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Tonight, there's a lunar eclipse (as many of you probably know if you frequent r/astronomy as well!). I’ve been contemplating a thought experiment and wanted to extend it to this community for discussion.
My Hypothesis: Could it be possible that lunar activities, especially during events like an eclipse, impact the strength or reliability of our WiFi signals here on Earth?
I know this might sound like a far-fetched idea - the moon being about 238,900 miles away and all - but bear with me! Given the moon's influence on earthly phenomena, such as tides, and the fact that both moonlight and Wifi signals are forms of electromagnetic radiation, is it too far a leap to assume potential interference or augmentation?
In order to empirically examine this, I plan to continuously test my internet speed during the eclipse using various online tools and compare the data before, during, and after the lunar event.
I encourage you to do the same and share your results! It could be a fun experiment, regardless of the outcome. I’ll come back with my results after the event. Until then, clear skies everyone!
Submitted 1 year, 1 month ago by TotalEclipse
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Astrophysics student here. The distance and physical properties of the moon make it unlikely to interact in any significant way with radio signals in the WiFi band. That being said, it could be an interesting study of how different environmental conditions affect WiFi propagation. I'll definitely follow this. Good luck!
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The scientific principles behind electromagnetism generally rule out this possibility, as WiFi signals are far more likely to be affected by local electronic devices or public network congestion. Intriguing idea, though. It goes without saying but remember to use control data too! It’s critical to compare any changes during the eclipse to your baseline signal strength.
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Interesting theory! As a telecom engineer, I doubt WiFi, which operates at 2.4GHz or 5GHz, would noticeably affected by lunar events. The ionosphere tends to disrupt lower frequency bands (like AM Radio). However, you never know. Let's put that theory to the test!