{ "id": 5240, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/5240/", "page_type": "Visualization", "title": "Radio Signal Reflection & Refraction on a Simple Ionosphere Model", "description": "A simple animated plotting of radio wave refraction and reflection on a simplified ionosphere model, landscape format. || polar.propagation.basic.sample.1920x1080.png (1920x1080) [178.8 KB] || polar.propagation.basic.sample.1920x1080.1590_print.jpg (1024x576) [69.8 KB] || polar.propagation.basic.sample.1920x1080.1590_searchweb.png (320x180) [20.5 KB] || polar.propagation.basic.sample.1920x1080.1590_thm.png (80x40) [3.2 KB] || polar.propagation.basic.sample.1920x1080_p30.mp4 (1920x1080) [456.4 KB] || polar.propagation.basic.sample.1920x1080 (1920x1080) [0 Item(s)] || ", "release_date": "2024-04-22T00:00:00-04:00", "update_date": "2024-04-23T12:12:31.247596-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 1090888, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a005200/a005240/polar.propagation.basic.sample.1920x1080.1590_print.jpg", "filename": "polar.propagation.basic.sample.1920x1080.1590_print.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "A simple animated plotting of radio wave refraction and reflection on a simplified ionosphere model, landscape format.", "width": 1024, "height": 576, "pixels": 589824 }, "main_video": null, "main_credits": { "Visualizations by": [ { "name": "Tom Bridgman", "employer": "Global Science and Technology, Inc." } ], "Produced by": [ { "name": "Miles S. Hatfield", "employer": "Telophase" } ] }, "progress": "Complete", "media_groups": [ { "id": 373692, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/5240/#media_group_373692", "widget": "Video player", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "A simple animated plotting of radio wave refraction and reflection on a simplified ionosphere model, landscape format.", "items": [ { "id": 423313, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 1090293, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a005200/a005240/polar.propagation.basic.sample.1920x1080.png", "filename": "polar.propagation.basic.sample.1920x1080.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "A simple animated plotting of radio wave refraction and reflection on a simplified ionosphere model, landscape format.", "width": 1920, "height": 1080, "pixels": 2073600 } }, { "id": 424786, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 1090888, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a005200/a005240/polar.propagation.basic.sample.1920x1080.1590_print.jpg", "filename": "polar.propagation.basic.sample.1920x1080.1590_print.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "A simple animated plotting of radio wave refraction and reflection on a simplified ionosphere model, landscape format.", "width": 1024, "height": 576, "pixels": 589824 } }, { "id": 424787, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 1091099, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a005200/a005240/polar.propagation.basic.sample.1920x1080.1590_searchweb.png", "filename": "polar.propagation.basic.sample.1920x1080.1590_searchweb.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "A simple animated plotting of radio wave refraction and reflection on a simplified ionosphere model, landscape format.", "width": 320, "height": 180, "pixels": 57600 } }, { "id": 424788, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 1091100, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a005200/a005240/polar.propagation.basic.sample.1920x1080.1590_thm.png", "filename": "polar.propagation.basic.sample.1920x1080.1590_thm.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "A simple animated plotting of radio wave refraction and reflection on a simplified ionosphere model, landscape format.", "width": 80, "height": 40, "pixels": 3200 } }, { "id": 423333, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 1090306, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a005200/a005240/polar.propagation.basic.sample.1920x1080_p30.mp4", "filename": "polar.propagation.basic.sample.1920x1080_p30.mp4", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "A simple animated plotting of radio wave refraction and reflection on a simplified ionosphere model, landscape format.", "width": 1920, "height": 1080, "pixels": 2073600 } }, { "id": 423338, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 1090311, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a005200/a005240/frames/1920x1080_16x9_30p/polar.propagation.basic.sample.1920x1080/", "filename": "polar.propagation.basic.sample.1920x1080", "media_type": "Frames", "alt_text": "A simple animated plotting of radio wave refraction and reflection on a simplified ionosphere model, landscape format.", "width": 1920, "height": 1080, "pixels": 2073600 } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 373689, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/5240/#media_group_373689", "widget": "Basic text with HTML", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "In the days prior to satellites, long-range radio communication could sometimes be accomplished by reflecting radio signals off Earth's ionosphere, The ionosphere is a layer of plasma at altitudes ranging from 50 to 950 kilometers, formed from the ionization of atoms and molecules in the upper atmosphere by ultraviolet radiation from the Sun. This radio wave reflection process was part of the method of how the ionosphere was discovered in the early 1900s.

