A small Japanese satellite has been released in orbit around the Earth and will flash a Morse code message, which will be visible across the globe from next month. The research commander on October 5, 2012 said that the researchers hope the satellite will become the first orbiter to transmit an LED message across the night sky.
The satellite measuring ten centimeters, was launched from the International Space Station on Friday. Initially, the message was intended to be seen just to Japan, but then the people around the world have asked for the satellite to communicate with them as well when passes over as part of its journey around the earth.
Takushi Tanaka, professor at the Fukuoka Institute of Technology said, “Requests came from far more people than I expected—a man in Silicon Valley wanted to see it while another man wanted us to flash it over Central Park in New York”. Tanaka also said that he has received requests from the residents of cities in Italy, Germany, Brazil , Britain and Hungary.
Tanaka also said, “there is no practical aim to this, but it is a fun experiment that everybody can join”. Observers having binoculars will be able to see flashes of light; green in the Northern hemisphere and red in the Southern hemisphere.
