THERE’S a suspicious flash over a remote part of the world. It looks like a rogue nuclear test and international panic breaks out. Yet it could be a harmless meteor going pop in the upper atmosphere.
Now researchers say they can tell the two apart using openly available infrasound data. If they are right, it’s good news for the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), which is currently languishing as the US refuses to sign, partly on the grounds that it is not enforceable.
American military satellites are almost certainly able to tell the difference between exploding meteors, known as bolides,…