Here we present some simple radio signal refraction and reflection off a high-altitude layer of plasma. These trajectories are computed based on a very basic ray propagation through a plasma. Many more complex processes are ignored.", "items": [], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 373702, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/5240/#media_group_373702", "widget": "Video player", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "A simple animated plotting of radio wave reflection on a simplified ionosphere model; all waves reflected, no altitude scale, landscape format.", "items": [ { "id": 424644, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 1090891, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a005200/a005240/polar.propagation.basic.sample.1920x1080.1580_print.jpg", "filename": "polar.propagation.basic.sample.1920x1080.1580_print.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "A simple animated plotting of radio wave reflection on a simplified ionosphere model; all waves reflected, no altitude scale, landscape format.", "width": 1024, "height": 576, "pixels": 589824 } }, { "id": 424642, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 1090886, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a005200/a005240/frames/1920x1080_16x9_30p/polar.propagation.basic.sample.noaltitude.1920x1080/", "filename": "polar.propagation.basic.sample.noaltitude.1920x1080", "media_type": "Frames", "alt_text": "A simple animated plotting of radio wave reflection on a simplified ionosphere model; all waves reflected, no altitude scale, landscape format.", "width": 1920, "height": 1080, "pixels": 2073600 } }, { "id": 424643, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 1090887, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a005200/a005240/polar.propagation.basic.sample.noaltitude.1920x1080_p30.mp4", "filename": "polar.propagation.basic.sample.noaltitude.1920x1080_p30.mp4", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "A simple animated plotting of radio wave reflection on a simplified ionosphere model; all waves reflected, no altitude scale, landscape format.", "width": 1920, "height": 1080, "pixels": 2073600 } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 373703, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/5240/#media_group_373703", "widget": "Video player", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "A simple animated plotting of radio wave refraction and reflection on a simplified ionosphere model, portrait format.", "items": [ { "id": 424653, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 1090294, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a005200/a005240/polar.propagation.basic.sample.1080x1920.png", "filename": "polar.propagation.basic.sample.1080x1920.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "A simple animated plotting of radio wave refraction and reflection on a simplified ionosphere model, portrait format.", "width": 1080, "height": 1920, "pixels": 2073600 } }, { "id": 424661, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 1091026, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a005200/a005240/polar.propagation.basic.sample.1080x1920.1590_print.jpg", "filename": "polar.propagation.basic.sample.1080x1920.1590_print.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "A simple animated plotting of radio wave refraction and reflection on a simplified ionosphere model, portrait format.", "width": 1024, "height": 1820, "pixels": 1863680 } }, { "id": 424654, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 1090305, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a005200/a005240/polar.propagation.basic.sample.1080x1920_p30.mp4", "filename": "polar.propagation.basic.sample.1080x1920_p30.mp4", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "A simple animated plotting of radio wave refraction and reflection on a simplified ionosphere model, portrait format.", "width": 1080, "height": 1920, "pixels": 2073600 } }, { "id": 424655, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 1090889, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a005200/a005240/frames/1080x1920_9x16_30p/polar.propagation.basic.sample.1080x1920/", "filename": "polar.propagation.basic.sample.1080x1920", "media_type": "Frames", "alt_text": "A simple animated plotting of radio wave refraction and reflection on a simplified ionosphere model, portrait format.", "width": 1080, "height": 1920, "pixels": 2073600 } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 373862, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/5240/#media_group_373862", "widget": "Video player", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "A simple animated plotting of radio wave reflection on a simplified ionosphere model; all waves reflected, no altitude scale, portrait format.

", "items": [ { "id": 424789, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 1091101, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a005200/a005240/portrait_polar_propagation_basic_sample.1490_print.jpg", "filename": "portrait_polar_propagation_basic_sample.1490_print.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "A simple animated plotting of radio wave reflection on a simplified ionosphere model; all waves reflected, no altitude scale, portrait format.", "width": 1024, "height": 1820, "pixels": 1863680 } }, { "id": 424656, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 1090259, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a005200/a005240/portrait_polar_propagation_parallel_1920p30.mp4", "filename": "portrait_polar_propagation_parallel_1920p30.mp4", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "A simple animated plotting of radio wave reflection on a simplified ionosphere model; all waves reflected, no altitude scale, portrait format.", "width": 1080, "height": 1920, "pixels": 2073600 } }, { "id": 424660, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 1090890, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a005200/a005240/frames/1080x1920_9x16_30p/portrait.polar.propagation.basic.sample.noaltitude/", "filename": "portrait.polar.propagation.basic.sample.noaltitude", "media_type": "Frames", "alt_text": "A simple animated plotting of radio wave reflection on a simplified ionosphere model; all waves reflected, no altitude scale, portrait format.", "width": 1080, "height": 1920, "pixels": 2073600 } } ], "extra_data": {} } ], "studio": "svs", "funding_sources": [ "NASA Heliophysics" ], "credits": [ { "role": "Visualizer", "people": [ { "name": "Tom Bridgman", "employer": "Global Science and Technology, Inc." } ] }, { "role": "Technical support", "people": [ { "name": "Laurence Schuler", "employer": "ADNET Systems, Inc." }, { "name": "Ian Jones", "employer": "ADNET Systems, Inc." } ] }, { "role": "Producer", "people": [ { "name": "Miles S. Hatfield", "employer": "Telophase" } ] } ], "missions": [], "series": [ "Interface to Space" ], "tapes": [], "papers": [], "datasets": [], "nasa_science_categories": [ "Earth", "Sun" ], "keywords": [ "Ionosphere", "Plasma", "Radio waves" ], "recommended_pages": [], "related": [ { "id": 14956, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14956/", "page_type": "Produced Video", "title": "Space Weather Effects Animations", "description": "Solar flares, coronal mass ejections, solar particle events, and the solar wind form the recipe for space weather that affects life on Earth and astronauts in space. A farmer stops their planting operations due to poor GPS signal for their autonomous tractor. A power grid manager changes the configuration of their network to ensure a blackout doesn’t occur due to voltage instability. A pilot switches to back-up communication equipment due to loss of high-frequency radio. A commercial internet company providing service to the military must change the orbit of their spacecraft to avoid a collision due to increased atmospheric drag.These are a few examples of the ways the Sun influences our everyday lives. This is what we define as space weather – the conditions of the space environment driven by the Sun and it’s impacts on objects in the solar system. Learn more about space weather: https://science.nasa.gov/space-weather-2/ || ", "release_date": "2026-01-26T16:00:00-05:00", "update_date": "2026-01-27T10:11:45-05:00", "main_image": { "id": 1196084, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014900/a014956/14956_SatelliteImpact01_4K_ProRes.00001_print.jpg", "filename": "14956_SatelliteImpact01_4K_ProRes.00001_print.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "AnimationSpace weather impacting a satellite with Earth seen in the background.Credit: NASA", "width": 1024, "height": 576, "pixels": 589824 } } ], "sources": [], "products": [], "newer_versions": [], "older_versions": [], "alternate_versions": [] }