmissions from HAARP itself or by photographing artificial auroras created by HAARP. Amateur (Ham) radio operators can also use temporary ionosphere irregularities created by HAARP to open new propagation modes for their own transmissions.
A shortwave radio and knowledge of the time and frequency of the HAARP transmissions provides opportunities to “listen in” since the radio wave energy often (but not always) propagates very large distances, sometimes worldwide! Shortwave radios capable of receiving frequencies in the same range that HAARP can transmit, between approximately 2.7 and 10 MHz (2700 and 10,000 kHz) allow anyone to hear HAARP transmissions provided long-distance radio propagation conditions are sufficient and the radio is tuned to one of the frequencies where HAARP is transmitting. Ham radio operators also have an opportunity to reflect (or “bounce”) their own transmissions, typically in the HF, VHF or UHF bands, off ionosphere irregularities created above HAARP during high-power experiments. This creates propagation modes that would normally only be possible during certain space weather events such as aurora.
The video below shows one of the last scheduled HAARP transmissions from when it was still under the control of the US Air Force.
Oddity Station, HAARP, multiple waveforms and frequencies, June 04, 2014
